Drinks Intel reported on Friday that the brewing giant, Heineken, launched an initiative on WhatsApp that swaps voice memos for a voucher offering users a free beer in Brazil. The aim? To get people out of the house, back in bars, and have them socializing in person.
The outlet reports that people are increasingly turning to voice memos to communicate over text messages. Though that might appear nice given the more personal nature of voice memos, there are still issues with this mode of communication.
Users of WhatsApp and smartphones increasingly leave lengthy voice memos that sound more like monologues instead of having authentic, back-and-forth conversations. According to Drinks Intel, Heineken did a survey, and most people participating shared that long voice memos felt like “one-sided ‘mini-podcasts'” and they experienced an overall decline in social connection. Heineken launched the app, and it will offer a voucher for a free beer if the user leaves a voice memo that is over three minutes long.
“Voice notes can feel more personal than reading a message, but what our research shows is that we need to make sure they don’t turn into mini-podcasts, and that we’re having two-way conversations rather than an extended monologue,” said Heineken’s Global Head of Brand Nabil Nasser in a statement, according to the outlet. “At Heineken, we want to make it easier for people to share moments of socialization in real life.”
In order to get the free beer, Brazilian WhatsApp users have to forward their voice note to a private bot, which will offer them a voucher and a recommendation of local bars in the area. Heineken did not provide information about the number of vouchers being redeemed per day or if there were any limits.
Reports of loneliness epidemics and friendship recessions continue to make headlines in the media, and the Survey Center on American Life has reported that friendships are in decline. The percentage of American adults who claimed they had “no close friends” went up to 12% since 1990. The study also reported that fewer Americans rely on friends for emotional support than they did in the past and close to half of Americans reported having 3 or fewer friends.
Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership cited systemic factors, like the COVID-19 Pandemic, the gig economy and cost-of-living pressures as potential reasons for the shift. Americans are also spending less time out in bars and drinking less, which leads to less socializing in general.
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