Mass advertising is dying. Experienced consumers couldn't care less about commercials, ads, banners and other fancy wording and imagery that is forced upon them, so let's move on to more interesting ways of igniting conversations between corporations and consumers. We recently spoke about CUSTOMER MADE and NOUVEAU NICHE as powerful alternatives to archaic marketing thinking, but those concepts don't necessarily introduce consumers to your brand or your new product. Sure, much has already been said about search-based advertising and initiating word of mouth as new (and certainly more relevant) ways to replace mass advertising, but TRENDWATCHING.COM wants to add a third alternative: TRYVERTISING , which is all about consumers becoming familiar with new products by actually trying them out.

Think of TRYVERTISING as a new breed of product placement* in the real world, integrating your goods and services into daily life in a relevant way, so that consumers can make up their minds based on their experience, not your messages.



So what does TRYVERTISING incorporate? Think 'obvious' activities like handing out product samples, and more subtle, integrated product placements that are part of an experience or solution. It's everything from new-style sachets containing single servings of liquid products, to hotels partnering with luxury carmakers to offer high end model test drives to guests during their stay.

First, a bit more about the 'old' TRYVERTISING that we're all familiar with: think free shampoo samples in magazines, or a point of sale promotion stand in a supermarket. The challenge here has always been a certain lack of relevance: there's no guarantee samples are tried out at the right time, in the right spot, and by the right target audience.

One clever solution to this distribution dilemma: Tremor , P&G's gargantuan TRYVERTISING project. In only two years time, this focus group cum sample/coupon dispersing network signed up 280,000 US (!) teens, ages 13 to 19, who actively promote new products to their peers, and may be asked to place coupons and product samples in living rooms, schools and any other relevant location. Next? Tremor Moms , of course!



Another distribution shift within the world of old-school TRYVERTISING : websites that enable consumers to actively get their hands on free stuff: see TheFreeSite.com ,www.startsampling.com ,www.freechannel.net ,www.freebielist.com ,www.freebiesplanet.com ,www.gratis.nl ,www.alles-kostenlos.de ,www.yes-its-free.com and so on. Here too, the opportunity to disperse samples to a slightly more relevant audience (based on recipients' profiles) is tempting, though the current emphasis on 'free' may limit diversity within the try-out audience.




HOTELS
Which companies are already seriously into TRYVERTISING ? Let's start with hotels, which are rapidly turning into the number one spot for new-style product placement. No wonder, as guests' activities mirror their domestic lives, minus, one may hope, pilfering the mini-bar (another great TRYVERTISING spot by the way!). And it's no longer just the branded Aveda toiletries in Westin bathrooms; luxury automakers, for example, are teaming up with hoteliers to introduce guests to high-end cars during their stay.




Mercedes-Benz . The Ritz Carlton offers a Key to Luxury program in cooperation with Mercedes Benz, and recently added the CLS500 to the mix. The package includes deluxe guest room accommodations on The Ritz-Carlton Club Level; the use of a CLS500 with unlimited mileage for the duration of the guest's stay; full tank of gas each morning and overnight valet parking. According to Ritz Carlton, dozens of guests decided to buy a new Merc based on these integrated test-drives.

Maybach . Mercedes-Benz's super-luxury brand Maybach has placed specially built model 62s at unidentified high-end hotels in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington. Selected guests will be allowed to take the wheel of the USD 385,000 cars. A far cry from shampoo samples, but hey, "one generation's TRYVERTISING indulgence becomes the next generation's TRYVERTISING necessity" (loosely quoting James Twitchell ).




Needless to say, TRYVERTISING in hotels doesn't only work for cars: furniture deals are equally popular. Witness Swedish IKEA and French Etap Hotels partnering to equip all 60 Etap budget hotels in Germany with an IKEA room and a public quiet space, also furnished by IKEA. And Radisson's deal last year with Select Comfort Corporation will mean that SLEEP NUMBER beds will available in all Radisson resorts and hotels in the US, Canada and the Caribbean.

Other examples of hotel TRYVERTISING include the Playstation bar in Brighton's Hotel Pelirocco and the Heineken room in The Winston in Amsterdam, as featured in last month's BRANDED BRANDS update.





Next step for hotels that already operate as stylish curators of other companies' products? More and more establishments are selling their OWN wares in a natural TRYVERTISING setting, from Kimpton Hotels' in-room catalogue, to Sofitel's SoBoutique collection, listing the 180 most-requested items from its 180 hotels. Why does TRENDWATCHING.COM feel we haven't seen anything yet?


BARS AND RESTAURANTS
Our sister publication Springwise New Business Ideas recently reported on Swedish Vinotek and San Francisco based VinoVenue . Both combine the concepts of a wine tasting bar and self dispensing machines (basically, wine jukeboxes) in a cool setting, enticing consumers to buy a chargeable smart card which will give them access to dozens of bottles of wine including elaborate information. The machines dispense a glass of the chosen wine for a couple of bucks/euros. It's all about choice and trying before you buy: VinoVenue's automated wine stations offer more than 100 wines from around the world, all available per glass and bottle. Smart cards are not only used for payment, they also track which wines have been tasted, facilitating future purchasing decisions. Paid-for TRYVERTISING : what more could you wish for?




FROM CRUISE SHIPS TO SKI RESORTS
Can you say 'captive audience'? One thing most semi-public spaces have in common is a captive audience, often there by their own free will. Which is where Vacations Connections comes in, peddling an organized approach to in-hut, in-room product placement of samples targeted at vacationers. In their own words: "Give your target your product sample when they are most likely to try it, and associate unforgettable memories to the experience. Your target consumer is greeted with your product sample on the first day of their vacation. At a time when they are without their "stuff" from home and will have up to 7 days to form a new habit with your brand." Carnival Cruise is a client, as is Absolut, Colgate-Palmolive, Kraft Foods and Unilever Group. Planes, trains and rental cars to follow?


EVENTS
Move over event-based advertising and sponsoring and make way for empathy & relevance-inspired EVENT-TRYVERTISING ? Check out Nike's Runner Lounge in Vancouver (see also our POP-UP RETAIL update below) where runners preparing for the Vancouver half marathon can rendezvous for a run, get free massages, drinks and snacks and perhaps most significantly, test-drive Nike's line of running shoes.

Or consider the TRYVERTISING circus that descended upon this year's Sundance Film Festival: Starbucks sent employees up and down Main Street with brewing coffee kegs, HP had a photo bar at their Main Street lounge where cameras and printers were set up for visitors to be photographed against a selection of faux Sundance backgrounds, and all of the services, screenings and parties around town made it very convenient for VW, Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac to showcase their newest models by offering a free shuttle service for festival VIPs to the Sundance location of their choice. (Source: TrendCentral.)


WAITING AREAS
Who likes to wait? Help consumers overcome boredom and throw in some empathy as well! Last year, Senseo Coffee Machines installed coffee machines at a number of Dutch bus and tram stops, offering waiting passengers a cup of fresh brewed coffee. Perhaps not the most spectacular TRYVERTISING stunt ever, but ten times more relevant to consumers than a billboard trying to show the aromas.

SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES
More Nike and TRYVERTISING : this February, the Nike Fitness Academy set up shop in the fitness room of the General William Lyon University Center for the third time, offering a series of free workout classes. The event is taught by certified instructors from the Nike Fitness Team and features classes such as Xtreme Step, Nike Rockstar Workout and Cardio Striptease. Needless to say, participants can try on the latest models and styles of shoes while they work out. (Source: Daily Trojan News.)

OPPORTUNITIES
As you can tell from the above, TRYVERTISING is more about mindset than science: will you continue to spend the majority of your marketing budget on disliked, message-based advertising, or will you shift considerable amounts of money to a more relevant, empathic, try-out approach? If you feel particularly creative this month, why not scan www.trendwatching.com/trends and make a case for a truly original TRYVERTISING campaign? Incorporate mega-consumer trends like GENERATION C ,READY-TO-KNOW ,CUSTOMER MADE , and pick the best TRYVERTISING examples from the above and from closely related marketing trends like BRANDED BRANDS ,INSPERIENCES , and POP-UP RETAIL .
Then leave your desk or home office, bring a notepad/PDA and camera, and find your own new-style product placement locations that will surprise your potential customers with relevance and empathy: may we suggest that you cover (at least) bars/cafes, clubs, holiday resorts, cruise ships, events, sporting events, parks, public transport (buses, trams, subways, trains, taxis, ferries, waiting rooms), airports, lounges, cinemas, theaters, theme parks, concerts, beaches, parks, planes, shops, supermarkets, shopping malls, hospitals, schools, universities, office spaces, gyms, conference venues, restaurants, and hotels. Don't forget: if YOU won't do it, someone else will, and customer expectations are easily set. So just give it a try?;- )

Publisher: Trendwatching
One of the world's fastest growing trend agencies, independent and opinionated TRENDWATCHING.COM scans the globe for the most promising consumer trends, insights and related hands-on business ideas. So whether youre a marketer, management consultant, head of a start-up, student, researcher, journalist, business development director, fellow trend watcher, or just interested in staying on top of the latest trends, TRENDWATCHING.COM will instantly bring you up-to-date by getting the worlds most promising trends right in front of you
Web: www.trendwatching.com
Published: march 2005
Market: mens womens
Region: usa

DISCLAIMER
Information in this report relies on sources including Trade Shows, Associations, News Releases, Government Reports and other public sources. Infomat can accept no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information or for loss or damage caused by any use thereof.