Lisa van der Heijden has to admit that 2020 was a great year for communication professionals. Communication was essential during the coronavirus crisis. A specialist field that she really learned to understand while studying Communication Science at VU Amsterdam. Lisa is spokesperson and Senior Brand PR Consultant at Heineken Nederland. In ‘normal’ times she easily switches between lifestyle influencers and traditional media journalists and between internal and external stakeholders, and she doesn’t shy away from managing the PR of major events. During the coronavirus crisis she was also responsible for the communication crisis team, which made her work even more interesting and challenging. Lisa followed the Master's programme in Dutch
This was the first time ever that a pub atmosphere had been created in a crowdless Ahoy Rotterdam, allowing about 20 artists to perform. A livestream let viewers watch ‘Vrienden van Amstel Live’ remotely. Lisa has been responsible for the PR for this event for years. She also does the PR for the Amstel Gold Race, Formula 1 and the Holland Heineken House at the Olympics. After Lisa announced the online ‘Vrienden van Amstel Live’ and arranged interviews with the media, her phone was inundated with additional media requests. A total of 750,000 free tickets were booked in advance, more than 1.7 million people viewed the live stream, far exceeding expectations. “Everyone was so looking forward to doing something fun.”
Probe and be honest
Lisa’s career at Heineken started with an internal communications internship just after completing her Master’s programme. She was asked to stay on when a junior adviser in the department left. Eight years on and Lisa is still there. She developed and grew her skills and moved to a new position in the Corporate Affairs department, with increasing responsibilities. She recently started working on the international Heineken team responsible for publishing the annual figures and the Annual Report. “The communication department is at the centre of an organization, which means that you really get to know an organization from within. I interact with everyone, up to and including the management. During my studies I was taught to work independently, go the extra mile, be critical, ask the right questions, and probe further. These are skills I still use in my daily work. It is important for a spokesperson to get to the heart of the matter, i.e. to look critically at what it is you want to communicate. At the same time, you have to keep the message simple and honest. If colleagues have a project that they want to introduce to the media, I ask them to describe it in three sentences. If they can’t, the message is too complicated.”
All eyes on the Netherlands
One of her most exciting PR brand introductions was Heineken 0.0. All eyes were on the Netherlands where non-alcoholic beer had previously failed to catch on, and it was now the first country in the world to launch a non-alcoholic variant of a parent brand. The product became a success. But the downsides to drinking alcohol are also part of Lisa’s work. Together with colleagues and the industry she is working on the prevention agreement and discusses coordinated actions on responsible alcohol consumption at student associations and sports clubs. “The great thing about my job is that I can bring about change. I’m in control and by making the right decisions I can get done more than I would from the sidelines.”
Lisa advises students to look for an internship and to talk to as many different people in the field as possible. “Give them a call and ask them what kind of work they do and if you can visit some time. Be proactive.”
