Send the product to hundreds of small accounts whose followers are your customers, track every code, and back the ones that sell.
Filip Tysander launched Daniel Wellington in Sweden in 2011 with $15,000. Instead of paying for traditional advertising, he sent watches to thousands of bloggers, celebrities and other influencers, who posted them to their followers.
By 2014 the company had revenue of $70 million from more than a million watches, and projected $220 million for 2015 (Bloomberg, via InvestmentNews, 15 July 2015).
Consumer and e-commerce brands with a product people want to photograph, and a margin that can absorb free samples.
People buy what people like them show them, and a small account's followers trust its recommendations more than a brand's. A unique code for each account makes every post measurable, so the gifting budget can move to whoever sells.
The Gulf has its own version. Huda Kattan built Huda Beauty from a beauty blog and Instagram, and a false eyelash collection she sold through Sephora in Dubai Mall in 2013 sold more in a month than the retailer expected to move in a year (Bloomberg, 2018).
Reported. Daniel Wellington's figures from Bloomberg (July 2015). Reported. Huda Beauty from Bloomberg (2018).
Cost to test. Product and postage, plus small fees for some creators. Most tests cost under $1,000.
Kill it if after 200 gifts the codes have not paid back the product and postage.
Gifted and paid posts must be labelled as advertising in the UK and the US, and the Gulf has its own rules: Saudi Arabia requires a Mawthooq licence for individuals who advertise, and the UAE now requires an advertiser permit. The tactic is widely known, so the edge is in picking the right accounts, not in gifting itself. A product people do not want to photograph will not work however many you send.
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A 30-minute call first. If it fits, two calls in one week and a written growth plan you keep.