Sampling the Right Way

Vibgyor Brand Services, a leading experiential marketing company in India, has introduced an innovative concept “Go Try Marketing,” which is a multi-brand sampling platform, helps retailers reaching the right audience. In candid conversation with Payal Gulati,  Dhruv Kalra, Director, Go Try Marketing, talks about the unique concept, and how it helps connecting with the right target group.

( Payal Gulati): Please take us through the concept of Go Try Marketing. How it works?
(Dhrav Kalra): Go Try, a multi-brand sampling platform, is making an attempt to break away the conventional routes of sampling products to consumers. We take basic details of consumers and based on their demographic profile gives them the products they are eligible for. To get new samples next time, consumers must record their feedback.

(PG): What was the rationale behind launching such concept?    
(DK): Over the years, we realized that a lot of brands we work with require large scale sampling of the new products or variants they launch. The sampling methods being used by them were very ad hoc and led to huge wastage and inefficiencies. Any on-ground sampling plans customized for the clients worked out to be very expensive and many a times did not prove financially viable. It triggered the seed of Go Try.

(PG):How do you ensure the sample should reach the right audience?
(DK): We record basic demographics of consumers – age, gender, income group, occupation etc. Choice of samples is done by the system, based on the customer profile.

(PG): What kind of technology is being used at Go Try?

(DK): Go Try is an intelligent sampling mechanism that has technology at its core. The system has been specifically designed to capture data of consumers, match product samples to their profile, record consumer feedback and share updates with brand managers in an automated process. It also helps customers check their transactions history, update their profile and know what all new products they are eligible for.

(PG): What all sectors/companies are you dealing with?                          
(DK): Our model is best suited for Food & Beverages (F&B) and personal care sectors. We have provided our services to multiple brands of large companies like Unilever, L'Oreal, Cadbury, Dabur, PepsiCo, Reckitt Benkiser and Capital Foods, among others.

(PG):How much you have to invest for setting up a kiosk?       
(DK): Setting up an individual Go Try kiosk at a mall draws a fixed cost of approximately Rs 5 lakh, involving various elements such as kiosk fabrication, infrastructure costs like iPads and LCD, manpower, and leasing of space.

(PG): Are there any restrictions to put the products on sample?
(DK): Brands can sample their products for a month in different categories. However, we don’t allow competing brands to sample in the same category. Apart from these there are no restrictions.  

(PG): Please throw some light on your expansion plans?
(DK): We plan to reach 20-kisoks mark by the end of next year. We are targeting cities including Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata, among others. We are also exploring other high footfall locations such as airports, metro stations, high streets, cinema complexes and colleges.