Toronto's Best Hotspots for Free Sample Products
Top Downtown Sites for Marketing Promotions, Giveaways & Freebies
Nov 4, 2008
During a 20-minute walk in the City of Toronto’s downtown business core, pedestrians can collect a rich collection of promotional giveaways including breakfast cereal samples, white and dark chocolates, premium dog and cat foods, nasal breathing-aid strips and even 100% cotton men’s underwear.
Toronto Market Demographics
Excluding suburban communities which comprise the Greater Toronto Area, the City of Toronto has a population of 2.5 million or 8% of Canada’s total population. Half of Torontonians were born outside of Canada, making Toronto one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Working-age residents from 25 to 64 represent 56.8% of Toronto’s population, with seniors 65 and over accounting for another 14.1%.
Marketing professionals often focus on the downtown Toronto core because 415,200 or almost a third of all Toronto jobs are found there. These wage earners represent significant buying power to potentially spend on the products being promoted.
Top Downtown Toronto Freebie Sites
Below are the top 3 locations where one can find and enjoy free marketing samples in Toronto. These locations are in close proximity and require about 20 minutes in walking time. Because they are part of Toronto’s underground city (known as the Path walkway), samplers can walk from one sampling site to another inside the shelter of enclosing building complexes regardless of the weather outside.
Number 1 – Eaton Centre (South-west corner of Yonge at Dundas Street)
The Eaton Centre is not only Canada’s busiest shopping centre, the landmark mall is also Toronto’s number one tourist attraction. Each year, over 52 million people visit the Eaton Centre. Some 860,000 people work in the neighboring Yonge and Dundas area. The Eaton Centre also is a key transit access point for both the north-south subway line as well as east-west streetcar routes, serving as a transportation hub for over 24,000 full-time and 64,000 part-time students at nearby Ryerson University.
No wonder that marketers and product promoters compete for space both outside and inside the Eaton Centre to give out free samples on behalf of their clients. This is true both during the week, and on weekends when more tourists are circulating among the crowds.
Inside near the Sears south exit, one major food and beverages marketer recently constructed a cappuccino café to give out free samples of a multinational’s ready-to-serve premium coffee products. Outside, samplers for another international marketing firm provided visitors with promotional boxes of a new honey-roasted flavor for a major shredded-wheat cereal. Yet another group of promotional staff dressed in leprechaun green gave away samples of a leading Irish-brand soap and shampoo.
Movie companies also favor the Eaton Centre for promotional events. Two summers ago, promoters set up a street kiosk for Snakes On A Plane to give away free tickets for the movie. The only condition was that winners had to allow themselves to be photographed with a purportedly tame python stretched across their shoulders.
Number 2 – Union Station (South-west corner of Bay at Front Street West)
About a 10-minute walk south of the Eaton Centre is Toronto’s busiest transportation hub, Union Station. According to City of Toronto government statistics, Union Station accommodates a daily average of:
- 155,000 GO Train passengers
- 10,000 GO Bus riders
- 77,000 Toronto Transit Commission subway users
- 9,000 VIA railway travellers.
While Union Station doesn’t experience the same day-long flow of pedestrian traffic as seen at the Eaton Centre, the number of commuters arriving for work via GO Train or GO Bus is intensely concentrated during the morning rush period. The rush starts as early as 6:30 a.m. and lasts until around 9:30 a.m. In that 3-hour window, promotional companies hand out natural pet foods, Vitamin C cough lozenges, new soft-drinks, frozen chicken or turkey dinners, tooth-whitening chewing gum and even boxer-style underwear. In general, most marketers present their freebies outside Union Station on public sidewalks since fees and a special permit are required for inside promotions.
Number 3 – Exchange Tower (North-east corner of York at King Street West)
The Exchange Tower is a 5-minute walk north of Union Station. In the Tower are corridors that connect office buildings owned by Standard Life, Sun Life Financial and other major financial institutions. The Tower’s property manager rents out square footage in these corridors that measure about 10 square feet. One usable space is across from the Grand & Toy store on the concourse level while another faces a Starbucks café. Freebies are given from these areas on condition that samplers stay away from nearby vendors and do not distract from the business of the established tenants.
Pedestrian traffic from office workers sees as many as 10,000 people rush to work from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., with a similar surge from 11 a.m. to about 2 p.m. during lunch breaks.
Recent freebies that samplers handed out at the Exchange Tower include free bottled water, exotic herbal teas, fruit smoothies, complimentary cereal samples, Halloween candy, easy-fold freezer bags, automobile prize draw tickets, phone cards and nasal breathing-aid strips.
