People love free stuff. Does the item have to be useful? No. Does it have to fit? No. Does it have to work? Not really. Do you need to want/like it? Not always. Will people take it if its free, jump up and down, act like they've just been offered their wildest dreams just at a chance to catch the three sizes too large t-shirt? You bet your bottom they will! But why... What makes us go crazy when something is free, or when there are a limited number being offered?
According to Mac Slocum, in his blog post, he states :
A free product comes with low expectations ("hey, it's free!") and neutral perceptions ("what's the worst that can happen?"). If that product proves useful, expectations are exceeded and perception elevates from neutral to positive ("it's free and it's cool/useful/interesting, etc.").
Along with that I'd add the fact to be one of few. A member of the minority. To have the ability to inside your head be thinking you'd like to put your hands on top of your head, wiggle your fingers, and stick your tongue out at everyone who didn't get the free item you did!
This all comes about as I seriously cleaned my room for the first time in.... my entire life. Moving back home after college was more than a suitcase of clothes. Thus, to fit four years of college plus all of my high school and middle school and lifelong belongings into one (although I actually have the luxury of two bedrooms seeing as both my sisters are married and their old room is now my closet:)... but that's a minor detail!) bedroom is tough! As I began my serious clean job I was surprised, excited, then eventually annoyed by how much junk I had that was free. I found a plethora of trinkets that I couldn't even begin to tell what they were, or why I kept them. At least a half a dozen of XL shirts from sporting events. Frisbees, lotions, chapstick, CD cases, CD's, posters, bobble heads, pens, notepads, calendars, magnet calendars (I find these to be one of the dumbest on my list and could devote a whole separate post to magnets in general), baseball caps, water bottles, stuffed animals, and erasers. All of these things were free and were oddly enough the things when offered to me I thought were worth keeping. The "better" items (shirts and bobble heads) I know for a fact I stood in lines well before the gates opened (Pens games and Altoona Curve games) to ensure I got what they were offering. Why... so 5 years down the line I could put them in a box and write free on it at a yard sale!??
What makes this all even more ridiculous is I work (that's actually "aspire to work" but I'm pretending here) in a field where give-aways are common. Events are planned and free promotions are as common as putting milk on your cereal. I'm certain though, that my serious clean helped better prepare me for my profession. Heck I might even put it in my cover letter and on my resume.
Here is the brief list of useful free things I actually use and would encourage for giveaways:
- A PSU T-shirt that is ACTUALLY my size.
- An Altoona Curve fleece blanket.
- Chapstick. (some insurance company)
- A PENS winter beanie cap.
- And one of those big clip things for paper.
- To keep my list fully disclosed I would also include food, pens and little notepads, but its only certain pens and notepad... it's got to be cool to be kept.
*Notice the fact I could actually only recall a few of the sponsors associated with the items...
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