iSPY - Something beginning with Coke

Designed by Ferrari, and incorporating the same touch technology as the iPhone, Coca-Cola launch their new Freestyle Coke Dispenser.

At first glance, the Freestyle machine just looks like a fancy beverage fountain. In fact, it is a lot more. It provides the customer with 104 different flavours to choose from. It borrows on technology used in the precision medical industry for dispensing drugs. The machine stores the flavours in ink style cartridges, and jets the chosen beverage to the customer instantly.

Its conception came from the company needing to combat the downturn in their North American sales so they designed the Freestyle. Apart from the customers sheer enthusiasm to use the machine, and the fact that this buzz is reconnecting Americans with the brand, Coke have another card up their sleeve with the Freestyle.

The cartridges inside the machine track what exactly is being dispensed in real-time. The data stream flows back to Coke HQ in Atlanta. They can see what is being sold everyday and at what times. It even enables Coke to see the various different combinations of beverage dispensed together in one sale.

The analysis of this data means that coke will be able to maximize profits from each Freestyle machine; placing the correct brands where they already know will sell. Also Coke buys a lot of small beverage manufacturers each year with the hope that one of these brands will be the next big drink craze. These new products can be placed in the dispenser and analysed each day for market spikes or upturns.

Coke really have designed a great product here. I find it so clever how they have built excitement with customers, whilst giving themselves a real-time look into the minds of those very customers.