John Boccuzzi, Jr.

BrainTrust Query: How Much Does a Free Cone from Baskin-Robbins Really Cost?

February 24, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Nothing says happy birthday like ice cream. Especially when that ice cream comes free from Baskin-Robbins. Wait a sec. Was it really free? Let's take a closer look. What do you think of Baskin-Robbins' free-cone-on-your-birthday promotion, given its requirements?      [more...]

The B-R free ice-cream loyalty program is interesting, but they may be asking for too much without explaining why.

One thought would be to simply share with the consumer the reasons for each question. Honesty and value go a long way.

1) Birthday - We want to send you a free cone every year.

2) Email - We want to send you Free offers and coupons via email to save trees.

3) Gender - Any suggestions on why they need this?

4) Mailing address - We may still need to send some coupons and free cones via mail.

5) Adding a family member - We want to give as many of your family and friends Free cones on their birthday. Best of all, the coupon will say it is from you if you want.

6)Favorite flavor - We want your feedback on what flavors should stay.

7) Favorite product - We want to know if you like other items in our store like Ice cream cakes. This helps us put together great offers that mean something to you.

8) Option of receiving Free cones and coupons via email - So we don't bother you, how many free cones and coupons would you like to receive in a 12 month period?

This approach in my opinion would have two benefits: 1) Stronger redemption and more accurate collection of data, and 2) B-R marketing could honestly sit down and know why they are asking the questions they are asking. Do we really need their gender to sell more Ice-Cream? If yes, tell me why and share that with the person you are requesting the information from.