If you twitter at all you’ve seen the sudden popularity of “#moonfruit” which is a giveaway for a new MacBook every day for the next 10 days. It’ll be interesting to see how well this campaign works for Moonfruit. They’re definitely gaining followers on Twitter, and generating a lot of buzz, but that surge of popularity could wither as quickly as it grew. Time will tell if the campaign generates new business for Moonfruit. The campaign is definitely a neat way to use Twitter for marketing, and I’m sure other businesses will follow this model.
The big question is: Do giveaways work? It certainly is an easy way to gain attention for a brand, product, service or new business. But, does that attention turn into sales? New customers? Does the giveaway build some sort of brand affinity with all the good vibes it’s generating?
I think in a lot of cases the giveaway attracts mostly people looking for a freebie, a handout, something for nothing. These are people who are not looking to become a customer.
It also attracts a lot of people who are already customers and looking for a freebie, too.
Giveaways certainly generate buzz, but do they generate sales?
What do you think? Giveaways good or bad…or something else entirely?
3 Comments
July 3, 2009 at 1:06 am
Hi there
First time to this blog. I would have to say that give aways do work, as they bring back existing clients as well as bring in new ones, and there is nothi8ng better than getting something for nothing everyone like something thats free and its a great way of advertising too.
July 3, 2009 at 5:25 am
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July 6, 2009 at 11:26 am
I think giveaways work, but they need to be done with a little strategy. Freebies with the potential for upselling, selling accessories, or continuing service seem like great ideas. However, with Apple’s sudden push to be more mainstream, how many people just want a Macbook Pro and will never even think about designing a website? Hopefully they get enough buzz that it translates into a profit and some new customers!