Recently I was selected as one of 75 women in Canada targeted by Matchstick for a word of mouth (WOM) campaign for the product Splenda, that zero-calorie sweetener made from real sugar. In exchange for my participation, I would receive a lovely basketful of baking tools, free coupons to hand out and Splenda products. Hey, I like freebies! Moreover, I was very curious and interested enough in the product to want to offer the company my own opinion. It was nice to participate in someone’s marketing program.
After an initial screening process I received my Splenda package in the mail along with some recipes to try. After a few weeks, I would be contacted again to give my thoughts and opinions on my baked goodies.
To start, I baked chocolate chip cookies and blueberry muffins. Both were recipes supplied by Splenda. The Splenda product measures exactly cup for cup to that of regular sugar, except for brown sugar, where you use only half. It was pretty easy to use in fact. The only weird thing about Splenda is the blending of butter/margarine and liquids. It blends fine, but when you add an egg or liquids, it does a funny separation thing and starts to resemble curdled milk. I checked the Splenda website and apparently this is a common appearance that does not affect the baking process.
The baked goodies both came out fairly well and consistent with the picture. But the real test was in the taste. And who better to taste chocolate chip cookies but my very own seven-year-old. She took one bite and exclaimed: “Mommy, these are AMAZING.” Verdict was in. The blueberry muffins were also a big hit. So was my banana loaf and my own cookie recipe. As for an aftertaste, there was none.
All in all -- I like the product very much and continue to use it today. It’s a wonderful alternative to sugar, especially if you are watching your weight or you’re a diabetic.
I enjoyed the process of being selected for this WOM campaign. I told Matchstick right from the start that I would only blog about the product if it passed the taste test. I would not diss the product publicly. I told them, I’m neither a journalist nor a paid blogger, so the last thing I would do is trash their product. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I was just glad I was able to help out in their program.
Now in case you’re wondering: I’m certainly not going to use my blog as a public forum to plug products. However, I am in the market for a new car. Soooooo… any dealers out there who want me to test-drive a 2009 luxury hybrid car? You know where to find me!
2 comments:
Your post is a perfect example of honest, transparent WOM. You tried the product, discussed its use and suggested specific ideas for how the product could be helpful. Frequently we recommend this sort of straightforward WOM campaign to producers. Way to go for you and Splenda--thanks for setting an example.
Thanks, Julie! I bake lots (and eat too much of it). I'll try Splenda now.
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