If you’ve got confidence in your product and you want to reach out to consumers in an instant, then a good sampling campaign goes a long way.
In days gone by, it was all about quantity rather than quality, but today companies are using more targeted strategies and defining their key market in order to generate purchases and create numerous loyal customers.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a small local business looking to increase footfall into your shop, or a huge global brand launching a new product, letting consumers experience things for themselves is still a hugely effective tactic.
Coca-Cola – arguably the biggest brand in the world – is doing a massive sampling campaign in Australia right now, with their new No Sugar brand. Their latest offering has been developed over the last 5 years in the US with the aim to make a drink that tastes much more like the classic Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola have decided to ditch their Coke Zero brand in favour of this new sugar-free product and have launched their largest ever giveaway to promote it in Australia.
With the slogan is ‘say yes to the taste you love’, they’ve handed out more than 2 million samples. And while the new ad is playing, customers can download their own vouchers on their mobile or via the mobile app Shazam to get their hands on the new beverage.
But because this is Coca-Cola, the sampling campaign also has some lovely extras. It features a new interactive outdoor advertising panel with an LED screen.
Consumers can literally say ‘yes’ to redeem their free sample straight from the refrigerated panel. The genius of this lies in its simplicity. How many of us wouldn’t love to grab a free cold drink while we’re out and about?
This all goes to show that experiential marketing doesn’t have to be all-singing and all-dancing to impress consumers. Keeping it real and letting people try what you’ve got to offer can be just as effective.
Even companies with massive budgets are keeping it simple and just adding a modern twist to the traditional sampling method.
After all, if you believe in your brand and your product it makes sense to invite others to do the same. In the world of advertising, trying, tasting and experiencing is definitely believing.
