Nescafé has let people order samples of new coffee flavors via text message. They encouraged people to do this through print and advertisements in bus shelters. In total 74,000 people requested a sample. 80% of these had never bought the coffee before. 82% of the respondents indicated actually using the requested sample and 26% of the respondents decided to buy the product. And because consumers are taking action themselves their attitude towards the brand improved and their spontaneous recognition rose. Their intention to buy the product rose as well.
Future Vision by Erwin Van Lun on this article
This is how brands are slowly starting to communicate on personal levels, but each individual is still an individual. For now every random passerby can order – even the people who already knew it – but soon Nescafé will know how to refine this mechanism and apply it to people who don’t know the product yet or, even better, allows people who are more inclined to spread the word to try the product. This shows how brands will improve at tribal thinking. This is a kind of start.