‘Pump and dump’ product sampling. If you work at Hotcow then you love this term – it really comes from the banking/finance world on how they deal with buying and selling stocks on a daily basis – one minute they are pumping money into it and then next they are dumping the stocks like hot potatoes.

There seems to be a growing trend in the marketplace for believing that you can get product into peoples hands for £0.05- £0.10p.  This is completely untrue and will get you nowhere as a brand, and here is why.

Product sampling is all about putting the product into peoples hands in a way they can remember it. If they remember it, they are then more likely to buy it when they have the opportunity.

If we want people to remember getting a product sample from a drinks company for example at the perfect serve temperate of 5 degrees then we have to deliver that product at the right temperate, encourage people to drink it or taste it at that perfect temperate right then and there. That takes precision and planning. It costs money as you need either chiller vans or ice to ensure the perfect serve temperate all day long, even on a hot 30 degree summer day.  It requires staff to be present all day long, to have vehicles parked close by to use materials that invite people to come over and try a sample. These things all cost money.

If we were to pump and dump the product samples and try to achieve a product sampling campaign for the price mentioned above (£0.05-£0.10p) then the only way you can achieve that is to take over a dump bin or a large green space, get your truck to come down and unload all the thousands of samples you want people to take and sit back and watch what happens.  Yes you get your product into peoples hands. But how many people take it? Did the few take too many samples to share amongst the many? Would this get people remembering your brand/product? Or, Would it be more likely to get them remembering the mechanic, that a big truck came and dumped all this free product in the middle of a field, rather then your product name?

It is up to you to decide what is more important to you with your product sampling campaign – is it a pump and dump mechanic as highlighted above or is it getting it into peoples hands in a way they get to really try and experience the brand.  If it is the later, remember to budget accordingly.

We would love to hear your feedback on this article. Would you prefer a pump and dump mechanic or a brand in hand mechanic?

Get in touch with us if you are looking to activate your next local or nationwide product sampling campaign, we can help you get the results your brand deserves.

Call us on 0207 5030 442 or info@hotcow.co.uk.