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Case 9-2
Try It, You’ll Like It: Sampling
Sampling has emerged as a critical marketing technique for a long list of companies, from Starbucks
[http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/company/239921?u=tlearn_trl] and Stew Leonard’s (Grocery Store) to
Vitamin Water. In a bid to broaden its appeal beyond lovers of espresso and similar beverages, Starbucks
recently introduced its everyday Pike Place Roast coffee with free 8-ounce sample cups in all of its 7,100
U.S. stores. During the same week, some McDonald’s
[http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/company/305566?u=tlearn_trl] units in Starbucks’ hometown of
Seattle began offering free samples of the new McDonald’s espresso and latté drinks—an attempt to
attract consumers who want something more than an everyday cup of coffee. This is only one example of
McDonald’s using sampling to encourage trial of a new menu item. For instance, when it offered samples
of its new premium-roast coffee, the company experienced a 15 percent increase in chain wide coffee
sales.
Many fast-food restaurants have found sampling to be effective in inducing trial and purchase. For
instance, Wendy’s [http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/company/302286?u=tlearn_trl] once held a
nationwide hamburger sampling tour to attract noncustomers by giving away thousands of free
hamburgers at special events along with gift cards good for free hamburgers in local Wendy’s restaurants.
“It’s one thing to talk about a hamburger,” says a Wendy’s executive. “It’s another thing to actually try
it.” Pizza Hut [http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/company/80888?u=tlearn_trl] held “Free Slice of Pizza
Day” not long ago so that customers could try its improved hand-tossed pizzas. On the first day of spring,
Dunkin’ Donuts [http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/company/1292661?u=tlearn_trl] gave away 3 million
cups of iced coffee throughout the country to signal the start of the iced-coffee-drinking season.
Stew Leonard’s, a grocery chain based in Norwalk, Connecticut, always has some sampling going on
in its four stores: free cups of chicken chili or clam chowder handed out at the front entrance, fresh-
squeezed orange juice offered in the produce section, and free cookies piled high in the bakery section.
“It’s an expensive form of advertising because of the extra labor and staff involved,” says the CEO. “But
it’s also good business. We usually double or triple sales of featured products.” And, he adds, customers
who try something and enjoy it may very well buy it the next time they shop at Stew Leonard’s.
Kimberly-Clark [http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/company/304995?u=tlearn_trl] has used sampling
to get consumers to feel the softness and strength of its Viva paper towels. In thinking about how to give
away a single paper towel as a sample, the company’s advertising agency suggesting stitching it into
magazines like Every Day with Rachel Ray and Reader’s Digest so that readers could rip the towel out
and try it for themselves. At the same time, Kimberly-Clark arranged to distribute Viva coupons at
supermarket checkouts. These kinds of marketing tactics have helped Viva boost market share and
become the number-two brand in the paper-towel market behind Bounty, the market leader.
Stores and magazines are not the only places where consumers can experience sampling. College
students on Florida beaches for spring break are a prime target audience for samples distributed by
companies seeking to start or reinforce a brand relationship. Some samples are handed out at hotel
registration desks along with room keys. Others are the focus of contests and experiential activities.
Students who participate in the “Sand Castle Demolition” contest stomp through sand structures and dig
deep for hidden bottles of Vitamin Water, for instance. In Neutrogena’s Acne Stress Control tent, students
can try out Acne Stress Control Power-Foam Wash, register to win a big gift basket of samples, and stay
for a free massage. Marketers also use these contacts as an opportunity to research students’ likes and
dislikes, shopping habits, and brand preferences, looking for insights that will make their sampling
programs even more effective during next year’s spring break.
i
Case Questions
1. Why is sampling a good marketing tool to influence low-effort decisions?
2. In terms of choice tactics, explain the risk that Starbucks takes if consumers who sample Pike Place
coffee do not like it.
3. Why would Kimberly-Clark arrange to distribute coupons in supermarkets at the same time that it had
Viva towel samples stitched into magazines?
4. What role might normative influences play in the product decisions made by students who receive
samples during spring break?
i
