Starbucks has made it easy to buy a friend a drink on Facebook; now PepsiCo is taking this concept one step further by making it possible to
a soft drink from a vending machine. - namely its Social Vending System, a unit that features full touch screen interactive vending
technology.
A prototype of is debuting at this week's National Automatic
Merchandising Association’s One Show in Chicago. A user can gift a
friend by selecting a beverage and entering the recipient’s name, mobile
number and a personalized text message. There’s also the option to
include a short video recorded right at the machine. The recipient then
redeems the gift at any PepsiCo Social Vending system - at which point
he or she is prompted to thank the original sender with a return gift or
gift someone else.Vending machine
Can't think of anyone for whom to buy a drink? There is also the
"Random Acts of Refreshment" option - the ability to buy a drink for a
complete stranger through any other Social Vending system. This is how
it could work, Pepsi says: you could buy a cold Pepsi for someone in a
city where the weather is very hot, or a congratulatory beverage to a
student at a university that just won a championship.
Other features on the vending machine lets operators manage inventory
levels and delivery scheduling remotely, and update digital content.
PepsiCo plans to test the concept with partners later this year.
1,500 Dream Machines
Pepsi Co is becoming downright creative in its use of unusual devices for its messaging. It hasDream Machine interactive kiosks in more than 20 states to date. The kiosks accept
recycled bottles and cans and offer discounts and coupons at places like
Dominos, Johnny Rockets, and Marriott hotels in exchange People insert
bottles and cans into a chute and the machine calculates how many
points the trash is worth. They then get a receipt that can be redeemed
at Greenopolis.com for rewards. Users can also get free Pepsi products
and free tickets to concerts, among other things.
