19 Clever Trade Promotion Examples That Convert Browsers to Buyers

Product Posters

With low burden of maintenance, posters are easy ways to change product narrative in stores.  Capture an image of your product in action as a guaranteed quality to buyers.

11. Fender’s Signature Flea Bass

Fender promotes a new signature guitar modeled around Flea, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist.  By depicting this recognisable figure in the act of playing, an otherwise static image captures the movement and experience a bassist could expect with this product.  Lastly, that exact model is on display to demo an arm’s reach away from the poster. This picture turns Flea into an idea composed of his music and talent. Everyone wants to be him, play like him  With his bass located two feet away, they can.

12. Macy's Fit Guide

Macy’s distinguishes this poster from the waves of monotonous models by presenting an infographic -- a distinguished chart covering fits, styles, and all the basic information one must know to purchase a suit.  Pairing this information with otherwise standard model shots delivers the same effect as any traditional poster, but to an already attentive customer. You have the space to get creative with these installments.  Distinguish yourself as more than just another glamor shot.

Gifted Premiums

Premiums are supplementary gifts with purchase.  Many liquor promotions bundle cheap-to-produce shot glasses with their product.  Some clothing outlets gift complimentary tote bags with purchase. Here are some premiums that take “free gift” in a creative direction.

13. Fireball’s Party Bucket

Fireball Whiskey capitalized on the growing “miniatures” (nips) market by advertising the 50 ml bottles in bulk.  The Party Bucket houses 20 portable servings for $20, otherwise valued at two dollars a bottle when purchased individually.  As the packaging suggests, this bucket as a premium encourages the shots to be served in an ice bath. In practice, the premium masks a larger Buy One Get One campaign to push nip consumers from making smaller, incremental purchases to buying in bulk.  

14. Coors's 36 Pack Cooler

Coors uses a relatively cheap premium to change product narrative.  By packing their beers in a reusable travel cooler, the brand adopts a symbolic “take this on the road” approach to community drinking.  Portability implies tailgates, cookouts, the beach, any outdoor event. This premium is as practical as effective at shifting the conversation around its product.

Further, it encourages the upsell.  A buyer looking for a 24-pack will likely find himself walking out with twelve more beers.  Lastly, Coors now has a walking billboard at those aforementioned social gatherings, breaking into the home in a way few brands manage.

Demonstrations and Samples

Strong displays put representatives on the frontlines to reshape product narrative.  Even the best salesman benefits from a little help. Here are some demonstrations and samples that leverage every possible asset to create a well-rounded shopping experience.

15. Sephora’s ModiFace

Sephora integrates seemingly-futuristic augmented reality technology in a new brand of virtual product demonstrations.  By using either your phone camera or an in-store station, customers scan their faces with intelligent 3D mapping software.  The ModiFace program then adds Sephora’s product line digitally. What lipstick is right for you? “Sample” hundreds of colors in an instant, all with zero product expense on Sephora’s end.

Many demonstrations struggle getting customers to visualize life with their product.  With ModiFace, Sephora takes the imagination out of this process.

16. Skout's Triple Threat

Skout supplements their sampling event with coupons and further markdowns to entice buyers.  Through a unified color scheme, this display table matches product branding well. The product line is cleanly displayed. The presence of mixing bowls creates a “homegrown” atmosphere, emphasizing the all-naturalness of their product opposed to seemingly industrialized alternatives that already riddle the market.  Where this promotion excels, though, is in its layering of promotions.

Brand Ambassadors have an easier time making sales when they leverage as much pricing incentive as possible. Skout did exactly that, with visible coupons and verbal promises of further markdowns -- winning sales and pushing for upsell.

17. Anything and Everything in Costco

Costco has built a reputation as the spot for free samples.  Similar to product demonstrations, free samples deliver a statement of promise.  Buy this cheese/juice/dip and expect this great flavor. Samples distinguish themselves by hacking into shoppers brains in two major ways.  

The “gift” of a free sample burdens shoppers with a sense of obligation.  “Since I took this, I owe them a purchase.” It’s a subliminal social pressure that brands capitalize on, especially with brand ambassadors present.  Second, people are usually hungry but rarely realize it. Even a small taste of food puts that hunger at the forefront of shoppers minds. Hungry shoppers have been proven to buy far more food than they need, boosting the likelihood of a “spur of the moment” purchase.

18. Hobbycraft’s Build-a-Slime

Hobbycraft ran these demonstrations on behalf of their brands.  While this is the retailer, not the merchandiser, heading this demonstration, Hobbycraft proved demonstrations can look different than the standard “individual speaks to a crowd.”  By gamifying the demonstration process, they nailed several keys to good demonstrations. This rebrand marketed glue as a fun, safe activity both inspired need in their audience and created a unique engagement point not soon forgotten.

19. Total Wine’s Sampling Class

Under the guise of a weekly wine tasting class, retailer Total Wine engages shoppers’ brains in the same way as Costco’s samples.  Everything from the general atmosphere, pre-booked seating, and implementation of authoritative wine-experts distract shoppers from the larger sales pitch.  

Total Wine places these rooms in the rear of the store, begging customers to explore their newfound skills as the walk past the store’s entire product line.  This is another example of retailers heading the promotional campaign, but it is no less a relevant example to several demonstration best practices.

All these promotions had a few common themes.  They all won for customer attention. They controlled product branding by clearly explaining how their product ought to be used.  They used unique engagement points to demand more from the customer than momentary focus. Keep these tips in mind as you construct your next trade promotion and watch your product fly off shelves.