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Part Five Developing the Integrated Marketing Communications Program
Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
Exhibit 16-13 Armor All
uses on-package samples for
related products
Exhibit 16-14 The
Sunflower Group’s
SiteLinkPlus provides
companies with a
fulfillment service for
samples
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
16. Sales Promotion © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
On-package sampling, where a sample of a product is attached to another item, is
another common sampling method (see Exhibit 16-13). This procedure can be very
cost-effective, particularly for multiproduct firms that attach a sample of a new product
to an existing brand’s package. A drawback is that since the sample is distributed
only to consumers who purchase the item to which it is attached, the sample will not
reach nonusers of the carrier brand. Marketers can expand this sampling method by
attaching the sample to multiple carrier brands and including samples with products
not made by their company.
Event sampling has become one of the fastest-growing and most popular ways of
distributing samples. Many marketers are using sampling programs that are part of
integrated marketing programs that feature events, media tie-ins, and other activities
that provide consumers with a total sense of a brand rather than just a few tastes of a
food or beverage or a trial size of a packaged-goods product. Event sampling can take
place in stores as well as at a variety of other venues such as concerts, sporting events,
and other places.
Other Methods of Sampling The four sampling methods just discussed are
the most common, but several other methods are also used. Marketers may insert
packets in magazines or newspapers (particularly Sunday supplements). Some
tobacco and cereal companies send samples to consumers who call toll-free numbers
to request them or mail in sample request forms. As discussed in Chapter 14, these
sampling methods are becoming popular because they can help marketers build a database
for direct marketing.
Many companies also use specialized sample distribution services such as Advo
Inc. and D. L. Blair. These firms help the company identify consumers who are
nonusers of a product or users of a competing brand and develop appropriate procedures
for distributing a sample to them. Many college students receive sample packs at
the beginning of the semester that contain trial sizes of such products as mouthwash,
toothpaste, headache remedies, and deodorant.
The Internet is yet another way companies are making it possible for consumers to
sample their products, and it is adding a whole new level of targeting to the mix by
giving consumers the opportunity to choose the samples they want. Catalina Marketing’s
ValuPage.com sampling and distribution service now has over one million members.
The Sunflower Group’s SiteLinkPlus program offers companies a fulfillment
service from their brand or corporate websites for samples, coupons, and premiums
(Exhibit 16-14). The service asks consumers qualifying questions on brand loyalty,
product usage, and lifestyles that can be used by marketers to target their samples and
other promotional offers more effectively.
Some companies cut back on their sampling programs in recent years because they
felt they were too expensive, wasteful, and fraught with distribution problems. However,
several factors have led to a resurgence in sampling recently. First, big companies
like Advo and Time Warner have entered the sampling business, which creates
more competition and helps keep sampling costs down. Also, a combination of technology
and creativity is driving new sampling methods that let marketers target more