More Free Stuff Thanks to Twitter

You may recall that last summer, I used Twitter to get my entire office free Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Aside from it being a great marketing program for Ben & Jerry's, it was lots of fun for me. To this day, I use the story as just one reason why I think Twitter is worthwhile. I mean, how can you argue with getting free stuff?

Well, guess what: It's happened again.

Last Thursday, I tweeted that an article on Esquire.com made me want to host an Oscar party. A few minutes later, I got a random reply back from the folks at Pretzel Crisps: "You host the party we'll bring the snacks!" All I had to do was send them my address and they'd make a delivery. After a couple tweets back and forth, and a little bit of skepticism from me, I confirmed that the offer was legit. Turns out Pretzel Crisps (which are yummy, low-fat chip/cracker-style pretzels) are monitoring social channels and are swooping in when they see someone in need of a snack. It's a great way to spread the word and get a little buzz for the product. And hey, it worked for Ben & Jerry's. So with all that in mind, I arranged to have a delivery a couple days later; as Jacqueline wrote, "We really want to help u kick the case of the Mondays!" And sure enough, that's what happened.

Mid afternoon yesterday, Jacqueline arrived at my office with a shopping bag and a box of Pretzel Crisps. All different flavors, too: Original, Buffalo Wing, Everything, Sesame, and Garlic Parmesan — about 20 bags total. (No Cinnamon Toast, though. What a bummer.) It was plenty for me, and plenty for me to share with my coworkers — many of whom were impressed that I was once again able to use Twitter for personal gain.

But it's not all about me getting free stuff, is it? I mean, after all, Pretzel Crisps is getting a bit of mileage too. I tweeted about it on Thursday, so my more than 1,000 followers saw. Then, after the delivery, I took a picture and tweeted and posted to Facebook. I'm sharing some of the bags with people who want to try, and they'll tell others. And now I've written a blog post, which I'll tweet and post to Facebook. So as far as Pretzel Crisps is concerned, they've gotten a bit of "free" marketing from me. All it cost them was a few bags of crisps. Point is, everyone's happy and it's all because of Twitter. Oh, and did I mention how good these crisps are? Really, they're quite tasty. I recommend them. Seriously.

Of course, now I'm really curious about how far I can take this "free stuff thanks to Twitter" thing. Apple, are you out there? What are the chances I can score a free iPad ...

All kidding aside, though, gotta give kudos to the folks at Pretzel Crisps. Great campaign, nice execution. I'm happy to help spread the word.