Giveaways are a great way to increase brand exposure and develop relationships with prospective buyers, but if you’re not prepared, they can mean big trouble for your business. At least that was the case for Sunny Co. Clothing.
The brand launched a red swimsuit giveaway campaign on Instagram inviting social media users to repost an image with the promise of receiving a free red swimsuit. Sounds simple enough, but the brand did not anticipate that it would be shared more than 3,000 times, according to CNET.
Since the company did not have enough supply to fulfill these free orders, the giveaway completely sold out its website, and the company could not handle the subsequent demand.
https://twitter.com/real_trippy20/status/859840656562413568
As a result, the company made a few adjustments to the giveaway’s terms and conditions:
“Due to the viral volume of participants, we reserve the right to cap the promotion if deemed necessary,” Sunny Co. wrote in a follow-up Instagram post. The company also said there could be delays in recipients receiving their orders because of the overwhelming demand.
While Sunny Co. Clothing no doubt benefited from the social media frenzy of the red swimsuit giveaway, the resulting backlash of not fulfilling orders won’t help the brand develop a permanent audience in the future. For those working in promotional apparel, remember that a social media giveaway can be great for building brand exposure, but because the cap is endless, it’s best to be over-prepared.
