Social Soda Arrives
April 28th, 2011 by Kevin Smith
When you think of innovation, chances are a lot of things may come to your mind – but I’d be willing to bet that one of those things isn’t soda. After all, soda is basically “sugar water” that hasn’t experienced much change in the past 125 years or so. And no, I’m not counting New Coke or Pepsi Clear as innovation.
However, yesterday, Pepsi announced what sounds like a pretty cool innovation – though it doesn’t have anything to do with the soda itself (link to press release & video). The innovation is what Pepsi is calling a Social Vending machine. It’s uncertain when and where the machines will start popping up near you, but from the looks of the photos – you’ll definitely notice them when they arrive.
The idea behind the social vending machine is to enable any user to give a gift to a friend by selecting a beverage and entering the recipient’s name, phone number and a custom text message. The gift is then delivered with a code and instructions for how to redeem the gift at a Social Vending machine.
The person receiving the soda then has the option of either sending a thank you soda right back or buying a soda for someone else. In fact, possibly the most interesting feature of the machine is what Pepsi is calling “Random Acts of Refreshment”, which is the ability to buy a drink for a complete stranger anywhere in the world. Meaning that it has taken Pepsi exactly 40 years to figure out how to buy the world a Pepsi, instead of a Coke.
Kevin Smith is an Account Supervisor at PJA Advertising & Marketing. Follow him on Twitter: @Mr_KevinSmith
