How’s this for a costly promotion? ‘One free can of Dr Pepper soda for everyone in America if Guns N’ Roses release their next album before the end of 2008′.
Well, guess what? The album’s release date has been announced as November 23 2008, meaning a not-insignificant 300 million cans of soda could potentially be given away free by the corporation.
Guns N’ Roses have been working on their new album for some 17 years now, so when Dr Pepper made their ‘free soda’ pledge back in March 2008, they probably felt fairly secure in the knowledge that they wouldn’t be called upon to give anything away gratis. Yet, if everyone who is eligible to claim their ‘freebie’ actually does so, it will certainly eat into this year’s company profits.
In light of the recently-announced album release date, the soft drinks company has confirmed that it will stand by its promise. On November 23 only, Americans will be able to redeem their free can of drink by registering their details on www.drpepper.com.
In reality, of course, not too many people are going to remember, be able, or make the effort, to claim their drink. Yet, on the back of such an unusual promotion, Dr Pepper will surely benefit from increased brand awareness, and probably increased sales too.
Whilst in the long run it may not turn out to be too expensive a marketing exercise, interestingly the Dr Pepper website currently makes no mention of this generous offer!
