Sample Enhanced Advertising Generates Positive ROI
Improved awareness levels, however, are of little value to the advertiser if those levels don’t translate to higher sales. In its 2008 research study, FromTopDown was able to prove that the improved brand perception created by sample-enhanced communications actually yielded significant increases in retail sales. Working with a national skin care brand and two major retailers, FromTopDown mailed more than 200,000 sample-enhanced brochures to consumers in 20 markets and identical brochures without samples to an equal number in 20 other comparable markets. The results were illuminating. In the four weeks following the mail drop, year-over-year same store sales for one of the national brands in the test increased 94% while sales in the markets receiving traditional direct mail (without a sample) increased only 54%. That’s an almost 25% increase in sales that can be attributed to the sample-enhanced communications. (As a control, sales were also monitored in other markets which did not receive any direct mail. Sales in those markets actually declined over the same period.)
These findings were supported (and explained) by conclusions drawn from focus groups conducted by FromTopDown and Greenfield Research at the same time as the mail drop.. Focus group participants were asked to comment on direct mail pieces containing multiple samples from various product categories in the fragrance, beauty and skin care realm. Respondents expressed genuine appreciation for the promotion. Many expressed that ads with samples allow them to take a break from their day-to-day world and engage in a level of “play” with the products. This engagement was viewed as a special time for them to cater to their own needs away from the demands of their spouses, children and employers. What was more compelling was the emotional bond that was created with these brands and the brand family. The higher degree of brand involvement engendered by the samples generates increased brand awareness. Moreover, the samples allow consumers to actually try the product. This trial creates immediate purchase interest at the same time consumers are exposed to the brand’s message.
Fortunately for fragrance and cosmetics marketers, magazines and direct mail still provide a viable vehicle to deliver motivated consumers looking for product experience. Although there is a broader issue about the decline of audience share for print media, this study shows that magazine advertisements and articles remain the most popular source of product information on cosmetics and beauty products. Online advertising and TV have not replaced the pleasure derived from paging through a magazine, reviewing the models, the fashion, and the latest new products. For fragrance, women feel they need to test products on their own skin to determine if it reacts well with their individual chemistry. For cosmetics, such as foundation, eye shadow and skin care, women clearly state that they are wary of products that they cannot try before they buy. Samples allow women to try the products in the setting in which they will be used – at home and at their convenience.
