Choice Run Delightfully Riot: Coke Invents 120 Drink Dispensing Machine

Coca-Cola invention produces 120 drinks
By Joe Guy Collier

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Coca-Cola Co. plans to try out a new fountain machine that can dispense more than 100 different beverages, using restaurants in Atlanta and Orange County, Calif., as the test sites this year.

Wider introduction could begin as early as next year, the Atlanta-based beverage giant said. Coca-Cola President and CEO Muhtar Kent will highlight a prototype of the machine this week at a Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference in Boca Raton, Fla.

The machine uses high-concentrate ingredients to fit up to 120 beverages in the same amount of space as the current eight-valve machine. It will hold a variety of both carbonated beverages and still drinks, such as juices, teas and flavored waters.

“Consumers always tell us they want more choice, and we saw a big opportunity to provide that choice while introducing a completely novel brand experience that can help catapult our customers’ beverage offerings into the future,” said Chris Lowe, president, Coca-Cola North America’s food service and on-premise division, in a press statement.

Stewie, Underdog, and Charlie: Coke Ad Still Marvelous

It's running in theaters now. Magnificent.

LinkStorm and Coke Make a Marketing PowerHouse With CokeTag(tm)

It's that time again. My every three monthly post about the wonder that is Linkstorm. You may remember my dulcet toned post in April, and then in June. But if ya don't Linkstorm makes these very cool Flash/DHTML marketing things -- ads, widgets, etc. that allow users to offer indexed content within a very small space. They can drive great increases in banner click rates AS WELL AS conversion rates because they get consuemrs to exactly the content they want. Here's a picture. You'll get it instantly:



You should get your tush over to their site and check it out.

But this post is about a very different offering -- a content widget that they developed for the fine people at Coke called CokeTag(tm).



Basically, this is a deep experience unit that allows you to select and promote content online to friends and connections in social media. Add your blog links, your favorite charities, the home page of your favorite Presidential candidate ;-). Whatever floats your boat. Then invite other FaceBook users to check out your stuff.

Here's how Coke describes it on the CokeTag minisite:

A CokeTag is a fun, personal widget for packaging and sharing links to content across the Web. Use CokeTags to promote yourself — your blog, work, interests, team, band or whatever you like or care about — and then track how influential you are!

The CokeTag editor lets you package your links into a personal widget that you can immediately send to friends. Then sit back and use the CokeTag click counter to track who's looking at your CokeTag, see where they click and find out how popular your links are!

The Coke branding is prominent but not obnoxiously so. And I think this is EXACTLY the sort of thing that a lifestyle brand should be doing. Coke makes social expression possible, yet the responsibility for the content of the links, which might weird out weaker marketing concerns, is clearly on the user. So all good warm fuzzies, no backlash.

I'm telling you, this is a marketing Tsunami -- something that is flowing across FB and leaving its delightful wave ribbon on the pages of delighted users.



One more reason to seriously consider Linkstorm in your next effort.

And NO, they are not a client. I actually DO like them this much.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.