Sending samples out to journalists can be a great way of getting your product in front of potential customers. The right media review or accreditation can make a huge difference to how you market the product and will start to create a buzz around your brand.
Sounds easy right? Well, it’s a little harder than it first sounds.
There are numerous different elements that go into planning a sampling campaign from identifying the right product to selecting journalists to target and thinking about how you present the products to them.
Some of it will be trial and error and sampling isn’t for every brand and every product. Get it right and it could attract a whole host of new customers who may previously have been unaware of your brand.
Agree the objectives
Why are you planning to pitch product samples to press? For many consumer facing companies this is an exercise in brand awareness - keeping your name and the items you retail front of mind. For others it can be about launching a new product or new product range and for others it could be focussed around timely seasonal or themed items.
What will you send?
If you have a new product launch then this is an easy one to answer - send that product. If you’re targeting gift guides or seasonally themed content, then think carefully about what you send. There are a number of things to consider:
- The price point of the titles you’re reaching out to - be realistic about how much disposable income their readers have.
- Does it fit - do your research and look at similar products the title has used. Would your product fit what they’re looking for?
- Make it relevant - if you’re sending seasonal or themed items, make sure yours is relevant and fits with the theme.
- How to send - think about how you send it. For example, if you’re launching a new range and have multiple small products to send, why not create a branded press sample box?
Identifying your contacts
Finding the right journalists to send the product to is the most important part of sending your samples. Pitch to the wrong publications and the wrong people and you will get nowhere. Spend time doing your homework - identify the titles the product will work for then spend time finding the right contacts. It’ll mean a lot of desk research, looking back at past successes and pooling the expertise in your team to get to the right people.
How to pitch
A product pitch has to be all about the image. Make sure the photography you have is good and sells the product to the journalist you’re targeting. It doesn’t have to be a lifestyle shot - often a cut out image (a photo with the background removed) is the best bet, particularly for gift guides. It’ll help the writer visualise how the image will look on the page or screen. Make sure you give a full product description and the retail price. One on one pitches are the best way to reach out to journalists and don’t just try once. Keep following up on different days and different times of the day. Emails can easily get overlooked.
Sending the product
Once you have the journalist engaged and keen to receive a sample, there are a few bits of information you’ll need. Make sure you get the correct address. If it’s a weighty product and the journalist is office based, see if they want it sent to their home address. Do explain why - you’ve then given them the option if they want to take it. It’s worth getting a contact number and email address too. If the product is being delivered by one of the big courier services they’ll be able to send delivery updates. Think too about how you send the product - do you want to include a personalised note thanking the journalist for their interest?
Following up on the samples
Always check the samples have been delivered. If for some reason they haven’t arrived - that can happen - then rearrange for a new sample to be sent out. Give the journalist a few weeks to sample the product and check in again to see what they thought and when they’re planning to run something.
Measuring success
Collating coverage from every sample review will give you an idea on how well the sampling has gone. You can take it one step further though - ask your client to see if there’s any uplift in traffic or sales on the product you’ve been sending out to press. That will give you a clear idea on true success.
100% review rate
The likelihood of every single journalist you send a sample to running a review or including it within a feature is slim. Not everyone will love what you send, it may not be right for the piece they’re working on at that time or they may simply run out of room. Never see this as a negative - the fact they called in the sample or were happy to take a look at what you were offering means they’re aware of the company you’re representing. You never know when they might call on you again, so don’t stop offering samples they may love.
If you’d like to find out more about a product sampling campaign and how it can help your business, please get in touch.
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