Sampling Site Gets Big-Name Backing

FreeSamples.com, a site dedicated
to helping brand marketers distribute samples to potential customers, this
week rounded up $15 million in support of several well-known investors,
including publishers CondéNet and Hollinger International Inc.

The site, which says it is in the process of updating its Web presence, is
partnering to distribute samples of products from companies in a variety of
categories — consumer package goods, health and beauty products, office
supplies, pet supplies, entertainment services, pharmaceuticals and digital
content.

Consumers who come to the site are asked to provide demographic information
and are surveyed on their product preferences, and, in return, they receive
samples of the goods they choose. FreeSamples.com hopes that its service
will help draw traditional marketers online, offering them more than banner
ads can provide.

“Drawing from our expertise in the media industry, we believe that
FreeSamples.com is going to revolutionize the market research arena using
product and service sampling, dramatically improving what our advertisers
have been searching for — invaluable research for an efficient and
powerful brand marketing campaign,” said Sarah Chubb, president of
CondéNet, a subsidiary of Advance Publications. Chubb will be taking a seat
on FreeSample.com’s board of directors.

By outsourcing their sampling to FreeSamples.com, marketers will receive
data about consumer preferences and segmented demographics — information
to help them better target their promotions.

Other investors in the round included GE Investments, TechSpace Xchange,
Roccia Ventures, Starwood International, and individual investor Bob
Lessin, chairman and co-chief executive officer of Wit Capital Group Inc.