As an experiential agency with a history of working with brands on sampling activations, we try time and time again to share what knowledge we have on the right and wrong way of product trial and free giveaways.
There are many benefits to offering freebies, mainly drawing from the fact that people love a free gift. In many cases the more expensive or valuable the better. Recently a friend of mine won a free car, yes – absolutely free, and yes, the green eyed monster did momentarily rear its head. However, the brand in question that gave her this free car won out, why? Because I and my circle of friends on cue all cried “Wow, x-brand, are amazing, how good of them to give away a free car”, and then, once again on cue well all shared our admiration on whichever social network site took our fancy.
This is an example of a free giveaway which has been well executed. Recently, however, we have seen the reverse of this, and been privy to several marketing campaigns which have not gone so well.
A short while ago Colgate launched the ‘Colgate Big Electric Brush Swap’ at Waterloo station attracting swarms of consumers excited by the promise of getting their hands on 1 of 1,000 electric toothbrushes worth £170. Wow – we hear you say? Well, no actually, the event was a disaster as the stand was overrun with hungry consumers causing the brand ambassadors to become unable to cope with the rush. Colgate suffered an onslaught of criticism online and on social media sites. Philips Sonicare – a competitor brand – sensibly capitalised on Colgate’s bad fortune and took to twitter to offer consumers a free toothbrush from it’s own range.
A few weeks ago, as part of its ‘G2 In The Cloud’ campaign LG faced a similar crisis in Seoul. The mobile phone brand decided to offer consumers a free handset, with just one challenge – get the phone attached to a helium ballon out of the sky. With such an open ended challenge, Seoul certainly got creative, but not to the delight of LG. Many arrived with BB Guns, spears and other dangerous tools, causing 20 people to sustain injuries and a very badly executed free giveaway.
These are two recent examples of experiential campaigns gone wrong. At Hotcow we would encourage you to think not only creatively, but strategically and logistically when it comes to the execution of a campaign.
This is where experiential wastage is rife. Don’t waste the budget you have available in a half hearted and don’t risk your internal reputation. Make sure you work with agencies that do this for a living everyday not just hoping too.
We take every possibility into consideration when planning and know the right and wrong way to get your product into the hands of consumers. We think about the consumer journey and plan around this to create impactful and memorable experiences.
