• The Financial Times, Thursday, June 30, 2011 11 AM

Heineken and Google have struck a multimillion-euro deal to partner on digital advertising, including YouTube video and mobile ads. The deal, spanning more than 20 international markets, is the first long-term collaboration directly between Google and a large brand.

In exchange for committing to a minimum amount of advertising investment across Google's sites, Heineken will be given access to special consultancy, data and discounts from the search company.

"We feel a partnership with such outfits is a competitive advantage," Alexis Nasard, Heineken's chief commercial officer, told the Financial Times last week at the Cannes Lions advertising festival, where the brand's television, digital and packaging campaigns won seven awards.

Heineken's marketing budget is worth €2.1bn ($3bn) annually, about 4% of which is spent on digital marketing. Nasard said: "[Google] knows their media better than anyone else [and] have access to an immense source of information ... I don't think any traditional advertising agency will know about Google's business as well as Google knows about its business. The expertise they bring is unique." The company will continue to work with AKQA, the digital agency and its media agency, WPP's Mindshare.

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