A Twist on Shopper Marketing

The Handit2 Network offers a unique twist on traditional shopper marketing tactics. Instead of targeting shoppers while they are in the store (i.e. Walmart) or at home, we target nearby small business (i.e. daycares), with the goal of driving the small business's customers to a nearby Walmart to make a purchase. The advantage of this strategy over other sample/coupon distribution strategies is fourfold:

·  reach a highly targeted demographic group (in the case of daycare, virtually 100% moms)

·  reach them near stores where your product can be purchased

·  does not require a small fortune (as direct mail does) in shipping

·  avoid reaching...

o    the wrong demographic (in-store sampling poses a filtering problem -- if an older man asks for a sample meant for moms he will likely get one)

o    freebie seekers (all web-based opt-in programs inject non-loyal consumers into your ROI, making it more difficult for the effort to payout)

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This busy mom is encouraged to shop at
Walmart through account-specific coupons and
signage on display at her child's daycare. 

Hand it to Mom Case Study - Imagine a busy mom leaving work to pick up her toddler from daycare. As she steps into the daycare lobby, she is surprised to see an attractive display for a product that can simplify her busy life. She spends a few minutes chatting with the director and another parent about the product and eagerly takes a sample and coupon. The display mentions the product is available at Walmart and that store is right around the corner. She plans a trip to Walmart to buy it. 

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Features of the Handit2 Network shopper marketing model:

·  Ability to select sampling venues within a few miles of any retailer chain specified.

·  Ability to select venues that best attract your target demographic.

·  Hand a sample to a surprised, highly targeted group of consumers who are going about their typical day.

·  Drive incremental traffic to your retail partners using account-specific signage and/or coupons.

·  Avoid the freebie seekers who register online or seek out samples (ANY samples) at the store because they are free.

Reaching Moms of Infants

Do you have a great product targeted to the moms of infants? Historically, the Handit2 Network’s Hand it to Mom offering has focused primarily on reaching moms of young children through daycare centers and pediatrician offices nationwide. Over the past three years we have expanded our network to include other highly targeted venues reaching moms of infants including: 

Mom happily accepts a product sample
at the end of a Mommy & Me fitness class.

1.  Daycare centers with infant rooms 
2.  Pediatrician offices 
3.  Birth centers 
4.  Diaper services 
5.  Mommy & Me classes 

             - Fitness

             - Baby yoga

             - Baby massage

             - Infant music

             - Infant swimming

             - Breastfeeding classes and consultants

             - Many more

These venues are eager to receive your sample or coupon to distribute to their customers.  They can be segmented by proximity to key retailers, by household income level, and/or by other demographic or geographic parameters to ensure your samples/coupons are put directly into the hands of your ideal consumer – Mom – in the locations that make the most sense for your business.

This mom and baby team receive a 
sample after their swimming class.

What is Venue Based Sampling Anyway?

Getting samples into the hands of prospective customers is a tried and true strategy for generating business. However, with the large number of ‘freebie seekers’ (we call them ‘freces’!) in today’s technology-driven culture, many sampling efforts are a waste of marketing dollars. It is imperative to get your samples into the hands of your ideal consumer, rather than giving them to someone who is simply looking to get something (anything actually) for free.

This client was interested in reaching
middle school kids and/or their parents.

If sampling is in your company’s marketing strategy and you want to avoid the freces, then venue based sampling must be considered. Venue based sampling is a method in which samples are delivered to brick-and-mortar establishments in order to reach a highly concentrated group of your target demographic. Examples of our carefully curated roster of venues are Daycare Centers, Birth Centers, Pediatric Offices, College Recreation Centers, Dance Studios, Martial Arts Studios, Health Clubs and Senior Centers. In all of these venues, opt-in is provided by the venue director/owner/manager, but the end recipients (your target consumers), are not requesting samples; they are simply the lucky recipient of an unexpected gift that (if properly targeted) happens to be completely relevant to their life and lifestyle.

Because the venues we work with generally serve a very specific segment of the population, samples are able to reach your ideal target consumer without wasting samples on irrelevant categories of consumers. Venues already have a pre-existing relationship with your target consumer so when those venues opt-in to take part in a sampling promotion, their customers truly consider your product, since it has come from such a reliable source. And, since the venues are providing the space and manpower, venue based sampling is significantly less expensive than other options available to you such as direct mail, street team or retailer sampling.

Spotlight on Moms with Infants

[The Handit2 Network specializes in reaching any niche demographic no matter how unusual or obscure. For a complete list of our existing channels click here.] 
In an effort to reach moms in more and more relevant places, we are thrilled to announce the expansion of our Hand it to Mom offerings to three channels that reach moms of infants: labor/delivery facilities; daycare facilities with infant rooms; and 'mommy & me classes'.
Labor/Delivery Facilities - Reach brand new parents when they are leaving the hospital/birth center with their newborn!  The birth of a newborn offers a fantastic opportunity for marketers to reach new parents when they first begin to formulate parenting brand decisions.  Hospital labor/delivery units and birth centers provide unique 'first points of entry' in reaching these parents.  All Hand it to Mom sampling opportunities are 'solo', i.e. we will reach out to labor/delivery facilities on behalf of your brand (and your brand only) and request that facility managers opt-in to participate in the sampling program.  Your samples will be distributed via the nursing desk, by hand by support staff, and/or via each facility's existing procedures when discharging new parents with their newborn. 
Daycare Centers with Infant Rooms -  Daycare centers and preschools have both been core channels for the Handit2 Network since our inception.  These channels provide marketers with the opportunity to reach the parents of toddlers (age 2-5) in a highly targeted, controlled environment, where every parent visits twice a day, and every parent has a mailbox! 
But what if your target is moms with children younger than age 2?  Approximately 10% of all daycare centers nationwide are licensed for infant care, with the typical license good for 12 to 24 children age 2 or younger.  Over the past four years we have been tracking 'infant care licensing' information for daycares nationwide, allowing us to offer 'infant daycare' as a channel for sampling.  While the number of infant parents reached per venue is quite low, the targeting is exceptional, as you will reach 100% parents of infants via this channel.  Your samples will be distributed via the front desk, by hand by support staff, and/or via parent mailboxes. 
Mommy & Me Classes - This channel offers access to moms while they are participating in a wide variety of classes/activities with their infant, including kid fitness, mommy fitness, swimming, yoga, breastfeeding, music, arts/crafts, and many more.  The venues that host these events include standalone kid fitness centers (see My Gym above), baby boutiques, YMCAs, JCCs, community rec centers, and public pools to name a few.  Your samples will be distributed via the front desk, check-in area, and/or via class instructors. 
If you are interested in learning more about our marketing services targeting moms, contact us at info@handit2.com, or 303-532-4437.

My Gym Partnership

We are excited to announce our new sampling partnership with My Gym, a children's  fitness center chain with 155 locations nationwide.  My Gym offers physical education/pre-gymnastics classes for children age 6 weeks to 13 years old, with most clientele in the 2-5 year old age range.  My Gym facilities offer a fantastic opportunity for brands to reach moms and their children with samples and coupons while participating in fitness activities, 'mommy & me' classes, summer camps, martial arts, birthday parties, games, and music activities.  Your brand can be featured before, during or after classes as well as highlighted at the front desk.  "Offering our customers samples/coupons through the Handit2 Network is a win-win situation" says Matt Hendison, Chief Marketing Officer for My Gym.  "It brings added value to our customers which in turn encourages them to come back again and again to see what other new products we'll be offering them."