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Blog posts tagged Samples
Donut marketing
July 09, 2010
It was inevitable with a name like ours and the increasing popularity of franchises of a certain chain of donut makers that our website would take some hits from people searching ‘Marketing Donuts’.
I have an interesting tale to share with you all as to how one of these franchises has gone about announcing their arrival in Bristol and marketed their donut products.
Last month I watched the England versus Slovenia match in the centre of Bristol at the Football Fan Park facility. This is essentially a square in the centre of Bristol that has a giant screen and a fenced off arena where football fans can congregate to have their hopes and dreams of national sporting glory dashed once again.
During the second half of the encounter which saw us secure second place in our group and prolong the inevitable demise, there were people walking into the arena with boxes of sugar glazed ring donuts. The more people that came in with donuts, the more people left to seek confectionery
Outside the arena there was a van packed full of trays of donuts and a sizeable but orderly queue of people receiving a free box of donuts. By the time the final whistle had been blown, the crowd inside the arena raced to the exit to join what became a sickening display of greed. The scenes were reminiscent of an aid convey arriving in an earthquake ravaged town. (Responsibility for the welfare of the public on the part of the company was tossed in the air like the final few boxes of donuts as the polite queue fast became a scrum of over one hundred people.)
The cost of this exercise may have been sizeable for the company but the clever part has been the size of reach that they will have achieved. Hand out a single donut and you make one person happy. Hand out a box of twelve and you empower that one very happy person to do the leg work for you in sharing the product and news of the soon-to-be-open new store with others. Seeding the public with samples of donuts has raised awareness of the new addition to Bristol. Word of mouth never tasted so good.
How do you encourage word of mouth with your existing customers?
Would you like a sample, sir?
May 18, 2010
On Saturday I went to the inaugural Bath Coffee festival. By Sunday morning I was still so wired from indulging in the free samples that I found myself thinking about writing a blog for the Marketing Donut. On a Sunday. So here we are: inspired by my experiences at the caffeine-based foodie-fest, these are my tips for getting the most out of an important aspect of exhibition marketing — samples.
- Make it clear whether your samples are free or require a nominal donation to charity.
- Make your samples a true sample — miniature versions of the product are perfect and if people like it they will look to buy the full product.
- The best stands at the coffee festival gave small shot-sized samples of their product. Some stands were offering full-sized coffees and fared less well.
- Stick out like a sore thumb — from my own buyer behaviour and looking at the tweets of attendees, I could tell that a lot of tea was bought at the coffee festival. There were just two tea exhibitors present, their alternative choice proving a winning formula.
- A free sample does not guarantee a sale; but you can seal the deal with a coupon on the packaging or accompanying marketing collateral.
- Make your product available to buy at the event and use an event only offer. One stall was selling their coffee in packs of three for £5. Standard retail price per pack is approximately £2.70.
- Ask visitors to try a sample and complete a form for a prize draw in order to capture customer data. Stick to the data protection rules!
- Think about what others might offer and whether your offering has extra appeal. Attendees are likely to walk away from an event with bags of literature, samples and, er, bags of bags. Don’t allow your sample or accompanying literature to be the uninteresting one that is first in the bin.
- Make sure people know you are there and appeal to their senses — I was sold hook, line and sinker by the gentleman casually walking around the arena with a tray of freshly-baked goods which he deliberately carried at nose level. Just you try and resist it!
If you like this sample of content about exhibitions, why not try our full range of content on exhibitions and events.
- The Donuts will be exhibiting this Thursday and Friday at ExCeL, London, as part of Business Startup 2010. Get your FREE tickets.
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