A little diet soda, to go

Articles
June 28, 2013

A bid to bring diet soda conveniently into people’s active lives relies on modern design and fitting in.

Many people feel a nip and tuck could help them look better and be more appealing pretty much wherever they go.

Now Diet Coke, one of the world’s largest soda brands, is using this tactic for the same purpose.  Its super-slim vending machine called the Slender Vender (so appropriate for a diet beverage) is designed to be within arm’s reach wherever people gather.  So when people run on a treadmill at the gym, bowl, sit on a park bench, or have their hair blown out at the salon, they may be tempted by the convenience and the novel, trim design of the dispensing machine.

The Lempert Report thinks the branding behind this is really smart.  The vending units redefine where Diet Coke can pop up in spots of high activity, making impression after impression in unexpected places.  The design of the slim dispensers and the mini-cans they hold should appeal to Millennials a lot—even if the content sold doesn’t seem to appeal quite as much.

Millennials continue to migrate to other beverages besides diet cola—so we believe the consumption effect of these units may be limited.  One sign of this cap:  the slick YouTube video announcing the launch two months ago is just now closing in on 200,000 views.  Not bad, but not viral.  We think the number suggests resistance to diet soda itself more than any distaste for vending machines in places geared to other purposes.  It could be both, however, if reader comments on the video page are an accurate sign.