Bernard Dahl > Thinking Out Loud

If you’re anything like me, you couldn’t resist the possibility of getting a free Carlsberg kit. I found out on Facebook through one of my friends. I won’t name him, if only because of the quantity of kits he ordered for himself

1: Order the free kit. Check.

By the time the Fedex guy showed up with a package, I had forgotten about it.

First of all, what a kit! Particularly cool are the bucket and the poker chips. The opener and coasters will come in handy. The first guy to tell me he likes the opener will get to keep it.

2: Receive my free kit. Check.

Also included was a letter from the company who manages this campaign for Carlsberg, Matchstick. The letter essentially said “enjoy your kit – hey, if you could send or post a picture of your buddies and you enjoying it, even better”.

3: Had fun with the guys. And Carlsberg. And free kit. Check.

4: Even mentioned it on Facebook. Check.

So I did everything they asked in exchange for the kit. But… where is the buzz? Where’s the social media magic? Where is the ROI for Carlsberg? At first glance, aside from my loyal patronage, which they had beforehand, not much has changed; a quick Twitter search yields modest results.

5: One word: Follow-up. (no check yet)

Okay, that is in fact two words, but hey… No one has followed up in an appropriate fashion with me now that I have my kit, to see how everything is and to remind me of how much some reciprocity would be appreciated. As a marketing and communications specialist, I often get asked to help campaigns that have started out strong but need that human touch to get over the most important hill, the threshold of whether a campaign fails, succeeds or blows the socks off the sponsor, in this case Carlsberg. The solution is usually simple: Don’t just count on the guys who ordered 2 or 3 kits to do it automatically, though they CAN be counted on.

The free kit is certainly buzzworthy, but that doesn’t mean that magic happens by itself.

That being said, it probably IS one of the best beers in in the world – and thanks for the free kit!