As the marketing world progresses and the minds of creative and young people continue to change the way we market and sell products, there is a constant struggle to keep up with competitors and come out with the next great idea. Pepsi is having absolutely no trouble keeping up. Their marketing team, TWBA in Belgium, has created the next great idea: The Pepsi Like Machine.
This vending machine trades Pepsi samples for the consumer’s Facebook information. In essence, this machine doesn’t want your money; it just wants your Facebook information. Here’s how it works: smartphone users can stand by the machine, “Like” the Facebook page, and a free Pepsi will pop out. Those without smartphones can use the touchscreen on the machine and log into Facebook to get their soda fix. “Thanks to this new way of sampling, we know exactly who Liked, tried, and enjoyed an ice-cold Pepsi”, says the Pepsi Like Machine’s video narrator. This machine, first introduced at a Beyonce concert in Antwerp, Belgium, is an advertiser's dream: their free samples no longer disappear into thin air, they are now connected with personal information.
The Creative Minds
The TWBA Group believes “Creativity can grow our client’s business. Creativity in our thinking, creativity in the work we make and creativity in how we handle media.” This mindset has drastically improved Pepsi’s marketing and hopefully will continue to do so in the coming years. The Pepsi Like Machine is a new way of sampling that benefits not only the consumer, but also benefits the producer in the idea that the machine gathers personal information about who is drinking Pepsi.
“That there are creative minds in Belgium is no secret. The Pepsi Like Machine is another good example of that,” adds Jan Verlinden, Marketing Director of PepsiCo, BeLux. Now it is possible, with a Facebook Like, in real time, to get a can of Pepsi. “It’s a new way of sampling which provides us with information, so we can immediately start communicating with our target audience.”
What do you think about giving up your Facebook identity and allowing Pepsi to “communicate” with you for a soda?
