September 30th:
I got an @B_West tweet from @TassimoCanada to inform me that they were giving away 300 "Tassimo Coffee Systems" and I was getting one.  

Imagine my surprise as I had not entered a contest, although I do love coffee and java references find their way into my tweets on occasion. However, the tweet asked me to DM my email for details. This immediately made me suspicious and thinking it was a phishing scam. 

A few searches and clicks revealed that indeed they were a legit businesses giving away hundreds of machines. 

So I DMed them my email address (which I could do as they started following me a few days earlier) and waited. That same day I got this email from "Duri Al-Ajrami", and I became suspicious again. Who was he and what’s his connection with Tassimo. 

I read through the email and came to the signature which indicated that Duri is the Group Media Director at Ogilvy Advertising. Okay, it sounds legit – maybe I will get a coffee system after all. 

Duri’s email indicates that why they chose me to receive a free Tassimo…
"…because you love to drink and talk all-things coffee and tea. And when the TASSIMO Team did a search for active bloggers and Social Media enthusiasts in Canada who do just that, you were within our top list. So we thought you’d love the TASSIMO Coffee System as much as we do."

Well, I have tweeted about drinking coffee and in fact it was part of my Twitter bio for a while, however, I don’t think I have blogged about coffee. Anyway, kudo’s to them for tracking me down. I am indeed a coffee enthusiast, blogger and tweeter and will gladly share my experience, good or bad. 

October 13th:
A FedEx truck pulled into my driveway and dropped a box on the doorstep, it was my Tassimo – oh boy, it felt like Christmas. I was excited to try it out and I promptly sent out my first tweet, with high expectations. 

Before I offer my opinion of the machine itself, let’s review the campaign; what went well and where improvements could be made. 

What worked well and what could be improved on:

• They certainly got my attention with the @ tweet letting me know that I had been selected to receive a free coffee machine 
• However, I had no idea what a Tassimo was or why they were giving them away. A link to a website with more info would have solved that issue. If I hadn’t of been resourceful enough to check the company out I would have simply forgotten about it based on my suspicion it was a phishing scam
• The follow-up email was thorough and informative. It would have been more credible and helped to establish a relationship if it came from Tassimo Canada rather than their ad agency. Others that don’t work in the industry might be even more skeptical of this
• I haven’t heard anything from Tassimo via Twitter since the first tweet on Sept 30, other than tweets to all about more giveaways coming. Social media is about being social which involves a dialogue. A missed opportunity for them to converse with me and the many recipients that have since tweeted about their new coffee systems
• A Twitter search for "Tassimo" shows that they are getting lots of coverage from happy winners. Mostly positive tweets and lots of Twitpics. In fact since I did the search a few minutes ago 15 new tweets have come in. Lots of positive Twitter buzz is a good thing. Although there are fewer than 20 blog posts containing "Tassimo" so far.

So back to the machine. I like the look of it on our counter. It’s sleek and fits well under the cupboard. It’s quite easy to use too. Just crack the lid open, pop in a "T-disc", hit the button and listen while your caffeinated beverage brews. I loved the Starbucks coffees, but wasn’t crazy about the lattes and cappuccinos which were too sweet. 

What I don’t like about the Tassimo is the over packaging. The T-discs come in individually wrapped packages which come in boxes of six. And the T-discs themselves are not recyclable. Not that I can tell anyway – they don’t have the recycle mark on them.

In conclusion. Kudos to Tassimo and Ogilvy for putting their best social media foot forward. A solid idea that could have been executed a little better. Am I happy to have the Tassimo – sure. However, for real coffee drinking pleasure I’ll stick to my French press.     

So has giving away 300 Tassimo coffee systems been a good thing for the brand, will it increase sales? I’m not so sure. What do you think? Leave a comment below. 
 

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