Product sampling is no longer just a polybag tactic for building mass awareness. In fact, 9 out of 10 brand marketers say instigating product trials has become the primary component of their consumer conversion equation.

And for good reason: a recent PMAA survey reports that among consumers who had never tried the product before, 86% indicated that the free sample was a determining factor in their decision to buy the product for the first time. Even among consumers who had previously purchased a test product, 50% reported a free sample influenced them to buy it again.

Despite overall budget cutbacks, manufacturers spent over a billion dollars on sampling last year. Many experienced marketers will tell you that sampling's continued momentum is fueled by the rising popularity of event-based mobile sampling programs. These events (at store-fronts or within larger events in the retail community) elevate the credibility and vitality of a product, bringing it to life while generating trial through fun, personalized experiences.

According to Bob Lewis, CEO of Atlanta-based Mobile Media Enterprises, "When you combine the persuasive power of one-to-one consumer interaction with an exciting product trial experience, the benefits stretch way beyond awareness building. Product trial becomes an event unto itself with the potential to grow consumer loyalty, generate PR, and elevate trade relations in a very measurable way."

The ROI of Mobile Marketing

Measuring the benefits from sampling investments has become much more sophisticated, thanks in large part to consumer profiling, research polls and "real-time" store-by-store channel reports now available to marketers.

"When evaluating a sampling program's impact in comparison to other marketing investments, we used to talk in terms of CPM (cost per thousand samples distributed). We can now measure ROI in terms of cost per conversion, which is more meaningful to a brand's bottom line," explains Lewis.

"Event sampling allows you to seek out a precise audience and hand-deliver your product to them for about the same cost per conversion as couponing," adds Lewis. "With coupons, however, you have to keep offering discounts to maintain customer loyalty. Event-based sampling campaigns build powerful relationships based upon the merits of the product trial experience--with a shelf life that can last a lifetime."

sampling investment	=  ROI
profit per converted user

For instance, you launch a sampling campaign targeting events with a combined attendance of 1 million consumers. The upfront costs for attending theses events may range from $30,000 to $100,000 (depending upon staffing, display customization and manufacturing, site fees, shipping, travel costs, etc.)

With effective intercept planning, chances are good that you will introduce your sample to almost a third of the consumers attending the events. Up to 95% of consumers reached by your campaign are likely to try the free sample, that's a potential for 313,500 instigated trials. But let's say only 10% of the consumers you reach actually go to the store to buy your product. If the profit you make on each unit is $1, that's $31,350 generated from the initial follow-up purchases.

Assuming that the quality of your product stands above the competition, consumers will become repeat buyers, generating exponential profit in the months to come. In addition, since a great product makes for a good story, happy consumers are likely to pass on highly credible word-of-mouth advertising to their friends, influencing hundreds of thousands of incremental purchase decisions in the future! From this perspective, it's easy to see why .

From this perspective, one can see how moving the sampling experience closer to the retail environment will increase the brand's return dramatically, sometimes upwards of 50%.