I just watched someone walk into our office with a well-known jewelry company’s shopping bag, and my immediate response was, “Did you go get your free pearls?”  To no surprise at all, they hastily responded, “You bet I did.”  While this may be positive for those receiving free gifts, this is only somewhat positive for the company.  As millions of people walk out the door with free gifts, the company loses millions of dollars.  The thought behind this promotion was a smart one, but the execution may have been a bit mediocre.

The thinking behind the campaign was obviously that if people were coming in to get their free pearls, they would buy something while they were in the store.  However, this is not the case.  People are coming in just to get the free pearls, and rather than purchasing an additional gift while they are there, they are just giving the pearls as a gift.  This is fabulous for the consumer who is able to give a very nice gift for free, but damaging to the business that is losing money.

Enough negativity though, there are some positives to this promotion.  When someone walked into our office with the bag I immediately recognized the promotion, and more importantly, their brand. As they give away free gifts, they are also improving their brand integrity and recognition – and successfully driving traffic to their store.  Even if people are only coming in for the free pearls, the fact of the matter is, they are still coming in.

They are also strengthening their brand through one of the most important marketing tactics, word of mouth.  If one person goes in to the store to receive their free pearls, they are likely to at least tell one other person to go there to also get free pearls.  This too builds name recognition and brand integrity.  Chances are, that at least one person out of the millions picking up their free pearls will buy something, so it isn’t all imperfect.  While the outcome is not entirely positive, it is not entirely negative either.

As you consider your marketing and advertising campaign, stop and think.  You need to weigh both the pros and cons of every decision you make.  While in theory something might sound great, if it is executed poorly, it will not go so great.

Rachel Cantor brings to BIGSHOT a vast amount of drive and ambition, having graduated college in only three years with a degree in Interpersonal and Public Communications, as well as a minor in English. A Magna Cum Laude graduate from University of Missouri-Kansas City, Rachel brings to BIGSHOT the same amount of passion. Learn more about Rachel.  

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