BrainTrust Query: How Much Does a Free Cone from Baskin-Robbins Really Cost?
Nothing says happy birthday like ice cream. Especially when that ice cream comes free from Baskin-Robbins. That's right. America's largest ice cream chain sent me an email on my birthday for a free ice cream cone.
Wait a sec. Was it really free? Let's take a closer look.
Despite the fact it cost me nothing in the way of cash, I still had to give in order to get. Here's a list of the items I had to provide in order to get my "free cone":
- My full name
- My e-mail address
- My gender
- My date of birth
- My full mailing address
- The option of adding a family member with all their contact information
- My favorite flavor of ice cream
- My favorite Baskin-Robbins product
- The option to receive additional coupons and promotions by e-mail
What would all that information be worth to a company? Better yet, what is all that information worth to me?
With privacy concerns at an all time high, getting people to share any amount of personal information can be a challenge at best. For many retailers, loyalty programs have proved to be the best method of capturing consumer information. However the initial infrastructure cost is high. The only hope for ROI is through bigger baskets and more return visits.
Baskin-Robbins, on the other hand, only pays for what they get. And with a minimal infrastructure cost, there's less pressure to hit quotas. But is this a classic case of getting what you pay for when it comes to data mining?
"Sophisticated loyalty programs tend to bring more reliable information," said Doron Levy of Captus Retail Consulting. "The customer views these programs as more formal and are willing to share more information in a more honest way."
How much reliable information can you get for the cost of an ice cream cone? When I asked the media representative for Baskin-Robbins about their concern regarding the accuracy of information gathered, he would not share details with me. Nor would he comment on the success of the program, only to say it plays a part of their overall marketing.
So with my ice cream in hand, I have to wonder who got the better end of the deal. As I had to show ID along with the coupon in order to get my ice cream, meaning -- I had to give my real name, age, and e-mail -- perhaps them. Combine that with the fact that I brought my kids and ended up spending almost 8 bucks, all of a sudden my free ice cream seems to come with a hefty price tag.
Discussion Questions: What do you think of Baskin-Robbins' free-cone-on-your-birthday promotion, given its requirements? How great do you think consumer privacy concerns are relative to such promotions? Are the limits to the reliability of the information a significant drawback?