Here at iD, we’re industry leaders in helping brands harness the power of product sampling – and in this free guide, we’re delighted to share some of our tricks of the trade.

1. A GUIDE TO PRODUCT SAMPLING
tHE BRAND IN HAND APPROACH

2. 59% OF CONSUMERS ARE LIKELY TO
TELL OTHERS ABOUT NEW PRODUCTS
THEY’VE EXPERIENCED
PRODUCT SAMPLING
TAKES MANY FORMS– but all are variations on one simple,
powerful premise. The time-honoured
proposal of ‘try before you buy’ owes its
success to a dual effect - brand in hand
tactics not only increase awareness, but
also drive word of mouth marketing.
A STUDY BY NIELSEN
FOUND THAT:
• 59% of consumers are likely to tell
others about new products they’ve
experienced.
• People are much more likely to
purchase a product when they learn
about it from friends and family
(77%) than through other channels
(professional experts 66%, job or
workplace 55%, public events 41%).

3. PLANNING YOUR
PRODUCT SAMPLING
CAMPAIGN:
Target audience and environment
The flexibility to promote in different
environments extends your reach - but to be
worthwhileacampaignmustberelevant.
Choose an environment that resonates
deeply with your product and target
audience.
To this end, remember that the character of
your environment depends heavily on the
time of day. Understanding your TA’s schedule
and routine is as important as knowing where
they spend their time and money.

4. WE’VE LEARNED HOW TO MAXIMISE THE
POTENTIAL OF A LOCATION OVER MANY YEARS
OF SUCCESSFUL TARGETED SAMPLING. WE’RE
HAPPY TO SHARE A FEW PEARLS OF WISDOM…
Guerrilla Sampling
Mobile teams (roaming brand ambassadors)
can travel to high footfall locations in a quick
response time. Our recent campaign for an
ambient ready meal brand demonstrates the
power of guerrilla techniques in disrupting an
audience to bring a product front of mind. (A
simple social media mechanic extends reach
further, adding a powerful interactive element:
a shareable angle will always increase the value
of your campaign.)
Train Station Sampling
Convert non-retail footfall into brand
engagement – and disrupt the daily commute
in a good way, for a change! Our extensive
study sampled a well-known breakfast brand
in four key environments. Ahead of shopping
centres,consumer events and supermarkets,train
station sampling proved the most effective across
metricsofreach,brandpositivityandROI.

5. Festival Sampling
Unsurprisingly, alcoholic and soft drinks
brands often gain the most traction from
sampling at mainstream music festivals. On
the flip side, the right breakfast brand can
also have significant appeal (what would
happen to your sales if your customers were
hung-over every morning?)
Outside the more obvious areas, so many
festivals now have relevance to a myriad of
brands. This landscape has really opened up in
recent years, with the introduction of foodie
festivals like Taste of London and Big Feastival
pulling huge crowds. There’s a festival to suit
everyone’s taste now – and a rich variety of
sampling opportunities to match.
Retail Sampling
When sampling in the retail environment,
many key variables lie in the hands of your
host store.
Whether you’re dealing with
department stores or supermarkets, it’s
crucial to build a good relationship with the store
buying teams, who’ll help you secure the
best site-space and position. A savvy store
partnership can also help keep a lid on your cost
perinteraction.

6. CASE STUDY:
GIVE IN TO GU
Our 7-week front of store sampling
campaign for GU toured 30 major
supermarkets to raise awareness and drive
immediate purchase of the dessert range.
Trained Brand Ambassadors sampled the
GU dessert range to customers as they
entered the store, whilst in-store price
promotions incentivised purchase.
The campaign delivered over 90,000
samples, with a 51% conversion to
purchase rate.

7. OFFICE SAMPLING
If you wish to target professionals, the
workplace is an effective place to start. Be
imaginative (not intrusive) and consider how
your sampling campaign might transform
their lunchtime or break habits. It’s the
perfect opportunity to show where your
product belongs in their everyday routine.
Our nationwide ‘Biscwit Squad’ did just that
for Fox’s Biscuits.
Does size matter?
Brands often default to sampling full-sized
products rather than tasters. Surprisingly
however, years of research into our clients’
campaigns suggest that this higher CPI
approach doesn’t necessarily translate
to proportionally greater sales. Quite the
opposite: as our infographic demonstrates,
taster sampling is not only cheaper but can
be significantly more effective at driving
purchase.
There’s no general rule that applies to
individual brands – your approach will
be governed by the objectives of your
campaign – but when sampling, keep in mind
the fact that bigger isn’t always better.

8. TAKE THE
EXPERIENTIAL ROAD
A successful sampling campaign is so
much more than a giveaway: the real ROI
comes from deeper brand engagement.
The modern consumer is exposed to
constant brand messaging, so to capture their
attention a campaign must go one step
further - creating a memorable experience.
Remember your sampling campaign isn’t an
isolated strategy: use creative elements from
your ATL strategy to bring the campaign to
life. This not only ensures maximum stand
out, but also builds a continuous brand
world, in which you can invite the consumer
to participate.
Sampling Mechanics
From jet packs to sip stations and pop-up
bars, a world of imaginative mechanics are at
your disposal for stand out sampling.

9. CASE STUDY:
LIPTON ICE TEA
This year we joined forces with
Lipton Ice Tea to transform drab
London pavements - creating ‘pop-up
parklets’ where Londoners could enjoy a
refreshing ‘perfect serve’ of Lipton Ice Tea.
We ‘refreshed the street’ for Londoners,
disrupting routine and encouraged them to
take five minutes out from their hectic day.
Theactivationformedpartofanintegrated
campaign,featuringasummeroffreemorning
eventshostedbyLiptontoencourageLondoners
tomakethemostoftheircity.
As well as getting liquid to lips this type of
campaign embeds lasting associations with a
brand – in this case, appreciation, relaxation
and a renewed perspective to name a few.

10. LET THE NUMBERS
SPEAK FOR
THEMSELVES:
Sampling not only boosts awareness
and enhances brand perceptions, but
can also have a serious impact on direct
sales. Look no further our train station
campaign for Alpro.
The campaign generated an average ROI of £1.14
for every £1 spent, with an impressive 20% of
consumersgoingontopurchasewithin4weeksof
thecampaign.
Ifyou’reconsideringaproductsamplingcampaign,
we’dlovetohearfromyou.
GetintouchtofindouthowiDcanhelpyourbrand
standoutin2016.
AnnaJones
02074281461