How to brief a life-stage sampling program

Most delays in sampling proposals come from incomplete briefs. What you usually need is a template that unlocks price, feasibility and timing in one round.

Put these in the first email

• Life stage and why now (pregnancy, newborn, school, campus…)
• Markets (e.g. Greece + Romania) and timing window
• Category and whether you need exclusivity discussed
• Sample format: full-size, mini, leaflet, or combo — plus dimensions and weight
• Approx. annual volume ambition or budget band
• Need for guide ads, kit branding, or Online Platform / CRM presence
• KPI: trial, registration, or both — and how you will measure it
• Data: what you want to collect, and confirmation that consent will be GDPR-valid

Why KPIs should mention trial — not only impressions

If the goal is consideration after try, cite the evidence you will optimise against: Arbitron / Edison’s same-trip purchase and repurchase intent; EventTrack’s try-first purchase story; YA / Survata’s affinity findings. Partners can then design kit content, guide depth and follow-up for trial — not vanity reach.

Consent is part of the brief, not an afterthought

The European Commission states that valid consent must be freely given, informed, specific and given via a positive act, with withdrawal as easy as opting in. Put that requirement in the RFP if you expect email, SMS or CRM after the kit. Mondelēz’s public first-party work is a useful industry parallel: value exchange plus privacy, not bought third-party lists.

What you can leave for the workshop

Creative variants, exact SKUs and final pack copy can wait. Access rules and sample logistics cannot — they drive cost. If you are comparing life stages, say so; partners can recommend pregnancy vs newborn vs school without five separate RFPs. In birth-driven markets, bring a demographic sense-check (for example ELSTAT’s latest live-birth total for Greece) so volume ambitions stay realistic.

Using START’s join flow

On start.caredirect.com, pick the program that matches the life stage, check insights per country, then use Join a START with audience and market filled in. That is enough for the local Care Direct team to return reach, timing and a commercial outline.

Ready when you are: open Plan / Join a START and send the brief.