What is a self-liquidating promotion?
Self-liquidating promotion is a great way for businesses to increase their revenue without spending extra money. These promotions are ‘self-liquidating’ because they generate more money than they cost. Retail stores and restaurants can employ a variety of self-liquidating promotions, such as coupons, discounts, point-of-sale displays, and loyalty programs, to attract new customers and encourage them to make purchases.
Coupons and discounts can attract new customers, while point-of-sale displays can highlight special offers. Loyalty programs can also build customer loyalty and result in repeat purchases. All in all, self-liquidating promotions are an ideal way to increase revenue.
Examples of a self-liquidating promotion
Coupon promotions that require customers to purchase a certain number of items to receive a discount or freebie
- Receive a free NFL baseball cap when you buy a pizza.
- Take advantage of the buy one, get one free promotion to increase sales volumes.
- Free samples require customers to buy a full-size product to receive the sample.
- Limited-time offers that are time-sensitive and require customers to buy the product before the offer expires
Seattle Seahawks & Pietro’s Partner For A Self-Liquidating Promotion
In 1983, Reggie McKenzie and Chuck Knox of the Seattle Seahawks saw the potential to give the coaches’ caps a more stylish look and employed a self-liquidating promotion to make it happen. They enlisted the help of Jim Mickelson of Northwest Custom Apparel and provided him with a description of what they wanted the caps to look like. Embroidery production then began without delay.
Pietros and Seahawk’s– Get Ready for a Scrumptious Treat!

Seattle Seahawk fans immediately took to the caps and began asking where they could buy them. Northwest Custom Apparel could make the caps but needed more distribution moxie to meet the demand. Reggie devised a creative solution: offer the caps as a self-liquidating promotion with a local pizza chain. Pietro’s Pizza placed an order for 10,000 caps and sold all of them within two weeks, making the promotion successful.
Northwest Custom Apparel offered Coach Chuck Knox a self-liquidating promotion of free caps for life. However, a big baseball cap company offered Knox a large sum of money to wear their product during games. Although Northwest Custom Apparel’s promotion was short-lived, it had a successful run before the more stringent licensing laws, which have now put an end to such cap and pizza promotions.
Conclusion
Find a store close to you that has a reputation for providing quality goods and services. Then, decide on an item to give away for free, such as a Seahawks cap. Make sure to publicize the promotion heavily and make sure the item you are giving away is attractive, useful, and desirable.
Additionally, set a date for when the promotion must end or limit the number of items you are giving away. This will help encourage people to act quickly and ensure the success of the promotion. If done properly, a self-liquidating promotion can help increase sales, customer loyalty, and brand recognition.