Industry Insights: Why the unexpected approach is key to making an impact when sending mailers and samples.
Good morning!
Sending samples for media to try is a pretty big part of the outreach efforts, but how you do it can make a big difference.
Recently, a beloved cheese brand reached out with a really fun offer — and a great idea that others can learn from.
The concept behind the pitch was that this can be a hectic time and it can get exhausting to decide what to make for dinner each and every night - so they offered to take the stress out of one night by sending dinner using their cheeses.
The email gave choices of various entrees, an appetizer, dessert and even a drink choice. All I had to do was be home to receive, make some finishing touches to the dish, serve, and enjoy.
They then delivered the dinner on the designated date and time to my door, complete with reheating and garnishing instructions — and I got to enjoy cheesy enchiladas with two guests — of course, with said cheese brand’s products as a central ingredient.
This was a really fun way of showcasing their product (and actually a concept I saw happen a few times over the past few years with various food and beverage brands, an idea I’m sure partially born out of the virtual dinner parties and cocktail hours we all did over the pandemic.
Takeaway from this?
It’s not that if you have a pasta sauce brand you need to send a journalist a readymade lasagna using that pasta sauce — though you could. But I’ve also seen pasta sauce brands sending journalists the ingredients they need to make their own lasagna at home using said pasta sauce.
The takeaway is: Think out of the box, be creative, be interesting. Everyone can send a mailer or samples. That’s fine and great. But it’s also the norm, and the expected.
Do the unexpected. It’s the best way to make an impact.
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