If you love sampling, you might be a fan of retailers that feature samples on-site, where you can drive by and pick up a bite while shopping. Some CPG brands take it a step further and make sampling more convenient for consumers by allowing them to actually drive by in their cars AND get samples.
When events had to shift in the last few years to accommodate social distancing measures, drive-in and drive-through formats grew more common. In reaction, brand activation experiences shifted to incorporate in-car scenarios and sampling became as simple as handing goodies through a car window.
We’ve seen some great results come from this approach and are excited to share about four CPG brands that accelerated their sampling strategy by getting in on the drive-through scene.
Refresh Your Car freshens up drive-in experiences with samples and pre-show advertising
With goals of driving retail sales and increasing brand awareness, Refresh Your Car needed to get in front of people with their products where they could be used right away. Enter the in-car brand activation experiences we were able to create by partnering.
Drive-in theater goers at two locations received Refresh Your Car air freshener samples along with promotional coupons to redeem. Additionally, our organizer partners showed 30-second ads before every showing to create memorable impressions on attendees.
Paired with other sampling venues and a robust digital marketing strategy, the campaign with Refresh Your Car resulted in nearly 38,500 samples and cards being distributed and a whole lot of fresh-smelling cars at the drive-ins!
Kraft brings smiles to parent pick-up locations with HomeBake and Mac & Cheese samples
Top CPG brands know not to rest on their laurels when it comes to brand awareness goals, even if they’re as well-known as Kraft. With so many lines in their portfolio, entering the minds of household decision-makers is crucial for the company. When they wanted to sample their HomeBake products and Mac & Cheese packs, it made sense to find family-oriented shoppers.
We partnered with school districts in San Diego, Chicago, and Phoenix to distribute the chilled samples at multiple events and parent pick-up locations. Signage at these places drove additional awareness as parents waited for their kids.
By making it easy for participants to receive samples in their cars as well as information about how to incorporate the products into their daily lives, we were able to hand out more than half a million samples to Kraft’s target consumers. Parents were excited to have dinner plans taken care of, and the brand grew its positive impressions immensely.
Harmless Harvest hydrates drive-in theater goers with refreshing sampling
Harmless Harvest shows up on many shelves but with so many competing options, they aren’t always guaranteed first pick. To improve this, we executed an omnichannel product sampling campaign at outdoor theaters with goals of increasing brand awareness and driving product trials.
7,500 bottles of their 10oz. Organic Chocolate Peppermint Smoothie got into the hands of drive-in theater goers who were targeted with social media posts soon after. The event organizer shared with us that many attendees knew of the brand but had not tried it before, so this targeting really helped Harmless Harvest drive more product trials right away.
All age groups shared positive feedback on such a hydrating, delicious drink to boost the theater experience, and many asked how they could get more. Sounds like they’ll be ready to grab some bottles next time they’re shopping!
Hu Kitchen sampling delivers sweet chocolate-y joy to holiday drive-through venues
The holidays are a prime time for indulgences, and what’s better than chocolate? Hu Kitchen partnered with Recess to increase brand and product awareness and manage their seasonal inventory by sampling at multiple holiday events.
By collaborating with holiday event organizers on promoting Hu Kitchen, we sampled 50,000 Cashew Butter Milk Chocolate Bars to participants upon entry to the events. There were also additional touchpoints through social media and email that drove our efforts to increase brand awareness and alert attendees to get samples of their own.
Everyone was thrilled to receive tasty samples as part of their holiday event experience. Some ate them right there and asked where they could buy more. Others gave a nod to now being aware of which brand to reach for the next time they craved chocolate.
Have a drive for adding in-car sampling to your strategy?
Recess can accelerate your success. With more than 15,000 opportunities for sampling which you can filter by consumer demographic, customer behavior, location, proximity to retailer, Recess can support unique brand activation and sampling event execution in turnkey, measurable, and scalable ways. Talk to a Recess expert to learn more.
