Let’s face it: Tweeting at brands or with branded hashtags isn’t worth it unless you get something in return, like a cool social media experience or a chance to win a prize. Hot Wheels and Chevrolet Canada went another route by creating a vending machine that accepts tweets as the form of currency rather than coins.
With the help of Canadian agency TrojanOne, Hot Wheels and Chevrolet Canada, in honor of the Toronto Auto Show, created a vending machine to dispense limited-edition diecast toy car collectables to give away. People at the auto show had to be standing near the machine and had to tweet at @HotWheelsCanada using the hashtag #ChevyCIAS. Location features had to be enabled on users’ smartphones for the vending machine to register their tweets in order to dispense a toy car.
The customized vending machine was just a regular coil vending machine that TrojanOne updated with special computer components that connected the machine to the Internet to search for the designated tweets using the hashtag. The machine used Twitter’s geo-location data to verify that the branded tweets came from someone standing near the machine, at which point the machine dispensed a car model.
“I think the best part was seeing the physical and digital worlds come together with a social action causing a physical world action to take place – when the car dropped after people sent the Tweet, the smile on their face was priceless,” said Mark Stewart, director of digital services at TrojanOne.
The machine dispensed about 2,000 cars over the 10 days of the auto show, and according to Steward @hotwheelscanada tripled its Twitter following as a result of the vending machine project.
More in Marketing
Why the New York Times is forging connections with gamers as it diversifies its audience
The New York Times is not becoming a gaming company. But as it continues to diversify its editorial offerings for the digital era, the Times has embraced puzzle gamers as one of its core captive audiences, and it is taking ample advantage of its advantageous positioning in the space in 2024.
Why B2B marketers are advertising more like consumer brands to break through a crowded marketplace
Today’s marketing landscape is more fragmented than ever. Like consumer brands, business brands are looking to stand out in a crowded and competitive marketplace, making marketing tactics like streaming ads, influencers and humorous spots more appealing.
As draft puts WNBA in spotlight, the NBA is speeding up ballplayers’ transition to creators
The NBA’s star athletes are its greatest marketing asset.