Birthday freebies are enticing. But they aren't as free as they appear
Businesses may be giving you a free drink on your big day, but they’re also cashing in on your data
Lincoln Ho doesn't celebrate his birthday with cake or a party with friends. Instead, he spends his entire birthday getting free stuff.
"I created a little birthday tour as well and I posted about it and it became a really big hit, not just in Edmonton but across the country," said Ho, a content creator in Edmonton who has a long-running blog post about all the birthday deals in the city.
Ho is completely committed to getting the most out of his birthday. He keeps a spreadsheet full of notes about where he can get what, so he can capitalize on freebie offers. Ho says he takes the entire day off work, and starts collecting his free stuff around 7 a.m.
He says he usually scores about $100 worth of freebies on his big day.
At Starbucks, he takes advantage of the free food item, instead of a free drink. He will also eat a free breakfast at Denny's. One year, he went to three different Denny's, and got breakfast, lunch and dinner, all at no cost.
Ho says there are some offers that just don't seem worth the effort. Like a five per cent off discount. Or a buy one, get one coupon, like Dairy Queen offers for its Blizzards.
Freebies are nice, especially amid an affordability crisis. But given rising concerns about data privacy, experts caution that coffee isn't as free as you think, and that a birthday-freebie tour like Ho's comes at a cost — you have to fork over your data.
'A marketer's dream'
Nicole Rourke can't resist a free item on her birthday either, even though she knows full well what businesses are doing.
"I'm a marketer's dream. They love me, and I love anything free," said Rourke, a marketing professor at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ont.
She says businesses really benefit from these promotional offers. That's because even if they don't get your cash, they still get something from you.
"Data is the most important thing that businesses want," said Rourke.
"It's actually very clever of them, because let's face it, we are all kids at heart, and we all like to feel special on our birthday. It doesn't matter if you're 16, 60 or 90. But it is an excuse for them to get in touch with you."
She says most businesses require you to sign up for their mailing list or download an app.
And then they rake in the data. Rourke says businesses want to know who you are, where you live, what promotional material you respond to, and, of course, your age.
Darian Kovacs, who runs Jelly Marketing in Fort Langley, B.C., says businesses are desperate for that information.
"People need to find that hook, that ability to get them in to say, here's a reason, here's a motivation to get you to give us your email address," said Kovacs.
"It's why we have those birthday freebies. It's why we have 10 per cent off your first order. People want to collect that email address in any way possible."
Old trick, new results
Rourke says it's nothing new. Businesses have long offered free stuff on birthdays as an incentive to get people in the door, or as a promotion. But now, technology makes it easy for companies to remind you to come in on your birthday, and to store all that precious data.
With email and other reminders, they'll have you thinking about that birthday treat all month.
"There's so many more software programs, customer relationship management programs that are available, these tools that are available to businesses to be able to stay in touch," said Rourke.
"Any specific day they can email their 5,000 customers that have a birthday on that day and they've got the database all set up."
Ho isn't terribly concerned about the data he's sharing to make his birthday a freebie-palooza. But he does weigh the value of the free item, versus what he's giving up.
"The strategy now for me is to look at what they're giving out to begin with. Like I used to sign up for like, everything, which is why I have so much junk mail," said Ho. He's since become a bit more discerning.
"So I look at the final product of what it is that they're giving out before I even register for it."
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Produced by Danielle Nerman
