PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Samuel Stäbler TI - Why Cheap, Low-Quality Giveaways Are Bad for Brands AID - 10.2501/JAR-2020-017 DP - 2021 Jun 01 TA - Journal of Advertising Research PG - 164--177 VI - 61 IP - 2 4099 - http://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/61/2/164.short 4100 - http://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/61/2/164.full SO - J Advert Res2021 Jun 01; 61 AB - Companies employ giveaways primarily to create awareness and strengthen their brands. Little academic research has examined the effectiveness of giveaways, however. This article reports the results of two studies on giveaways’ effectiveness. The first, a laboratory experiment with 678 respondents, found that giveaways of low quality may have a negative impact on consumers’ attitude toward the sponsor brand. In combination with certain types of giveaways, the negative effect is even stronger. Fortunately, results of a second study offer a ray of hope: An experiment with 104 respondents showed that companies can benefit from giveaways as long as they are personalized.