Sampling in supermarkets & retail stores
Whether it’s a new chocolate dessert, mature cheddar, snack bar or seasonal sales drive for an alcoholic spirit, we deliver high quality, engaging and consumer facing in-store product sampling campaigns. And it’s not just staff that we provide.
As experts in in-store sampling we provide hundreds of brand-immersed sampling and demonstration staff for clients from John Lewis to Asda, across a variety of sectors and categories. Wearable technology, alcoholic spirits, snacking, dairy, household cleaning… you name it we’ve helped sell thousands of units of stock to consumers on the very same day right from the shelves by generating greater brand awareness and driving product trial.
Supermarket sampling is one of the most direct drive-to-purchase forms of sampling we do. It increases awareness and visibility at the point of purchase but allows allows physical engagement; that could mean tasting a new food or drink product or taking part in an in-store demonstration. This can be achieved with two types of set up:
In-store sampling in the supermarket aisle is an effective way to drive trial and purchase in the proximity of the product. It might be in the chilled, frozen, ambient, dairy or any particular category aisle in the store and will be typically carried out by one sampling staff team member and a simple branded table or pop-up stand. It’s relatively low-cost, located at point of sale and is relevant to the product being sampled.
Supermarket foyer sampling generally requires a more engaging consumer experience. We’ve created campaigns for Pringles and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway where an interactive brand experience is created and installed in the store or shop foyer. This enables the brand team to target and capture consumers as they enter or exit the supermarket. It’s a more expensive way of sampling the product but it creates a bigger buzz, has a higher footfall due to location in the store and much greater visibility. Plus the quality of conversations and dwell time with consumers are increased.
Supermarket car park sampling spaces are relatively inexpensive. They provide a good base for capturing shoppers going in and out of the store and generally have a larger footprint available. This means we can fit a branded vehicle, experiential pop-up gazebo or large interactive brand experience in the space. The downside is that nine times out of ten there’ll be no overhead cover so we’re at the mercy of the great British weather. But the good old fully branded 3m x 3m pop-up gazebo is cost effective and sturdy enough to last a good few weeks. Check out the photo above of the Emmerdale McCain tour we helped manage.
As you can see from the photos above, the usual go-to item for cost effective, pop-up sampling is the branded 3m x 3m gazebo. Whilst these are inexpensive and pretty disposable (recyclable) once a campaign has finished, there is another solution. Our sampling pod hire service. Measuring 2m x 2m x 1m our pods are self-contained, have LED ceiling lighting, a power source, under counter storage, are lockable and weather resistant. So if you’re looking for a fully brand-able, more eye-catching and sturdy alternative to a pop-up gazebo give us a call. You can see our pods in action for Richmond Sausages and Wall’s here.
