Sampling Hysteria

The power of the free trial remains unmatched

Implications - Providing free samples has been standard at the grocery store for years, but marketers of all kinds of products and services have realized that this technique can be used far beyond the grocery aisles. From luxury goods to professional services, sampling can be the deal-maker in many consumer decisions.

Trend Themes

  1. Sampling as a Marketing Technique — Providing free samples has demonstrated its effectiveness in promoting consumer decision making.
  2. Free Distribution — Companies offering free products and services can draw large crowds and foster brand loyalty.
  3. Celebrity Influence on Consumer Behavior — Familiarizing consumers with an item by promoting it through celebrities can create a personal connection and attract new customers.

Industry Implications

  1. Food and Beverage — Companies can offer free tastings and trial versions of products in order to generate sales and boost brand recognition.
  2. Retail and E-commerce — Companies can provide customers with the opportunity to try or test products before they buy them to encourage consumer loyalty.
  3. Entertainment and Media — Promoting products through celebrities can draw in additional customers who are fans of the personalities endorsing the products.
3.1
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
6 Featured
54,508 Total Clicks
Date Range:
Sep 07 — Sep 08
Trending:
Warm
Consumer Insight Topics:

Featured Examples

Hairstyles You Can Try Before You Buy
Hairstyles You Can Try Before You Buy
HairMixer.com
Have you ever seen a hair style on a star and wondered how you would look with a similar 'do? HairMixer.com gives you the chance to "try on the hair" before making the big step. A bunch of stars are preloaded… MORE
Free Pop
Free Pop
Coke Zero 400 'Taste of Victory' Celebration
Coca Cola is treating any U.S. resident above the age of 13 years to a free 20-ounce bottle of Coke Zero. The “Taste of Victory” promotion is a celebration of the Coke Zero 400 win by one its 13 sponsored… MORE
Freeconomics & Food
Freeconomics & Food
McDonalds Gives Out Free McSkillet Burritos
As Wired magazine pointed out in their most recent "Free Issue," freeconomics and supplying the world with free products and services is the way of the future. McDonald's has reaffirmed that gratis is… MORE
Wine Trial by Vial
Wine Trial by Vial
WineSide Test Tube Samples
Fine wine is often an art kept to connoisseurs and other "cultured," snobby people. But for the rest of us, how do we select a wine without letting our ignorance take the better of us? People who are not… MORE
Try-Before-You-Buy Christmas
Try-Before-You-Buy Christmas
$1 Fake Tree Trial
Can't stand the needles on your floor from a real Christmas tree, but are irked by the tackiness of evidently plastic boughs? The Christmas Tree Company, an online store selling over 52 varieties of faux… MORE
Test Drive Your Marriage
Test Drive Your Marriage
7 Year Sample In Germany
Not ready to jump into a serious relationship? Get married. A conservative German politician is proposing that marriages be entered only with the upfront agreement of a 7-year term. Like what you got?… MORE