Sketch Loves... Interactive Vending Machines

One of the blessings of technology is that it has the power to turn mundane, everyday activities in to something innovative and interesting; clever brands have even managed to make vending machines a memorable experience. This engaging new ploy increases consumer involvement and boosts brand loyalty. Here’s a roundup of some of the best interactive vending machines we’ve seen so far.

BOS Iced Tea created a truly win-win concept with its tweet enabled vending machine named ‘BEV’. Passers-by were instructed to help get the brand trending on Twitter by tweeting a given hash-tag, this was then picked up by BEV and seconds later a can of BOS Iced Tea was released whist the users Twitter handle flashed on the vending machine’s screen.

And as Kenco says, “Great coffee speaks for itself”, quite literally in Soho Square this summer. This time it’s ‘Kenneth’ – there seems to be a tendency in personifying interactive vending machines, perhaps to help make the experience more personable. ‘Kenneth’ was a rather noisy talking vending machine, giving free Kenco coffee to those who would answer his questions or perform his tasks.

And lastly, ending on an altruistic note, how about the Swap-O-Matic? It appears to be of no obvious benefit to a brand, but simply encourages people to reuse and recycle. It’s a Swap Shop in a vending machines body!