by: Alain Thys
There is a statistic which claims that 80% of the sales promotions never turn a profit for the brand that initiates them. Yet while statistics always remain a little abstract, today I saw a beautiful case on exactly why that is.
When exiting the airconditioned Carrefour into a 32°Celcius blazing sun, I was greeted by a few friendly looking promo-boys and girls who offered me a free new softdrink to drink on my way to the car.
I couldn't help but wonder how much profit this campaign would actually generate for the brand. After all, I had already left the store, was walking out of an airconditioned environment (so wasn't too thirsty) and was carrying groceries to be unpacked in the trunk of my car.
Just imagine (and I know this is a wild one), if these same people, standing in exactly the same location, would actually offer me a drink "walking into" the store from the scorching heat and offering me a coupon to actually buy it once I was inside. The cooling effect of the airco, would actually double the "freshness" experience and as I would still have to pass the cash register, I could actually buy the product I just sampled.
But then again, that was probably too much common sense.
Original Post: http://alainthys.blogging.com/blog/_archives/2005/5/27/890292.html
