Heineken is going to partner with Google in a multimillion-euro, multi-country initiative that includes collaboration on data. Its ads will run on YouTube video and mobile ads, according to the Financial Times, which broke the news.

"The deal with Google will mainly focus on distributing our commercials on YouTube, in order to reach our target groups of 20-somethings, but will also include promotions such as banners on Google," Heineken spokesman John Paul Schuirink said, via the Wall Street Journal. There will be both global campaigns and ones aimed at local markets.

It is the first time a large brand has collaborated directly with Google and at such a scale - the campaign will reach across 20 countries.

Accessing Data

The agreement also allows Heineken to access customer data from the search company, including, Schuirink said, "information on what the preferences of our viewers are, where they shop, or what other words they search for on Google."

News of the deal follows on the heels of the announcement that MySpace was sold to ad agency Specific Media. Although two very dissimilar transactions there is a common theme running through both - the growing importance of search data and consumer targeting that ad networks and vendors are being pressured to master. Specific Media has developed a database over the years of Web browsing, demographic, geographic and other profile information about consumers to target ads.