Google has signed a ground-breaking deal with Heineken to collaborate on digital advertising initiatives, a move that bypasses the traditional agency route.
According to a report in the Financial Times, the multimillion-euro agreement covers more than 20 international markets.
In return for committing to certain levels of advertising investment with Google, Heineken will be given privileged access to the search firm's data and receive discounts.
The paper cited Alexis Nasard, Heineken's chief commercial officer, who, speaking to the paper at last week's Cannes Lions festival, said that the Google deal marked a "first attempt in a journey of collaborating with key sources of knowledge in a field that is quickly changing".
Henrique de Castro, Google's vice-president of global media platforms, explained how the search firm would "work with Heineken on providing incremental reach on target audiences and compare these across media types." He said he expected other brands to forge similar partnerships with Google.
In a separate collaboration, earlier this month, Heineken and digest national paper i teamed up to launch a hybrid app that gives readers the opportunity to read the paper's content in selected pubs and bars in London and Cardiff.
Heineken's annual marketing budget is thought to be worth around £1.9bn.
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