New Try.ie City Card Series!

We've been working hard designing our new line of city cards for try.ie! Take a quick look at the finished product below! 

What is try.ie you ask? Well,  were an online sampling project launched to give shoppers access to free product samples. You request what you wan to try, and we'll get it to your door within the week. We've been knocking on your favorite brands' doors and asking for free samples of their products so that you can try a variety of products without wasting your money! Invite all your friends to join the try before you buy project. The more members, the better the samples!

You can find the city card series in The Picture Works' City Card Racks in bars, restaurants and cafes around Dublin next week. Collect them all, spread the word, and don't forget to register yourself for the try before you buy project! 

London's Calling!

We've been busy lately putting together our latest sampling experience! Watch the video below and see how our first sampling event went on Friday. 

From London Town to our Town, come raise your glasses to Beefeater's Dry Gin with us!

What Do You Think Of Our New City Cards?

With the new year coming up we've decided to launch a new line of city cards! We're hoping our vivid red cards will catch your eye in our City Card Racks located in pubs, restaurants and cafes all over the country. Collect them all, give them to your friends, use them at bookmarks or stick them on your wall-- they're free and for you to do as you please with!

We're working hard to get you a variety of free product samples to deliver straight to your homes all over Ireland. Register your interest with us and join the conversation between brand and consumer!

Free products, free samples, freebies, or giveaways. Whatever you like to call it they are loved by all. Spread the word and share the love for Try.ie! 

McDonald's Dollar Drink Day

McDonald's proves once again that they know how to make us smile with two fascinating and original ways of handing out drink samples in Canada. 

Many might think it's well below freezing in Canada year round but it's actually not. Last summer Canada experienced a heat wave with temperatures hitting high-30s. Individuals in other countries may not have skipped a beat in that type of heat, but Canadians were melting. McDonald's took advantage of this opportunity to promote 'Dollar Drink Day' and hand out 250 free ice-cold drinks on the streets with the help of a remote control car. Watch how they made 1000s of Canadians smile with one little red and yellow car.

McDonald's took it a step further to promote their 'Dollar Drink Day' by building an ice sculpture and freezing $1 Canadian coins (Loonies) in the shape of golden arches in the ice. They placed the ice sculpture in a busy park and watched thirsty Canadians chip away at the melting ice to get their free dollar for a drink! 

While they make their samplers work a little, it sure created a buzz around town! 

Two great examples of changing the way product sampling is executed. We'd love to see some creative ideas like this around Ireland.

If you like trying products for free don't forget to register your interest with try.ie. We'll be putting up free product sampling for you to choose from soon enough! You're opinions are worth a lot, so we'd love you to join the conversation today!

The Hummus Stunt

At Try.ie we believe that a great way for brands to prove they are the best, is to let you try their products! When Hummus Achla had trouble convincing people they were just as good as the authentic hummus restaurants make, they did just that; let potential clients try it! Hummus Achla does a great job at creating the ultimate 'try it first' brand experience we've seen to date!

In Israel, hummus is loved by all. No one can agree on which is the best but what they can agree on is that packaged hummus is not as good as the restaurant made hummus.Hummus Achla, the no.2 packaged brand, decided to change that perception.

What did they do to change everyone's perceptions?

Opened a 'pay by taste' authentic hummus restaurant in the heart of Tel Aviv and serve only Hummus Achla without customers knowing it. The 'pay by taste' concept got everyone talking in Tel Aviv talking-- even the food critics! For two weeks the place was flooded with customers who decided to pay an average of 21% over what the product was actually worth. 

After the two weeks were over, they launched a public campaign through television, internet, newspapers and social media telling everyone about the stunt. Reactions were priceless and sales of the product skyrocketed by 71%. 

Watch the stunt here;

If you'd like to try free product samples visit our website at www.try.ie and register yourself for our 'try before you buy' project! Products samples will be launched soon!

TMall E-magine The Future

While doing some research, Try.ie stumbled upon an extremely fascinating brand experience that incorporates social media, upcoming futuristic technologies and the merging of the online and offline worlds.

A Chinese company blended the best of Amazon and Ebay and launched TMall. It faced the issue of differentiating itself from it's sister company Taobao.com and its biggest competitor 360buy.com. 

They called asked Jack Morton to launch a complete brand experience that would; 

• Re-position the brand as the leader in exclusive home of premium brands 
• Celebrate its 4th anniversary 
• Launch the new logo
• Get 1.3 Billion consumers excited about TMall.com

As you can imagine, this is quite a few people to get talking. They decided to create a two story high, interactive shopping experience, which featured 8 different retail stores and 8 different consumer-inspired living spaces. 

Not only did they build the interactive structure, but they equipped all the visitors with the digital tools needed to document their experience through traditional, social and online media forums. Nine-hundred visitors entered the space where everything they touched was interactive and connected to the virtual world. 

The response they got from this brand experience was extraordinary! 

• 25+ million views on YouKu
• 3000+ posts on Weibo
• Coverage on 10+ TV stations
• 50+ Chinese newspapers covered the experience
• and 1000+ media outlets wrote about the experience

Brands have learnt that they have to keep raising the bar to keep the attention of their consumers, differentiate themselves and get conversations started between themselves and consumers. 

TMall and Jack Morton have done an incredible job finding a balance between reality and online content. The technologies incorporated into the mall are all things we should get use to seeing in the future. For example trying on clothe sin the future may be as easy as looking into the mirror and moving our arms.

Each activity engaged in or item picked up by a consumer had the ability to be returned to the virtual world through social media. This revolving circle enabled the brand to invite an exclusive 900 people to the experience but got billions to notice them, and experience the brand through stories shared by those who attended.

Goes to show the power of social media and brand experience go hand in hand in today's world!

Watch a short video on the brand experience here;

Tmall E-magine the Future from Jack Morton on Vimeo.

Don't forget that we have created our own online sampling wold-- and everything is free! Register for the Try Before You Buy project by clicking here.

#tweetacoffee to @try_ie

Twitter and Starbucks have recently paired up and launched a 'social gifting campaign' enabling consumers to send $5 Starbucks gift cards through twitter to their friends. 

The 'Tweet-a-Coffee' promotion campaign requires that you sign up for a Starbucks and Twitter account and link the two. Once the two are linked you compose a tweet that looks like this;

#tweetacoffee to @[your friend here] 

Once the tweet is sent out, it will automatically send your friend a $5 gift card in which they can load onto a Starbucks card, print out the gift card, or just show the email to the Batista. The two companies have made the deal a little better by giving the first 100,000 customers to Tweet a Coffee using a Visa card a $5 card back in return. 

From a product sampling point of view, Starbucks has found an ingenious way to get more people sampling their addictive coffee without handing it out for free. It's a way of getting their die-hard loyal customers to pass on their addiction to others, growing their following and putting a smile on people's faces at the same time.

Watch the video for a visual representation of the gift sharing promotions campaign process;

These are the types of wonderful small gestures that can make someone's day. If anything can put a smile on someone's face-- it's a free Pumpkin Spiced Latte! 

Starbucks and Twitter both have brands that exude the notion of sharing ideas and making connections-- weather that be across the table from each other over a coffee or on a social media platform. This new type of 'small gestures' campaign is one we'd like to see adopted by more corporations. It's a simple way to make the world a better place, while letting others experience your brand's corporate values and physical products/services.

If anyone feels like sending a pumpkin spice latte our way our twitter name is try_ie, we promise to pay it forward! Follow us here. 

Rice Krispies Scares Vendor Prank

Last week, Rice Krispie Squares decided to get into the Halloween spirit by giving out free samples to students at DIT and shoppers in the CHQ. 

They were more than happy to press the button to sample some of Kelloggs new treats and hoping that the machine still had a few left inside. When they reached in to get their treat they got a little more than they had asked for...

Little did they know, comedian Marcus Olaoire was hiding inside the machine waiting to grab the arms and hands of unsuspecting samplers. Watch the video below to see peoples reactions;

   

Would you have gone back to get your treat? Comment and let us know!

It's a great example of the type of user engagement and brand experience we are able to develop and execute here at Try.ie. Work with us to put your brand in consumers hands and together let's get them talking!

How Far Would You Go?

As we launch try.ie we are quickly learning that people will do pretty much anything for free products. How far would you go for a free sample?

We've stumbled upon a great example of experiential marketing executed by Fantastic Delights in Australia. Fantastic Delights constructed a real life laboratory (they called it their 'sampling lab') to see just how far humans would go to get a free sample of their vintage onion and cheese snacks.  

Willing participants dressed up as mice and ran in a giant wheel until the machine decided to reward them with a free snack sample. If they stopped running or fell they had to restart the entire process. Most who entered the wheel didn't let their clumsiness stop them from getting back up and trying over and over again until they finally reached their prize. 

Enjoy a laugh by watching the video below and let us know if this is something you would do for a free sample of Delites!

Just for the record, Try.ie will give you free samples without making you do anything physically exhausting, embarrassing or as public as this stunt is. All you have to do is register with us at www.try.ie and request which samples you'd like delivered to your door! Click here to register!

Melbourne's Remote Control Tourist

Visit Melbourne has pioneered one of the most amazing ways to let the world experience Melbourne first hand from the comfort of their homes-- wherever in the world home is!

They have taken the brand sampling experiences to a whole other level by letting the public control what the virtual tourist eats or drinks, what sites they visit, who they interact with, and where they walk throughout Melbourne all through Facebook and Twitter. 

Four willing virtual tourists took to the streets of Melbourne over 5 days walking a total of 109 kms, drinking 34 coffees, checking in at 321 locations and getting 8726 requests through social media!

The entire journey was live streamed and is available to watch by clicking here. Relive the journey and experience Melbourne for yourself!

Wouldn't this be a lovely idea to let the world sample Ireland and give them a taste of what the country is really about?

What kind of things would you make the virtual tourist do? Comment below!

Check out Some of Our Recent Sampling Events!

Go to www.obrienswine.ie for more information!

In-store sampling events are one of the best ways for consumers to discover your product, educate themselves, and try the product in the way it was intended to be served or used. This ultimately ensures that the brand's best possible foot is put forward and that the product is displayed in the best possible light. Sampling imprints a controlled and thought-out impression on the consumer. 

Advertising speaks to consumers, but sampling gives consumers an experience to talk about to others! 

Watch the video below to get a better idea of the brand experiences created for the Zaconey sampling events done in clubs and pubs across Ireland. The sampling event set out to exude the essence, positivity and flavor of the 1950s in America!

Did you catch our Zaconey sampling at O'Brien's Wine shops in Dublin this past week? Leave a comment and let us know what you thought!

If not, find the girls in O'Brien Wine shops in Dublin this month introducing consumers to Zaconey - a new crafted spirit with a twist of American bourbon! Enjoy Zaconey and Cola over ice with a twist of lemon, and remember to enjoy it responsibly!

On The Hunt For Product Samples!

Picture courtesy of blog.freepeople.com

We want to make Try.ie your ultimate go-to website for free product samples. In order for this to happen, we need input from YOU -- our tryers! 

Have a makeup brand you want to try? Let us know!

Chocolate brand you don't why to buy in case you hate it? Let us know!

Class you don't want to commit paying 10 sessions for but would love to try it? Let us know!

Email info@try.ie with your suggestions. 


*** Don't forget to register with us today! ***

The 'Try Before You Buy' Project.

Register at Try.ie and Start Requesting Your Free Product Samples Today!

Love trying new products?

Love it even more when they are free? Then try.ie is for you!

Try.ie gives you the power to try a variety of product samples. Just register on www.try.ie, request the samples you'd like and we'll get to your door within the week! Once you've received the sample, try it out! Afterwards, log back into your account and let us know what you think! 

If you love it, go out and buy it. If you don't, try something else!

How will you know if you like it without trying it? You have nothing to lose.

Step outside of your comfort zone, try something new, and save your money for products you know you'll love. 

Try before you buy, join the project today!