Five Secrets to Successful Game-Day Sampling—Part 3
I remember once reading, “A brand name is more than a word. It is the beginning of a conversation.” This certainly is true when it comes to hand-to-hand game-day sampling. And to ensure a successful outcome for the brand, that initial conversation between the sampler and the sports fan must be the result of effective event field staff training.
Which brings us to the fourth secret of game-day sampling (you can read about the first three secrets here)…
Ensure effective event-staff training so that they become the brand
Start with the message. The primary focus of the brand message must be on how special it is. The goal is to communicate the points of difference and the distinctive quality of the brand. We teach this in the brand training manual and reinforce it with key benefit reminder pocket cards that are easily referenced throughout the day of the event.
But you can’t just take your field staff through the words and expect them to have a relationship with the brand they are representing. You need to give them time to try the product–use it, taste it, experience it, understand it. Remember what the Chinese philosopher Confucius once said? “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” Effective training should always integrate telling, showing, and doing.
An excellent example was the time we were sampling BullFrog sunscreen at an outdoor sports venue. If we had just told the field staff that the product dries instantly and leaves no greasy residue, they would simply have memorized and parroted those phrases. It was only after the samplers actually applied the product to their own skin that they genuinely understood why it was different. Once they experienced the product they were able to enthusiastically represent the brand and speak with conviction about its benefits.
Effective event-staff training also includes being very definite on the rules of engagement for game day. Be clear on how they are expected to act, and what they should never do under any circumstances. Some of the latter may seem obvious—they shouldn’t chew gum while distributing samples, for instance–but it’s those details, if overlooked, that will contribute to less than a positive first impression of your brand. Be direct: Field staff must be reminded that they are there to intercept and talk to the fans, not each other. We also provide branded T-shirts to all samplers so that they become a living billboard for the brand they represent. This further enables “becoming the brand” in a very literal way.
Carefully supervise and manage the event
This is the fifth secret, and again it may seem somewhat obvious. On game day, all field staff must check in with the on-site event manager two hours before the start of the event and gather as a group to review policies and procedures and to ask any questions that they may have. Throughout the day they are required to check in periodically with their on-site supervisor to ensure that everything is running smoothly.
Samplers need to notify their supervisor when they are running low on product—not when they’ve run out—so that the supervisor can call for replenishment. Within minutes a runner should be on the way with more product. By not waiting until samples have run out, you don’t lose intercept opportunities.
Game-day sampling shouldn’t be just about giving stuff away. It’s about building brands, one fan at a time. If a brand name truly is the beginning of a conversation, then that conversation has the potential to be the start of a long-term relationship between a fan and that brand.
CHIEF MARKETER columnist Laurie Carlson McGrath is director of marketing with Schaumburg, IL-based marketing services firm PromoWorks.
Other articles by Laurie Carlson McGrath:
Five Secrets to Successful Game-Day Sampling—Part 1
Five Secrets to Successful Game-Day Sampling—Part 2
In-Store Marketing: Don’t Overlook the Hispanic Consumer
Now You’re Cookin’: Heating Up Sales with In-Store Chef Demos
The Electric Fan: Get Plugged In with Sampling at Sporting Events
Co-op Sampling: Matchmaking in the Aisles
Tap Confucius to Reach Today’s Home-Center Shopper In-Store
Sample Sales: Close the Sale Before the Taste Begins to Fade
