There's no better time to enjoy a refreshing drink than when temperatures are high, and Sprite is helping people in the UK beat scorching summer temperatures with a heat-sensitive vending machine. As part of its Heat Happens, Stay Cool campaign, the soda brand set up a vending machine in London's King's Cross Station. When temperatures rise, the vending machine drops a Sprite to provide refreshment at the moment it's needed most.
Notably, the vending machine doesn't respond to physical heat but emotional heat, and people passing through the station can use their "heated" moment as currency for the machine. Examples can include feeling the frustration of cancelled or delayed trains, slow walkers or people blaring music too loudly.
This vending machine targets Gen Z consumers specifically, based on research that reports Gen Z feeling irritated 18 times a day as compared to the nation’s average of 12.
Heat-Sensitive Vending Machines
Sprite's Vending Machine Drops a Drink When Temperatures Rise
Trend Themes
1. Emotion-sensitive Vending Machines - An opportunity for vending machines that respond to emotional cues and provide relief or enjoyment based on the user's emotional state.
2. Marketing to Gen Z - A chance for brands to target the Gen Z consumer market by understanding and addressing their specific emotional needs and frustrations.
3. Customized Vending Experiences - An opportunity to create personalized vending experiences by allowing users to use their emotional states as currency and receive tailored products or services.
Industry Implications
1. Beverage Industry - A disruptive innovation opportunity for beverage companies to create heat-responsive vending machines that offer refreshing drinks based on emotional or environmental cues.
2. Advertising and Marketing Industry - An opportunity for advertising and marketing agencies to develop campaigns that resonate with Gen Z's specific frustrations and leverage emotional marketing strategies.
3. Technology Industry - An opportunity for technology companies to design and develop emotion-sensing technologies that can be integrated into vending machines and other consumer-facing devices.