3 Brilliant Product Sampling Examples in 2022. 

What is product sampling?

Product sampling is offering goods or services to your audience in exchange for increased brand awareness, brand loyalty, reviews, feedback, and other revenue-boosting user-generated content. Product sampling is a form of experiential marketing because consumers can completely absorb and engage with the product before buying it.

If you believe that the excitement of receiving a free product is the only factor in the popularity of product samples, you need to reconsider. The effectiveness of product sampling can also be attributed to psychological factors. We frequently choose to buy familiar products when making purchases as consumers. We have tried and tested these products and continue to buy them because we are confident they meet our needs.

Therefore, product sampling is the ideal method for luring a potential customer. Due to the size of the product sample and the fact that it is free, the customer can try your product without having to spend any money, eliminating all risks of financial loss.

In this blog, we will take a dive and explore some creative and successful product sampling campaigns, which may give you inspiration for your product sample. We will then discuss the main takeaways from what makes a successful product sampling campaign.

1. Cadbury

This year’s Cadbury advertisement marks the return of its Secret Santa postal service for its fifth consecutive year, leading a campaign to give away 120,000 bars of chocolate over the six weeks to Christmas Eve. The TV advertisement introduces viewers to the Cadbury postman as he packages up the chocolate and explains how they can secretly send a bar to a friend or family member.

This is Cadbury’s unique way of distributing product samples as a Christmas present. The timing of this product sampling is impeccable. Instead of using physical brand ambassadors to distribute the product, Cadbury’s uses an advertisement that persuades its customers to send their friends or family members a product sample. This method spreads brand awareness and loyalty around Christmas time by introducing Cadbury’s chocolate bars as a great Christmas present that brings joy.

2. Dorset Tea

GottaBe! have worked with Dorset Tea for the past 6 years on product sampling campaigns throughout the summer. We will collaborate with Dorset Tea to select some of the best locations along the beautiful Dorset Coast to travel to and distribute product samples, promote merchandise, and offer other Tea products for product sampling promotions. We will pitch up with our Dorset Tea-branded caravan and delight customers with a cup of tea and a chat about the brands. It is a great way to spread the word about the brand and its beginnings, and it is also always lovely to give away a cup of sunshine.

Placing unannounced Dorset Tea caravans along beautiful points of the Dorset Coast allows us as an agency to target Dorset Tea’s ideal customer in a disruptive manner. We came to this strategy after researching the market and understanding the unique way to create customer touchpoints for Dorset Tea’s ideal customer.

3. Red bull

Red Bull is known for its brand ambassadors and product sampling marketing methods. They employ brand ambassadors who distribute their products across the United Kingdom through various product sampling techniques.

Red Bull calls their brand ambassadors Musketeers, and by combining their organisational skills with infectious enthusiasm, Red Bull Musketeers operate as true ambassadors of the Red Bull brand, creating an enviable network on the local scene. The Musketeers are passionate about building long-term partnerships and identifying new opportunities to drive trial and consumption, and they build and maintain Red Bull’s brand image.

Red Bull allows the Musketeers to develop product sampling strategies to stay “ahead of the curve” and be experts in all areas on the premises. To sample their products using the most up-to-date, trending techniques, Red Bull stays informed about the current trends in their audience through their Musketeers. This strategy allows Red Bull to stay top of mind with consumers, create brand loyalty, and spread awareness.

How to produce an excellent product sampling campaign

#1: Know when the time is right.

As a product sampling agency, we’ve learned over the years that there are appropriate and inappropriate times for a brand to product sample. Here are the best times to sample your brand’s products.

You have a high-quality, effective product ready for people to test.

Before opinions start flying, it’s critical to make sure you’re delivering something that is truly excellent. Product sampling will make a bad product look even worse, so you need to make sure you have a high-quality product ready for people to test.

Your budget can handle sampling costs.

Product sampling campaigns don’t just cost the price of the samples you are handing out; this also includes the price of staffing, marketing, shipping, and handling. Therefore, it is important to financially understand if you are able to run a large product sampling campaign. Cadburys made the most of their significant marketing budget by employing a product sampling strategy with 300,000 samples as part of their 2022 Christmas commercial. However, smaller brands can product sample on a much smaller scale to achieve their objectives; it’s all about planning and knowing your budget! For example, if you are looking to get genuine feedback from a sample audience, you could deploy as few as 100 samples.

You need increased brand awareness for an existing product.

If your brand isn’t well-known but you have a great product, you need positive word-of-mouth to increase brand awareness and fill your sales funnel.

You have a new product to launch.

Product sampling will help with product development as well as create some additional buzz. People who sample your product and love it are more likely to buy it, tell their friends about it, and even create shareable content about it.

#2: Know your target audience.

The only way to deliver something that is going to resonate with your target audience is by showing that you understand them and reaching them at the right time and place. During the planning phase, it’s crucial to research the core consumer and their buying habits, as this will determine the “where” and the “why.” Red Bull employs a customer-centred approach to their product sampling strategy. They know one of their biggest target markets is students; therefore, they employ student brand ambassadors. The student brand ambassadors understand the wants and needs of Red Bull’s target audience and can therefore create the most effective product sampling campaigns tailored to the wants and needs of the targeted audience.

#3: The importance of brand ambassadors.

Brand ambassadors are the most overlooked elements by agencies, particularly those without an in-house staffing function, as the team will be on the ground. This is arguably one of the most essential elements in effectively delivering a sampling campaign; the brand ambassadors sampling the products need enthusiastic representatives who align with your brand’s product and target audience. Promotional staff are essential in communicating key messages quickly and concisely while also maximising sample numbers. This is an element that Red Bull has executed well; their efforts to find the perfect Red Bull Musketeers reflect highly in their product sampling campaign performance.

As award-winning field and experiential marketing experts, our team can help you reach your target audience through product sampling. With over 4,500 experienced brand ambassadors across the UK, we have the right people for your brand. As well as our excellent brand ambassadors, we also have a pool of community champions who speak over 45 languages and give us insight into the ethnic communities in the UK. GottaBe! really can take your brand to any audience. To discover our sampling services, chat with the team today to see how we can create effective campaigns together.