Point of Contact

The events — not the handouts — are what put sampling campaigns over the top these days.

The medium has yet again become the message.

While the novelty of free stuff hasn’t exactly worn off for consumers, these days the way samples are distributed is just as important what’s being handed out.

“A lot of people are doing sampling, but most of them are wasting their money,” claims Jonathan Ressler, ceo of Big Fat, Inc., New York City. “Consumers expect it now. Just by walking down the street, they can sample by taste or touch. A lot of marketers are just sampling their advertising message.”

In that kind of environment, quality beats quantity. “Most marketers are moving away from co-op programs, where they could get a lot of samples out at a low CPM, and asking for big events and targeting opportunities,” says Jesse Reif, director of sales at Bounty SCA, Glenview, IL. “Marketers are paying a premium for trained, uniformed people to hand out their products.”

Heck, even targeting has become more, well, targeted. “We no longer target men aged 18-49, we target men who like sports,” says Reif. “Sampling used to be simply a method of distribution. Now it’s about brand experience,” adds Mike Napoliello, partner at U.S. Marketing & Promotions, Torrance, CA.

Experts say mass sampling without any point of differentiation is worthless. “There is so much clutter out there, and so many consumers have a lifestyle that’s on the go, that the traditional means of getting a message across aren’t working anymore,” says Jacqueline McBratnie, senior consumer promotions manager at Campbell Soup Co. “A live sample closes the sale.”

“Live” as in, “in person” and “memorable,” like the Campbell Soup Tackling Hunger Tour, which this month suits up for a third season. Camden, NJ-based Campbell pitches a tent outside National Football League stadiums in 15 markets to distribute open containers of hot soup. “We become the ideal tailgate food,” says McBratnie. Campbell passed out 200,000 samples and coupons during last year’s five-month campaign. “The coupons help people remember what they had,” McBratnie adds. “You don’t want them leaving saying, ‘Hmmm, that’s good, but was it Progresso?” It also helps Campbell assess the campaign’s effectiveness through redemption tracking.

To make the event more memorable, Campbell stages games such as Armchair Quarterback, which features an electronic Lazy Boy that runs on a track while its occupant throws Nerf footballs at objects in a mock living room. The College Kit, Lebanon, NH, handles.

Costly Memories

This demand for bigger, more effective programs has hurt the sampling industry in some respects. Once considered a recession-proof tactic, the sampling industry has felt the pain of this year’s economic downturn, because some marketers can’t spend the money needed to make their programs work better.

“Brands are pulling back,” says Joel Benson, owner of EventNet, Fort Lauderdale, FL. “We lost a couple of major deals this year because clients pulled out at the last second.”

“Sampling is smaller in scope than it was last year,” agrees Candy Ford, founder of Boston-based Ford Management Group. “A lot of companies are doing smaller programs rather than a few big ones. Brands are tentative.”

Marketers who still have the resources, however, are still hitting the streets big-time.

To launch Absolutely Fabulous LipCream this summer, New York City-based Revlon teamed with W Hotels and vodka brand Absolut to host weekly sampling parties in Los Angeles (in June), New York City (July), Chicago (August), and Atlanta (September). “We seemed to have lost the buzz factor with the Revlon name, so we wanted to use more guerrilla tactics,” explains Kristin Patrick Peterson, Revlon’s vp-integrated marketing and Internet.

The first week in each market, Revlon hosts “influencer parties” for media, celebrities, and local social trendsetters. (E! Entertainment Television helped kick off the first soiree in L.A., which featured actress Jennifer Tilly and Revlon model Raya.) Subsequent parties are then open to the public, and publicized via flyers and ads in local newspapers and magazines. The parties draw between 300 and 500 people who interact with tattoo artists, fire dancers, masseurs, and male hunks passing out lipstick samples. New York City-based Kirshenbaum Bond’s Lime promotion unit handles.

Revlon supported with an online sweepstakes dangling an all-expenses paid weekend to any W hotel. “We wanted to open the contest up to consumers who weren’t in proximity to make the parties,” says Peterson.

Experiences run the gamut, from the penthouse to the outhouse: Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble’s Charmin is running a program through October that spruces up restroom accommodations at 15 state fairs. The facilities are stocked with rolls of Charmin Bath Ultra, Bounty Paper Towels, Safeguard antibacterial soap, and aromatherapy candles; staffers are on hand to continuously clean the stalls. The College Kit handles. “We’re trying to make the facilities a pleasant experience for people — which is something they really don’t expect,” says Charmin marketing specialist Stacy Kelly.

Fit to Be Tried

Today’s sampling efforts look to make a connection with the lifestyles of the target audience. “You don’t choose a target, it chooses you,” says Big Fat’s Ressler. “You have to show them why you’re relevant in their lives. The thinking used to be that you had to stop people in the middle of what they’re doing. But people’s lives are a highway. We try to act as an on-ramp, not a stop sign.”

Catching consumers at the right time makes all the difference for New York City-based Unilever. “In the past, we did sampling by direct mail. But now we try to reach consumers at what we call, ‘the point of dirt,’” says Adlai Wang, brand manager for Lever 2000. That includes Lever Wipes attached to popcorn bags in movie theaters, so viewers don’t have to miss a scene to wash their hands. Other grimy locales include subway stations and sporting events; one of the most popular venues is petting zoos. Bounty SCA handles.

Lever will put samples into five million lunch boxes this fall through agreements with manufacturers such as Thermos, Schaumburg, IL. “This isn’t a product people usually think about carrying. But if we catch them when their hands are dirty, they may think. ‘Hey, this is something I need to add to my everyday routine,’” says Wang.

In a similar strategy, Bounty SCA delivers packages of frozen pasta from Glendale, CA-based Nestlé to day care centers. “When a mom leaves work, she’s got a 20-minute window to decide dinner,” explains Reif.

Even stodgy categories don’t want to be stodgy anymore. This summer, St. Helena, CA-based Trinchero Family Estates, producer of Sutter Home wines, sought a different way to launch a new brand called Trinity Oaks. Rather than simply using the traditional venue of wine-tasting events, “we took a page from the beer and spirits industries to get more reach,” says Trinchero spokesperson Mary Ann Vangrin. “We wanted to create an environment that didn’t just say, ‘Here’s the wine.’”

What Trinchero cooked up was the Trinity Oaks Wine Country BBQ, a campaign featuring three months of barbecues at wine-tasting events — to cover the core customer base — but also at more down-market happenings such as the New Jersey Festival of Ballooning and Great Taste of Houston. “Our goal is to distribute 300,000 samples,” says Vangrin. USM&P handles. Trinchero is also eyeing a winter program that would hit ski festivals.

Sometimes, the “hands-on” concept even gets literal. Redmond, WA-based Nintendo hit the road this summer to launch Game Boy Advance (the first redesign of its Game Boy hand-held system). Teams of 10 samplers wearing jumpsuits bearing Advance systems on tethers wander high-traffic areas offering demos. After debuting at the Los Angeles Convention Center during the Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in May, the teams embarked on a three-month, 12-city tour.

Although they frequented major venues such as Six Flags amusement parks, the teams also traveled in branded dune buggies to smaller spots such as birthday parties. Big Fat handled. “This enabled us to be a little more guerrilla,” says spokesperson Beth Llewelyn.

It probably made them a lot more memorable, too.

Fruits of Labor

Pepsi’s new brands are all about trial.

Since its debut last year, Purchase, NY-based Pepsi-Cola’s FruitWorks has relied on sampling to quickly muster market share — as well as to prove the veracity of its tagline, “Tasting is Believing.”

“Sampling is incredibly important to FruitWorks,” says marketing manager Darrell Johnson. “We need to sample in a way that’s relevant and sticks in consumers’ minds.”

The strategy appears to be working: For the 52 weeks ended July 15, FruitWorks sold 24.9 million units for a take of $22.5 million, according to Information Resources, Inc., Chicago.

What’s good for the launch is good for the sophomore season: In June, FruitWorks kicked off a 10-week World Party Tour that hit nine markets including Dallas, Chicago, Miami, and Detroit. A branded Cadillac Escalade (talk about traveling in style) made stops at local venues such as basketball courts, YMCAs, and music festivals to pass out the product. GMR Marketing, New Berlin, WI, handled.

The tour followed a second year of sampling at spring break locations. For 2001, the brand set up beach tents sporting the offer, “Got Something To Say? Tell Us Something Juicy,” which sought to play on the current reality TV craze. Participants were videotaped spilling their guts, and the results were screened on continuous loops on local hotel channels. Samples were also distributed at bars and hotels. Big Fat, Inc., New York City, handled.

The effects of sampling haven’t been lost on sister brand Mountain Dew, either. This summer’s launch of Code Red featured a collaboration with Indianapolis-based mall operator Simon Property Group on a three-week indoor tour that let shoppers “Do the Dew” in Code Red Lounges with red lights, red beanbag chairs, giant-size Code Red bottles, and music. The effort blitzed through 30 Simon malls in 12 markets.

“This was a quick strike,” says Chad Stubbs, manager-customer marketing for Mountain Dew. “In the past, we’ve done sampling tours that last four months. This time, we had a team for each market.”

While hanging in the lounge, shoppers could play interactive games such as “Name that hip-hop jam.” Anyone who bought a 20-oz. Code Red from mall vending machines could present the empty bottle at the Simon Marketplace office to get a scratch-and-win gamecard awarding T-shirts, temporary tattoos, mall gift certificates, and discounts from partner retailers including Foot Locker and Sharper Image.

The program distributed between 5,000 and 10,000 samples per day, depending on the size of the mall. Mountain Dew and Simon developed the effort in-house.

“Our sampling is changing in that we’re moving beyond always doing it at big sports events,” says Mountain Dew senior marketing manager Tyler Ricks. “We’re getting the product out in a new way.”

Down on the Net

Yesterday’s news is today’s support mechanism.

A year ago, start-up Internet sampling companies were promising to revolutionize the industry. Today, those lofty aspirations have come back down to earth.

“The Internet is less of a factor than it was a year ago,” says Jesse Reif, director of sales at Bounty SCA, Glenview, IL. “It’s still a good way to target college students and teens, but an older audience wants more personal interaction.”

“Online sampling has been fairly ineffective for us,” says Mike Napoliello, partner at U.S. Marketing & Promotions, Torrance, CA. “But we do find it useful to promote off-line sampling programs, and as a way to follow up with consumers after a program is over.”

Some Internet operations have adapted their business models to reflect market shifts. “In the last six to nine months, there has been a de-emphasis on our online sampling and a repositioning as a marketing services company,” says Jeff Malkin, ceo at FreeSamples.com, San Francisco. “Today, we’re building databases, conducting research, and tracking programs.”

For instance, the “new” FreeSamples.com hosts a special section on its site for a variety of Procter & Gamble products such as Olay Daily Facials and Tide Kick. But it also is helping the CPG giant build its own Try and Buy service at pg.com.

“We’ve always approached the Internet as a hybrid. You can’t just throw up a Web site and expect consumers to trip over each other trying to get to it,” says Larry Burns, ceo of StartSampling.com, Carol Stream, IL. “Clients are recognizing that the Internet is the way to begin the dialogue. Our membership is increasing, and our customer base is increasing as marketers adopt the Internet as a viable tool. But it’s never a 100-percent solution. You’d miss too many humans.”

That sounds more like an evolution.