Sampl wins Best Lead Generation Campaign at the Global Performance Marketing Awards 2025

We are proud to share that Sampl has won Best Lead Generation Campaign at the Global Performance Marketing Awards 2025.

This recognition celebrates our partnership with Royal Canin, where we proved that sampling can be a serious performance channel for measurable customer acquisition.

Turning sampling into a powerful lead generation engine for Royal Canin

Royal Canin wanted to reach new puppy and kitten owners, grow its CRM database with high-quality data, and connect trial to purchase. Traditionally, its samples were distributed through vets, breeders and retailers, which provided strong brand exposure but limited visibility into who received the samples or whether they converted to sales.

Together, we built a smarter, data-driven sampling journey that would deliver both brand experience and measurable commercial impact.

Through SamplMatch, our proprietary qualification and targeting engine, Royal Canin reached 30,000 new pet owners across Italy with tailored trial kits. Each kit included personalised messaging, tracking, and a redeemable voucher that allowed Royal Canin to close the loop from trial to purchase.

The results

The campaign significantly outperformed expectations and delivered strong performance metrics across every KPI:

• 65% CRM opt-in rate (target 49%)
• 88% purchase intent (target 72%)
• 22% review response rate (target 10%)
• €2.09 cost per lead (expected €6.00)
• 40% faster campaign delivery than previous launches

These results validated the effectiveness of precision-led sampling in driving measurable acquisition. The campaign has since been expanded into Germany and Austria, where Royal Canin continues to scale its lead generation activity through Sampl.

The challenge most brands face

Sampling has historically been viewed as a brand awareness activity, but it often misses the opportunity to deliver measurable lead generation outcomes. Brands struggle to:

• Capture accurate customer data at the point of trial
• Validate whether samples reach genuine, high-intent consumers
• Track what happens after the product is tried
• Connect trial activity to actual purchase behaviour
• Eliminate freebie hunters and sample wastage
• Prove cost efficiency and campaign ROI

Traditional sampling often ends the moment the product is handed over. Without qualification, validation or follow-up, brands gain little more than distribution numbers. This leaves valuable data and conversion opportunities untapped.

How Sampl solves these challenges

Sampl was designed to make sampling a measurable performance channel.

Our SamplMatch technology ensures samples are delivered only to verified and relevant consumers, eliminating fraud and waste. Personalised digital journeys educate recipients, encourage reviews and redemption, and build long-term engagement.

The campaign was powered by real-time analytics, enabling the Royal Canin team to track opt-ins, engagement, and conversions as they happened. Instead of waiting for post-campaign reports, the team could optimise performance in-flight and reallocate budget toward what worked best.

By integrating first-party data capture with automated fulfilment, CRM enrichment, and purchase tracking, Sampl helped Royal Canin achieve better quality leads, faster delivery, and measurable ROI.

Why this matters for brands

Sampling attracts people who are genuinely interested in a product category. When combined with proper validation, segmentation, and measurement, it becomes a high-performing lead generation tool that builds loyalty and conversion at the same time.

Royal Canin’s success is one of many examples proving that digital sampling is not just about awareness. It is about measurable, performance-driven growth.

Brands using Sampl today, including Colgate-Palmolive, Estée Lauder, NIVEA, Mars Petcare and Cadbury, are using our technology to turn product trial into a sustainable customer acquisition channel.

About the Global Performance Marketing Awards

The Global Performance Marketing Awards celebrate the world’s best performance-driven campaigns, rewarding measurable impact, innovation and creativity.

The Best Lead Generation Campaign category recognises initiatives that acquire high-quality leads at scale, demonstrating cost efficiency, conversion to sale, and innovative use of channels and technology.

About Sampl

Sampl helps brands transform sampling into a performance channel for customer acquisition. Our platform validates audiences, delivers precision targeting, and connects trial to measurable outcomes such as reviews, CRM growth, and purchase conversion.

In 2024, Sampl powered 1.7 million samples across 35 countries, generating 278,000 reviews, 1.7 million marketing opt-ins, and average conversion uplifts of 3 to 4 times for major retail partners.