Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE ice cream – it’s perhaps my favorite dessert. And Ben & Jerry’s is probably my favorite ice cream; in addition to loving the actual product, I love their story, their corporate ethics, and their commitment to so many social causes.
So imagine how excited I was when I got an email telling me that I could get ice cream for $1 if I just brought in a can of food – woohoo! And what did I do as soon as I learned of this? I told everyone in the office, emailed a few friends and called a few friends to see if they wanted to go.
I’m always getting emails about these kinds of giveaways from Ben & Jerry’s, which of course, I almost always forward to all my friends so they can enjoy some free or cheap ice cream, too!
Ben & Jerry’s has word of mouth down – they know their talkers (those of us who sign up for ChunkMail), they know what will get their talkers talking (free or discounted ice cream), and they make it easy to spread the offer (which almost always comes via email).
It may seem perilous to dole out so much free stuff, but the truth is that ice cream generally has a large profit margin (much like coffee), so it doesn’t actually cost the company much to give large quantities of it away. Of course, the average consumer doesn’t know that – the only thing they know is that they’re getting free goodies, which generates great word of mouth!
When the conversation of going out for dessert comes up, what do you think my friends suggest? Not Baskin-Robbins or Cold Stone, but Ben & Jerry’s, of course!
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