From Albums to Burgers: Freebies Create a Buzz
Americans love getting a deal, and the renowned U.K. band Radiohead has taken unconventional steps to give them what they want.
When the album In Rainbows is released on October 10, fans will be able to pay as little or as much for digitally downloading the album, telling fans “It’s up to you” what to pay.
Radiohead can benefit from this tactic in two ways: The customers who pay nothing but will register their information will become targets of future Radiohead concert promotions and marketing campaigns. In addition, giving away free items creates demand. Take Prince, who in July, gave away his album 3121 in the U.K. and sold out all 21 tour dates in London as a result.
Businesses in the fast-food industry are also prime candidates to benefit from giving away free items. This past summer Sonic gave away free root beer floats; Wendy’s sent a truck to 25 cities and gave away 75,000 burgers to customers who helped design the chain’s next burger; and Dunkin Donuts gave away three million cups of coffee last March—all events that garnered attention from news outlets and a flurry of customer visits resulted.
Giving away free items isn’t reserved just for B2C companies. Currently, healthy food manufacturer Kashi is advertising the Kashi Snack Drive, in which customers go online and essentially “trade” in their unhealthy snacks for a free Kashi snack pack. First, the consumer answers a series of questions aimed at improving products and collecting ideas for new ones. Questions range from “If you could make any snack in the world, what would it be?” to “What’s your favorite color?” The consumer then follows up that with answering personal questions for marketing purposes.
Kashi has found a way around the common CPG conundrum of gathering customer data straight from the consumers, sending it directly to both R&D and marketing--a challenge for many B2B companies and even B2C businesses.
So whether you’re a band or a burger joint, giving away freebies creates a buzz and boosts brand image. More importantly, it attracts new customers ripe with fresh and valuable data that can enhance your company and its products.
What do you plan to give away today?
