Hungry for deal? Eateries serve up more freebies

Got a sweet tooth for an afternoon treat, a hankering for barbecue ribs or a craving for caffeine?

In the next few weeks, metro Atlanta consumers can get a tasting of all of these for free, or almost free, as restaurant chains start a fresh round of giveaways.

Enlarge this image

Shane’s Rib Shack, owned by Atlanta-based Petrus Brands, will be holding its ribs giveaway for the second year.

Enlarge this image

Seattle’s Best Coffee is running a host of April promotions, including a free coffee for anyone 39 years old.

Related:
• List and links to restaurants offering tasty giveaways
• Looking for more money-saving ideas? We've got plenty

BUSINESS
Latest Headlines:

• Delta flight to Atlanta diverted to Chattanooga 
• Lenox Square adds 6 new stores, Italian restaurant 
• ASA furloughs 56 more pilots 
• St. Joseph's, United Healthcare contract may end 
• Invesco picked to help revive 'toxic asset' market 

• More business news
• Business photo galleries

On Wednesday, tax day deadline, Cinnabon will give away its Classic Bites, and MaggieMoo’s will offer a free scoop of ice cream.

Seattle’s Best Coffee, celebrating its 39th anniversary, is running a host of April promotions, including a free coffee for anyone 39 years old. On May 16, Shane’s Rib Shack will give a half-rack of ribs, Coke Zero and T-shirt to the first 100 people in line.

Giveaways can be an effective way to get people to try your products, particularly in a down economy, said Ken Bernhardt, regents’ professor of marketing at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business.

“If you have limited resources, you’re going to tend to focus on those things you know and like rather than take a risk on something new,” Bernhardt said. “The best way to overcome that is to give it away.”

A giveaway also can be a better strategy than a price discount because it’s seen as a special trial event, he said.

When a company offers a discount, consumers often see the lower price as the true value and expect the discount in the future, he said. “It’s better to do it for free,” Bernhardt said.

The Wednesday promotion by MaggieMoo’s, managed by Atlanta-based NexCen Franchise Management, is its first national giveaway. It has also started sending out coupons through a direct mail service.

“With the way the economy is today, we’re looking to drive traffic to our stores in ways we’ve never done before,” said Erin Walter, NexCen’s frozen goods marketing and franchise events manager.

The ice cream chain wanted to provide a treat to loyal customers and introduce their product to new customers heading into summer, Walter said.

“A lot of people may not be going on vacation this year,” she said. “They may not be doing the things they were doing in previous years. We hope we can be their destination experience for an excellent product.”

Cinnabon, part of Atlanta-based Focus Brands, will dole out its freebie from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday to attract traffic. A new brand campaign, not the recession, led Cinnabon to do its Classic Bites giveaway, said Cinnabon President Geoff Hill.

The chain launched this year its “Life Needs Frosting” campaign. As part of the initiative, stores made cosmetic improvements. They decluttered their overall look, updated signs with new images and repaired any cracked counters or tiles.

Cinnabon also has added a Cinnabon Stix Pack that features new on-the-go packaging. The chain wanted to re-engage customers who might not have visited a store recently, Hill said.

“When you’re launching something new, you put everything behind it,” he said. “Let them come in and get something for free and see that we’re different.”

Shane’s Rib Shack, owned by Atlanta-based Petrus Brands, will be holding its ribs giveaway for the second year. Coke Zero and Smithfield, a meat provider, are partners in the promotion.

The recession provided a good reason to repeat the giveaway this year, said Becky Shell, Shane’s vice president of marketing. “We wanted to do something to generate some excitement and give everyone a day of fun and relief,” Shell said.

Shane’s hopes the event leads to more business long-term, she said. The first 100 guests will receive special “Shaniac” shirts. The next 250 will receive a buy-one, get-one-free offer.

“I’d say the payoff is the word of mouth,” Shell said. “People go out in the community afterward and share their story and their experience. They wear their T-shirts.”