Last month Heineken appointed Clemmow Hornby Inge to produce creative work for its new 5 per cent lager, which replaces Heineken's existing 3.4 per cent Cold Filtered and Heineken Export brands.
The stronger premium lager will be in direct competition with Stella Artois, whose media is planned and bought through Starcom Motive.
The appointment of CHI to the Heineken account ended a 30-year association with Lowe, which had created much-vaunted campaigns such as last year's television drive starring D-list celebrities such as Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee, bought through Starcom Motive.
The end of the long-standing relationships between Heineken and its agencies came about when Heineken was freed from its ties to the Interbrew brewery giant.
For the past 41 years Heineken has been brewed, marketed and distributed under licence by Whitbread - part of Interbrew. However, this arrangement comes to an end next year and Heineken has brought its UK offering into line with the rest of the world.
Heineken spent £6 million on supporting its brands over the past 12 months, although this is expected to increase dramatically with the launch of the new premium beer.
CHI and MindShare are expected to unveil their new creative work and media strategies later this year for the product's launch in 2003.
Interbrew also brews and markets products including Boddingtons, Labatts, Rolling Rock and Murphy's.
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