Birthday gifts are tempting. But they’re not as free as they seem

Lincoln Ho doesn’t celebrate his birthday with a cake or a party with his friends. Instead, he spends his entire birthday getting free stuff.

“I also created a little birthday tour that I wrote a post about and it’s been a huge success not only in Edmonton but across the country,” said Ho, an Edmonton-based content creator who has long blogged about birthday celebrations in the city.

Ho is dedicated to making the most of his birthday. He keeps a spreadsheet full of notes on where he can get things so he can take advantage of freebies. Ho says he takes the entire day off work and starts collecting free stuff around 7 a.m.

He says he usually gets about $100 worth of free stuff on this special day.

At Starbucks, he takes advantage of the free food instead of the free drink. He also gets a free breakfast at Denny’s. One year, he went to three different Denny’s and got breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all for free.

Ho says there are some deals that just don’t seem worth it. Like a 5 percent discount. Or a buy-one-get-one coupon, like Dairy Queen offers on its Blizzards.

Free stuff is great, especially in the face of an affordability crisis. But with data privacy concerns on the rise, experts warn that coffee isn’t as free as you think, and a free-stuff birthday getaway like Ho’s comes at a cost — you have to pay for your data.

“A Marketer’s Dream”

Nicole Rourke also can’t resist a free gift for her birthday, even though she knows exactly what companies 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.

He says that companies really benefit from these promotional offers. That’s because even if they don’t get cash from you, they still get something from you.

“Data is the most important thing businesses need,” Rourke said.

“It’s really clever of them because let’s be honest, we’re all kids at heart and we all like to feel special on our birthdays. It doesn’t matter if you’re 16, 60 or 90. But it’s an excuse for them to reach out to you.”

He says most companies require you to sign up for a mailing list or download an app.

And then they harvest the data. Rourke says companies want to know who you are, where you live, what promotional materials you respond to and, of course, your age.

Darian Kovacs, principal of Jelly Marketing in Fort Langley, British Columbia, says entrepreneurs desperately need this information.

“People need to find that hook, that skill that draws them in and makes them say, here’s the reason, here’s the motivation that will make you give us your email address,” Kovacs said.

“That’s why we have these birthday freebies. That’s why we have 10 percent off your first order. People want to collect that email address any way they can.”

Old trick, new results

Rourke says this is nothing new. Companies have long offered free stuff on birthdays as an incentive to attract people or as a promotion. But technology now makes it easier for companies to remind people to show up on their birthdays and store all that valuable data.

Email reminders and other messages will keep you thinking about your birthday gift all month long.

“There are a lot more software programs, customer relationship management programs, tools that businesses can use to stay connected,” Rourke said.

“On any given day, they can send an email to 5,000 customers who have a birthday on that day, and the database will be ready.”

Ho isn’t particularly concerned about the data he’s sharing to make his birthday free-palooza. But he does weigh the value of the free item against what he’s giving away.

“My strategy now is to look at what they’re giving away to start with. I used to sign up for everything, which is why I get so much junk mail,” Ho said. Since then, he’s become a bit more selective.

“So I look at the end product of what they’re giving away before I sign up.”