Try it, you'll like it

Do you remember the Alka-Seltzer campaign that bore that tagline?  It dates back to 1971, long before people started to realize how much advertising sucks.

Fast forward to 2007 and at least some marketers are beginning to admit that traditional advertising might not work as well as it once did.  The smartest among them are taking a "try it, you'll like it" approach to engaging consumers in entirely new ways.

Consider Tokyo's brand-spanking-new Sample Lab.  It's a members-only retail space that allows consumers to check out and test products from a variety of different marketers.  While product sampling isn't new, how about an entire store devoted to product sampling?  Oh, and did I say it's members only?  People actually pay a registration fee and annual dues for the privilege of trying new products.  Sound crazy?  According to Springwise, more than 100 people lined up to sign-up on opening day.

Or consider House Party -- an online community that organizes brand-centered, homeowner-run gatherings here in the USA.  At any given time they have dozens of product parties for prospective hosts to choose from -- the brands foot the bill, but unlike traditional Avon or Tupperware parties, the host doesn't earn a dime.  And their goal is to facilitate 1,000 separate parties in a single night for any given brand.  Wow...  If Japanese consumers are shelling out cash for the chance to try new products, House Party hosts are investing their time, donating their living rooms and tapping into their social circles -- all for a chance to get their hands on some free samples. 

Both are examples of what TrendWatching calls "TRYVERTISING" -- a burgeoning category of marketing that includes everything from Amazon's Search Inside functionality to the well-stocked hotel mini bar.  They're testaments to the fact that even if consumers are growing increasingly tired of traditional interruptive advertising models, they still want to discover new products that they just might fall in love with -- and giving them a way to try on your brand exerience just might give you the opportunity you need to earn some attention and consideration.

On the other hand, tryvertising means that you can't bluff your way through a commercial message anymore.  If there is any disconnect between what you say your product is and what it actually is, nothing will expose the gap like a hands-on demonstration.  Bad news for anyone that's used to running good advertising for a bad product; good news for everybody else.

So tryvertising - yeah, I like it.