A Case for Ethnic Sampling
Several years ago, 25 independent sampling companies and leading manufacturers joined together to form the Product Sampling Council of the Promotion Marketing Association, New York City. As founding chairman of the council, I was pleased that we were beginning a great mission to raise the standards of our industry and assist marketers in their quest for excellence and the need for measurable business results.
The industry needed to dispel the myth that sampling was fine for mass penetration but not effective for targeting specific audiences. With new tools like consumer profiling, neighborhood clustering, micromarketing, and ethnic identification coming to the fore, sampling became the art of distributing free products to the people you really wanted to reach.
As president and ceo of a 22-year-old urban marketing and promotion company, Segmented Marketing Services, Inc. (SMSI), I have learned that the reasons for sampling can be summed up in three basic points: because it works; because more than half of all customers take part in sampling programs; and because retailers know that sampling can increase sales by as much as 40 percent. We know sampling stimulates trial and conversion. The costs are affordable, and it can raise the performance level of an entire integrated marketing plan.
One survey of annual promotion practices noted that more than nine out of 10 manufacturers use sampling to introduce new products, launch line extensions, and build their consumer franchises.
Targeting Works While the case for sampling is strong overall, the case for ethnic sampling is even more compelling. Because ethnic consumers tend to get very few samples, the ones they do receive make a greater impact. Data shows that only five percent of African-American and Hispanic consumers receive samples through traditional programs. Though sampling is such a powerful tool for manufacturers, it can be a much-neglected strategy in the urban market.
SMSI has helped major marketers including Procter & Gamble, Kraft, and Coca-Cola leverage non-traditional and grassroots programs and launch successful sampling initiatives in the urban market. One of the keys is allocating a sufficient budget commitment to the execution of these alternative plans. Getting beyond reluctance and fear of the unknown can have big payoffs.
The marketing opportunities are worth it. Ethnic consumers have disproportionately high consumption in some important categories: health and beauty care, beverages, analgesics, household cleaners, dry groceries, and snacks.
According to U.S. Census data, African- Americans, Hispanics, and Asians account for 29 percent of the total population and have a collective spending power of more than one trillion dollars. (African-Americans: $572 billion; Hispanics: $452 billion; Asians: $110 billion.) By the year 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that the ethnic urban segment of the population will be 40 percent. This is the fastest growing consumer group in America. Already, 50 percent of children under the age of five are children of color. In many urban areas, the minority is actually the majority, as it is in Miami (72% of the population) and New York City (52%).
In our experience, many traditional means of generating trial among ethnic segments provide only minimal impact. For optimal results, unconventional tactics are required. For example, SMSI’s flagship program is its Church Family Network, which reaches 2.7 million African-American and Hispanic households. Gift bags with samples and other promotion offers are distributed to families at the conclusion of Sunday services. It is a welcome gesture, as many church-goers consider the bags “gifts.”
An independent study conducted by Johnson & Associates over a three-year period found that 80 percent of recipients in the church network said they used the sample they received, and that 25 percent to 50 percent (depending on the brand category) were “converted” into purchasers.
Other alternative distribution strategies that SMSI employs include a beauty network that features 30,000 salon operators, a barber network that reaches 7,000 barbershops, and a night club network that earmarks 2,000 entertainment venues.
Most marketers know that brand loyalty among ethnic consumers is very high. This means that once these consumers enter a brand franchise, they remain there. This loyalty is based on family and cultural dynamics, taste perceptions, minimal-risk tradition, and familiarity.
When you are thinking of going the non-traditional route, be sure you know the market, can develop the right promotion, and can execute the strategy.
And be sure to alert the retailer to your plans, because there’s no bigger waste than creating trial among new ethnic consumers who won’t be able to find your product in their neighborhood chain, mom-and-pop store, or bodega.
The rewards for executing non-traditional sampling techniques can be great for promotion marketers: increased sales, a larger market share, incremental business growth, and satisfied retailers.
