Excessive drinking amongst young men is a global problem, and mostly occurs on a night out when they are least susceptible to responsible drinking messages. Heineken wanted to deliver a responsible drinking message that worked - that young people actually wanted to hear and something they would think is cool and would respond to. Looking at a night out in bars and clubs it was evident music and DJ's played a clear role in enjoyment. Music, in the right hands, could act as a catalyst for change.

Heineken sought to step away from corporate preaching to start a social moderation movement, leveraging the influential power of DJ's and the positive stimulus of dance culture to affect behaviour change at the point of consumption. Starcom MediaVest Group created a social experiment to test the hypothesis; The better the music, the more likely people are to hit the dance floor, and consequently drink less and have a more fulfilling night.

Drinking behaviour was compared during two equal nights. Same club, same amount of people, same time, with only one difference: The DJ on night two was the legendary Armin van Buuren. Significantly fewer drinks were consumed on the second night - proving music's power to change behaviour in bar. The #DMDS experiment was turned into online content and the music video for bespoke campaign anthem 'Save My Night' by Armin van Buuren, specifically integrating this proof point into content men sought out and would enjoy - rather than pushing irrelevant brand led messaging.

The campaign launched in 12 countries on the official release day of the 'Save My Night' music video, using targeted online channels, paid social, radio and experiential to build natural connections with this party-loving audience. The #DMDS film became the most watched Heineken film ever, with 25.9 million views. The target loved the content with an average 55" dwell time - that's +45yrs of engagement with a moderate drinking message. Armin Van Buuren's track 'Save my night' was streamed over 690,000 times on Spotify - 72% of these listens coming from young men.

To date 2,320 DJ's have joined the movement. #DMDS events have been held across the world, with over half a million music fans attending. Most importantly Heineken saw +9% increase in agreement with 'If I drink less during a night out, I enjoy it more', impacting perceptions and stimulating our desired behaviour change. Even in the absence of brand KPI's we saw a halo effect with positive shifts in 'makes relevant statements' +10%, 'great brand for me' +8% and 'would recommend/promote' +18%. Proving you can build affinity even with a social responsibility message.