• Brands must put a price on everything, even on giveaways. 
• Users are more likely to take the giveaway seriously if they are paying for it. 

Brands must set a price on everything they offer, even on giveaways, because nobody values a free lunch; remember, even a small one creates value. Interestingly, setting a price on all items, even giveaways, might seem counterintuitive, but there’s a catch, as humans do not value that’s free. For example, they might not value free water, but if they are paying for it, they would value it till the last drop.

Brands generally employ the giveaway model to attract customers, build brand loyalty, and promote new products. However, this strategy has a 50-50 chance of working, as either customers would value these free offerings or might take them as cheap and would not value them. Brands should put a price tag even on giveaways instead of completely free. 

How Lay’s “Do Us a Flavor” Campaign Strategically Used “Set a Price Tag on All, Even Giveaways” Marketing Strategy

Experts say that Lay’s “Do Us a Flavor” campaign is a prime example of how brands can successfully employ the “setting a price on all, even giveaways” marketing strategy. The campaign promoted a grand prize of $1 Million, which might sound like a freebie or giveaway. Still, it cleverly incentivized customer participation and product purchases in more ways than one. 

Consumer Investment

The “Do Us a Flavor” campaign strategically facilitated consumer investment. The campaign’s success hinged on user-generated content consisting of flavor ideas. Consumers were prompted to submit an idea for a new flavor, which required no direct financial investment, but calls for an investment of time and creativity. 

Imagine if a company like Lay’s is selling a product with the flavor you suggested; wouldn’t it be a great feeling? The initial investment of time and effort fostered a sense of ownership, which made them more likely to advocate and promote their chosen flavor.

Voting Power & Brand Advocacy

While anyone could have submitted a flavor idea, the final winner was chosen based on a public vote. However, to let the public vote, they didn’t invest in running an entirely blown election but eased the voting process by coinciding with purchasing a bag of Lay’s chips. These bags came with special codes or promotions for specific finalists’ flavors. 

In essence, the consumers were “paying” to have their vote count toward their preferred flavor. By allowing the customers to participate in the campaign, everyday consumers suddenly became mini-brand ambassadors. They shared their flavor ideas with friends and family, creating buzz and excitement around the campaign. This level of organic promotion might not have happened without the initial investment of their creativity. 

The “Price” Tag

Lay’s “Do Us a Flavor” campaign didn’t involve a literal price tag for submitting a flavor or voting; it asked for “investment” from the consumers. When a customer invests something, either money, time, or creativity, they value the product or service more. Asking for their time and creativity in developing a unique and appealing flavor idea requires effort, which was the “Price Tag” in this campaign. 

Data suggests that intriguing users following a contest helps them stay informed and pushes them to actively vote on finalist flavors; this directly fuels customer engagement. The audience voted through codes on purchased chips, which increased potential purchases, brand loyalty, and sales. 

The Success Story of Lay’s “Do Us a Flavor” Campaign

Lay’s “Do Us a Flavor” campaign proved highly successful. It helped generate excitement, with consumer involvement creating a sense of anticipation and ownership around the new flavor launch. The campaign boosted sales, as the voting system was tied to purchases. 

Throughout the campaign ‘Lay’s’ gained valuable market insights, including consumer preferences, as they submitted flavor ideas. This allowed them to refine the existing flavors while working on new flavors the audience wanted. By facilitating customer participation, the brand established a deeper connection with the brand, fostering brand loyalty. 

In conclusion, Lay’s “Do Us a Flavor” campaign is believed to be a textbook example of how a brand can set a price on even free giveaways like winning a contest. By channeling the campaign around creativity, engagement, and potential purchases, they generated excitement while achieving significant sales growth and consumer insights. 

How Could You Employ “Set a Price on All, Even Giveaways” Marketing Strategy? 

As already discussed, how Lay’s, with its “Do Us a Flavor” marketing campaign, became a success; you too can employ this strategy. The core idea here is to set a price on everything you offer, be it your product or service or giveaways, as customers tend not to take things seriously if they get them for free. 

Traditionally, brands give away certain products or services for free to generate interest, build customer loyalty, and promote the launch. Many publication houses offer free reading materials, which often go unnoticed, but if they start pricing them at a minuscule amount or a symbolic amount, it makes the reader feel that they are getting something they paid for, making them take it seriously. 

Understanding the Potential Benefits

A relatively small price tag, even a dollar or less, can subconsciously suggest to the user that the item has more value than something offered to them for free. Recently, a man put his old refrigerator on the sidewalk with the tag Take it for free, and it remained on the sidewalk for weeks. The night he decided to put a price tag of $50 on the item, it was stolen, highlighting the value of setting a price. 

Reduced Number of Freebie Seekers

Also, a price tag, no matter how small it may be, significantly reduces the number of freebie seekers traffic. Many times, these freebie seekers would take your product or service only because it’s free, even if they don’t need it. Putting a price tag on might take your product or service to a target audience who wants to use it. 

Encouraging Additional Purchases

By asking customers to pay a small amount, even for giveaways, you can nudge them to add other items to their shopping cart. This could push them to reach a minimum purchase threshold required for free shipping, which many retailers offer over a set amount. 

Creating a Sense of Scarcity and Data Collection

If the giveaway requires a purchase, even in small quantities, like Lay’s bag of chips, to qualify, it creates a sense of scarcity. This could encourage users to take swifter actions from potential buyers. By adding these giveaways to their carts, even at zero cost, brands can ask buyers to provide their contact information. It could further be used in future marketing campaigns. 

Things to Consider Before Employing This Marketing Strategy

Before investing valuable time and resources into this marketing campaign, brands must consider the following essential factors. Transparency is very important, so try to communicate clearly with the users about the giveaway aspect and the minimal price involved. Basically, a customer must know why you are charging for a giveaway and what they would get in return. 

Target market selection is essential; this strategy would work better for the established brand with an existing loyal customer base. If your brand is relatively new to the market, asking something for freebies or giveaways might not be a great idea. 

Ensure the value perception is clearly defined and communicated to the target audience. Also, the symbolic price should be low enough not to discourage participation but high enough to create brand perceptions of added value. Striking the right balance is tricky but essential. 

Instead of putting the price on the giveaway, it can be for free with a minimum purchase requirement. Many toothpaste brands offer a free toothbrush with a large pack of toothpaste, which users find valuable. Also, if a brand could involve users in sharing the experience on social media to qualify for the giveaway, it could be an alternative. 

Pros and Cons of “Set a Price on All, Even Giveaways” Marketing Strategy

Similar to every other marketing strategy, this “Setting a Price on All, Even Giveaways” strategy has pros and cons, as discussed below. 

Pros

A small price tag could trick users into thinking that the item is relatively valuable compared to something being offered for free. This effort by the brand makes the giveaway more attractive and desirable. Also, a price, no matter how low, is capable of deterring people who are only interested in getting something for nothing. 

Adding a price to a brand could attract customers genuinely interested in your brand and not only in getting something for free. By adding a small amount to the giveaways, the brand can nudge the customers into buying more items. For instance, if a toothpaste brand provides a free toothbrush with the purchase of 250 gms, buyers might push to buy this rather than buying two 100 gms packs. 

Cons

This strategy could backfire if customers see it as misleading or deceptive, especially if the price is too close to the perceived value of the giveaway. For instance, a monthly newsletter subscription costs $10, and the giveaway price is $8. This could paint a deceptive image. However, if the price is $4, it could excite the users to sign up. 

Setting a price strategy might only work well for some products, especially high-end luxury items. For instance, if a brand like Louis Vuitton offered a free giveaway bag, the audience might find it cheap. Moreover, this strategy would work well for established brands but could be a struggle for newer brands. 

In the end, it can be said that the “Set a price on all, even giveaways” marketing strategy can act as a creative way to generate interest and boost sales. In a broader sense, it could help gain some advantages from giveaways while significantly reducing drawbacks. However, it’s essential to understand the nuances and intricacies of the strategy before implementation.