Product
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}
20,000
samples delivered
69.8%
opt-in rate (vs. 40% target)
80%
purchase intent
4.5★
average rating
“Sampling is often seen as one-dimensional — just getting a product into someone’s hand. But with Sampl, it’s strategic. It’s about reaching the right people, collecting the right data, and driving long-term brand engagement.” – Louise Johansson, Head of Marketing, North America at Maria Nila
About
Maria Nila is a global manufacturer of professional, 100% vegan and animal-friendly haircare, styling, and colour products. Trusted by over 13,000 salons and retailers in 45 countries, the B Corp-certified brand is known for its commitment to sustainability.
.
Challenge
Driving purchase intent for a successful new product launch
Maria Nila’s entry into Nordstrom marked a significant retail milestone, but visibility in-store and online doesn’t always translate into awareness among new audiences. To drive this awareness, Louise Johansson, Head of Marketing, North America, needed to identify and reach their primary customer base using a highly targeted approach.
Ahead of the Nordstrom launch, Maria Nila’s H&H Heal campaign encountered a series of significant challenges, both internal and external, which tested the team’s resilience, agility, and strategic planning.
The campaign faced a highly competitive haircare market, with well-established brands vying for consumer attention. Despite Maria Nila’s existing presence in Nordstrom, consumer awareness of the product’s availability was low. The campaign set an ambitious goal of ensuring that 70% of consumers who engaged with the sampling programme were aware that Maria Nila products were available at Nordstrom.
Reaching the right audience was also a critical challenge. The campaign aimed to target premium consumers, those willing to invest more in high-quality haircare. However, identifying and engaging this selective demographic required precise targeting through digital channels, including Meta, TikTok, and potentially influencer partnerships.
Further complicating matters, the creative elements, including the leaflet artwork, had to be finalised and delivered by mid-September to ensure timely printing for the October 1st launch. This condensed timeline left little room for revisions or delays.
The team recognised that previous sampling methods had not effectively captured first-party data or generated sufficient consumer feedback. Maria Nila had done mass sampling for prior launches. But for the Nordstrom launch, traditional sampling through in-store events or generic mailouts wouldn’t cut it. Maria Nila needed a smarter way to reach its target audience of premium beauty consumers, ensuring their product samples landed in the right hands and converting interest into customers and direct sales.
As Louise researched solutions, Sampl’s straightforward, easy-to-use solution stood out. After meeting with the Sampl team, she realised she had found the right solution to support their product launches.
“Traditional sampling can be broad and inefficient, with thousands of samples issued that don’t lead to sales. Sampl helped us reach the right audience.”
.
Solution
Driving awareness and capturing first-party data and high-quality reviews
Maria Nila partnered with Sampl to develop a comprehensive sampling campaign for the Nordstrom launch. Maria Nila used Sampl’s end-to-end platform to manage sample distribution, build brand awareness, and collect rich first-party data and reviews.
The campaign was also marked by tight timelines and resource constraints. With a commitment to dispatch samples within 48 hours of receiving order details, the team had to coordinate closely with their third-party logistics (3PL) partner.
Managing the logistics of distributing 20,000 samples across four batches of 5,000 each required meticulous planning and seamless communication between suppliers, the Sampl team, and the fulfilment partner.
Through a strategic mix of digital sampling, retail partnerships, and engaging lifestyle content, the campaign supported the company’s new product launch with:
- Targeted distribution: With SamplMatch technology, Maria Nila segmented US beauty enthusiasts who matched their ideal customer profile. This included ethical shoppers, millennials, trendsetters, and salon product fans. Samples were sent to qualified recipients, with pre-screening ensuring relevant reach. A Meta and TikTok lead-gen campaign expanded reach to premium brand consumers, increasing the total campaign reach to over 574,000.
- Customised communications: As part of a tailored communications journey, consumers were educated on product availability at Nordstrom. The sales-focused email achieved a 53.1% open rate — well above industry benchmarks.
- Review generation: Sampl helped Maria Nila gather reviews, generating star ratings and testimonials for use across Maria Nila’s retail and marketing channels. 1,241 customer reviews were submitted, with a 91% positive sentiment analysis.
- Survey data collection: Recipients completed a feedback survey that captured sentiment demographics, preferences, and CRM opt-ins, with a purchase intent rate of 80%. Maria Nila also collected a range of valuable insights to support future marketing strategies and product development.
With Sampl, Maria Nila’s campaign results outperformed industry benchmarks and laid the groundwork for long-term CRM and segmentation success.
“We loved that Sampl helps get samples into the hands of people who are likely to buy. No guesswork or wasted spend — just more of the right people trying our products.”
.
Results
Delivering 20,000 samples with a 6.4% review response rate
With Sampl, Maria Nila’s campaign delivered impressive results for their Nordstrom launch. They built a trusted reputation while collecting the data and insights needed to support future product development and marketing strategies.
The campaign delivered standout performance metrics across multiple KPIs:
- 20,000 samples delivered
- 69.8% marketing opt-in rate (vs. 40% target)
- 80% purchase intent
- 87% loved their sample
- 6.4% review response rate
- 4.5 average rating
When analysing where respondents shop against their propensity to spend, the data revealed that 88% of Nordstrom shoppers would likely purchase in the future. This insight presents an opportunity to explore strategic partnerships, targeted promotions, and exclusive offers to drive online or foot traffic and boost sales through this key new retailer. Looking ahead, Maria Nila plans to continue their partnership with Sampl through additional campaigns.
“We reached well over half a million people and over 48,000 clicked on our ad, so this campaign proves how targeted sampling can not only deliver a quick win but also build the brand for long-term growth.”
No items found.
Never miss a case study. Get the latest industry insights direct to your inbox.
Other success stories
Pet Care
How Encore achieved 84% purchase intent through precision sampling
Discover how Encore captured 2,126 leads and achieved 84% purchase intent using Sampl’s targeted sampling strategy.
Fragrance
How Creed drove 75% purchase intent through personalised fragrance sampling
Creed Christmas campaign grew CRM engagement and sales with fragrance-matching and targeted follow-up.
Wellness and Self-Care
How Colgate-Palmolive reduced CPL by 33% with targeted sampling
Learn how Colgate-Palmolive increased CRM opt-ins and collected high-quality product reviews while streamlining their sampling process.
Sampl delivers highly-targeted and personalised digital product sampling experiences for brands to drive engagement with the right audiences.
.svg.svg)
