Testing free samples while grocery shopping, who doesn’t love that? COVID-19, that’s who. But in 2020, online creativity has proven that nothing is impossible! So what about samples that are just as delicious, but marketed 100% digital? That’s what happened when Pivott and seasoning brand Santa Maria joined forces to bring tasty samples exactly to where the right audience could be found: online. An all-round digital sampling campaign on different channels combined with two easy-to-use cashback platforms, ensured a sharp increase in brand attention, over 10.000 cash-backed products and of course, lots of happy taste buds!

For a period of six weeks at the end of 2020, customers could buy one popular spice and one tasty seasoning mix in stores and get both of them fully refunded. How did we get so many of them to request this refund? Well, the idea was simple. Show people an online ad that informs them about the running promotion. Have them click through to a straightforward platform where they can easily register their receipt. And finally, ensure they get their refund within six weeks.

In order to spice up as many meals of as many customers as possible, we ran our campaign on Instagram, Facebook and Audience Network apps, as well as on Google Search. On top of that, famous chef Sofie Dumont created two videos of recipes using the Santa Maria products, that were also shared online. Since there was no physical voucher involved, we had to make sure people could easily find their way back to the cashback platforms at any time. A pinned post and a customised banner on Santa Maria’s Facebook worked perfectly for this matter. Both platforms were also equipped with a handy little button to email the campaign to yourself, so you could save it for later.

Because two different types of products were sampled, two separate cashback platforms were created. Each had their own information, design and most importantly, a tailored amount of available samples. Because what did we find out? The higher priced product was refunded a lot more than the cheaper priced product. So even though it costs more to actually refund a higher priced sample, less media budget is needed as the promotion itself is more popular. Yup, another classic case of “less is more”!

During the campaign, taste buds were being spoiled to exquisite dishes everywhere, because Santa Maria’s products were flying off the shelves! In one month, over 9.000 refunds were requested. The campaign even went a little too well, as we had to stop half of the ads early due to stock being completely sold out. With 10 million impressions and more than 100.000 clicks, brand awareness was also well achieved. So in the end, Pivott not only provided customers with an early Christmas gift, but also ensured that Santa Maria could step into 2021 with a large new following that’s already looking forward to their next tasty recipe! Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas and to all a delicious new year!