Whenever I work with a client where we are planning some form of giveaway or freebie I always try to avoid imposing any conditions or restrictions. You know what I mean… “Expires 31st July” or “Not valid after noon on Fridays and Saturdays”.
I’ve always believed that putting conditions on an offer immediately devalues it. As a result it isn’t the generous offer it appears to be and loses its effectiveness.. I think offers should have no restrictions and always be exercisable at any time. After all, once the promotion of the offer ceases the number of people wanting to exercise the offer will rapidly diminish.
I often debate the issue with business owners who insert a condition like an expiry date by asking whether they would still honour the offer if a customer wanted the offer after the closure date. Invariably their answer is “Yes“. So why have the condition in any case?
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That’s why this generous at-first-sight offer from Village Cinemas got up my nose. The subject line implies there will be free popcorn for you.
But, when you look closely at the offer, it’s not free nor is it for a year! To get the offer you have to make an initial investment and then pay every time you want more popcorn. And it’s only for “the balance of the year” which I guess means you ought to take up the offer early January and not mid-December!
And even if they gave away free popcorn for a year, what’s its gunna cost them… I reckon, as a popcorn hater, about $2 a tonne and most avid eaters would get sick of it after claiming it a few times in a row.
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