Coca-Cola Freestyle

A couple of weeks ago in the airport I saw my first Coca-Cola Freestyle. Since I hadn't seen one before I figured they were new but after doing a little research it seems as though they've been around since mid-2009. For those of you who don't know, it's a twenty first century, high-tech drink machine. It has over 100 Coke brand drinks available which is impressive when compared to the traditional soda machine that has only 6-8 options. There are all kinds of Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Powerade, Hi-C, Minute-Maid, Dasani, and many more. I was impressed by its touch screen technology and then shocked by all of the drink options. I just wanted a Sprite but after clicking on the logo, about 10 more flavors of Sprite were offered. I think this is a great advertising tool for Coke. With this machine, they have the opportunity to provide all of their drinks to a variety of customers and really get to showcase what they have to offer. They are promoting all of their brands at once and they are able to reach a wide range of consumers. These machines also have an innovative cartridge based soda dispenser technology which gives them a step ahead of their competition. It is also helping Coca-Cola track consumer behavior and brand preferences. The Freestyle is a cool advertising strategy for Coke, while pleasing customers and learning more about them at the same time.