AdAge points to the raft of big brands using product giveaways and sampling to boost sales. Often considered a poor man’s alternative to mass media advertising, sampling is becoming an increasingly popular driver of traffic and encourages trial.
Sampling is becoming the new medium as megamarketers give away mega amounts of product. Some recent examples:
| May 15 | McDonald’s will give away 2 million Southern Style chicken biscuits and 6 million Southern Style chicken sandwiches. |
| May 15 | Dunkin’ Donuts will hold its second-annual Iced Coffee Day and expects to give away 4 million cups of coffee. |
| April 15 | Dunkin’ Donuts holds Tax Day promotion and gives away a doughnut with the purchase of a cup of coffee. |
| April 7 | Starbucks holds a tasting of its new blend, Pike Place Roast. |
| Feb. 28-29 | McDonald’s gives away 3 million McSkillet burritos to celebrate Leap Day. |
| Feb. 26 | Dunkin’ Donuts offers 99¢ lattes while Starbucks is closed for barista training. |
– From AdAge article
Samples of sampling keep popping up all over the place:
- AdAge video
- Nationwide ‘tryvertising’ from Springwise
- More Springwise
- And one more for fun
Needless to say, sampling and freebies can help raise awareness and buzz, and likely lead to knock on sales further down the line. And, of course, if a customer likes a sample they may well become lifelong customers.
Having said that, apart from the more obvious benefits, what can you do to increase the impact of your free sample giveaway?
5 Quick Tips for Getting the Most from Freebies
- Make sure to mix your giveaway into your traditional advertising – it’ll increase awareness even further. The same can be done by sending out press releases in advance.
- Document the event – pictures of customer queueing up to get free samples will play great on your website or in a further press release
- Introduce some form of data capture – it’s a great chance to collect details for followup via email or SMS
- Drive traffic to a unique landing page to turn ‘triallers’ into buyers or (at least) subscribers
- In either case, use followup offers to keep them coming back for more
Do you know of any creative examples that use sampling?
