BEFORE WE BEGINThis is the sixth in a series of white papers we plan to publish this year capturing and exploring interesting happenings in the digital, social and marketing worlds. Our other papers have included 20 Interesting Things: Foursquare; 20 Interesting Things: Augmented Reality; 20 Interesting Things: Crowdsourcing; 20 Interesting Things: Goodness; and 20 Interesting Things: QR Codes.

Vending machines is one of the trends we covered last fall in our 10 Trends To Watch In 2010 piece. We will revisit a few of these examples and add many new ones.

Vending machines are nothing new, having been around since the 1880s selling basic staples such as sodas, sandwiches and snacks. But lately, some brands have grasped onto the time-pressed, 24/7 nature of the 21st century consumer and have begun to create machines with an increasingly amazing array of options. While DVD rental and Apple iPod vending machines have become fairly common, they’re really just the tip of the iceberg for this trend.

#1 Gold to go Abu Dhabi

Germany-based GOLD to go launched its first ATM in Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace Hotel in May and opened a second in Germany several weeks later. The ATMs will next be installed in Milan, Malaysia, Russia and Turkey.

By making gold investing as easy as buying a candy bar from a vending machine, GOLD to go hopes to attract average buyers to the gold market. Learn more here.

Source: money.cnn.com

#2 Sephora

Sephora recently has started installing vending machines in airport terminals and smaller JCPenney stores that do not have a traditional Sephora counter. These machines will carry 50 of Sephora’s most popular items from a variety of brands. Sephora also installed a series of limited-time machines in the Paris Metro to sell samples of Calvin Klein’s CK One scent. Learn more here, here and here.

Sources: blog.sephora.com, thehuffingtonpost.com and springwise.com

#3 Seed Bomb

Beloved by guerrilla gardeners everywhere, these little balls made from clay, compost and seeds are the secret weapons to transforming barren and neglected urban corners into colorful spaces of living greenery. Learn more here and here.

Sources: treehugger.com and thecommonstudio.com

#4 Izarzugaza Butcher Shop Spain

The 100-year-old Izarzugaza Butcher Shop in Northern Spain has installed a vending machine outside its Mundaka shop that sells a variety of meats, sausages, sandwiches and other goods around the clock. Products sold within the machine vary with the season, so that summer offerings might include pasta salads while the emphasis is more on meatballs and sausages in the wintertime. Learn more here.

Source: springwise.com

#5 Rollasoles and Afterheels U.K.

Women who love their high heels may already be aware of ‘emergency’ flats that roll up and fit inside a purse in order to be slipped onto tired feet at the end of a long night of dancing. Two new companies in England (Rollasoles and Afterheels) have taken the concept a step further by selling their version of portable flats in vending machines at nightclubs. Learn more here.

Source: springwise.com

#6 Coke Biometric Payment Japan

At the recent RetailTech 2010 exhibition in Japan, a new Coca-Cola vending machine was demonstrated which uses Hitachi’s finger vein authentication technology to dispense Coke bottles.

This biometric system employs finger pulse recognition to authenticate a user after which his or her credit card or account is automatically debited. Learn more here and see a video here.

Source: PSFK.com

#7 Book Publisher Germany

Hamburg-based publisher Hamburger Automatenverlag is repurposing vintage cigarette vending machines as book automats around the University Of Hamburg. Keeping it local, the vending machines only feature writers from the area, though the texts’ formats range from travel guides to graphic novels. Learn more here.

Source: PSFK.com

#8 Quiksilver

Quiksilver has partnered up with The Standard Hotel to reissue a limited collection of original boardshorts from the 70s and 80s. Starting August 8, The Standard Boardshorts by Quiksilver and Quiksilver women’s bikinis will be sold through the first-ever boardshort/bikini vending machines. Learn more here.

Sources: surfersvillage.com and mesurf.com.au (picture)

#9 Wine

Approximately 100 Pennsylvania grocery stores may soon be offering self-service wine-vending kiosks. The vending machines will hold up to 500 bottles of 50 different wines, with assortments to be determined by location. Learn more here.

Source: progressivegrocer.com

#10 Regiomat Germany

These specially-designed machines (called Regiomats for “regional materials” or goods) hold stuff like fresh eggs, sausages, butter, cheese, potatoes, carrots, you name it.  Of course, the fresh farm products are wrapped in cellophane and packaging, but the idea itself is pretty awesome. Learn more here.

Source: bloggersbase.com

#11 Best Buy Express

Best Buy is installing vending machine-like kiosks in airports, in order to appeal to stressed travelers who left their cell phone charger at home or need a last-minute gift to appease cranky relatives.

Products include media players, unlocked cell phones, digital cameras, portable gaming devices, plenty of chargers, flash drives and other storage, cell phone and computer accessories, headphones and Best Buy gift cards. Learn more here.

Source: cnet.com

#12 Wonder Pizza

Wonder Pizza Vending Machine offers three 9-inch pizza options that are kept cold until ordered, then cooked in a high-intensity oven and delivered in under two minutes. Each machine can hold 102 $5 pizzas.

Source: wonderpizzausa.com

#13 Unilever Share Happy Ice Cream

Unilever has created the world’s first smile-activated ice cream vending machine. The underlying technology is sophisticated, but the concept is simple: consumers walk up to the machine, smile and are rewarded with a frozen treat.

Using facial recognition technology, it can then recognize a person’s age, gender and emotion, and measure their smile using a “smile-o-meter.” If their grin is wide enough, they get free ice cream. Learn more here and see a video here.

Source: springwise.com

#14 Charity Change Japan

Japan is pioneering the use of charity vending machines, which allow users to donate their change to causes such as environmental conservation and child welfare at the push of a button.

These machines have been well received by consumers, who are able to contribute to a cause that interests them when they buy a canned or bottled drink. The prices of the cold drinks are the usual, but a portion goes to the charity can that you choose. Learn more here.

Source: cherryflava.com

#15 Mondrian South Beach Hotel

Visitors to the Mondrian South Beach can buy a Bentley sports car, a Jean Paul Gaultier dress or a cell phone (as well as more prosaic hotel gift-shop staples like toothbrushes) from a new lobby vending machine called a Semi-Automatic. The machine peddles a jumble of more than 60 items priced between $10 and $1.2 million in a large, sleek rectangular display. Learn more here.

Sources: msnbc.com and therichtimes.com (picture)

#16 Call A Ball Netherlands

You’re in the street and feel a sudden urge to play football? Just walk over to the nearest of the CALL A BALL kiosk. You then send an SMS detailing the kiosk’s number to CALL A BALL’s communication center, which then sends a message authorizing the dispensing of a ball. Thanks to the RFID chip embedded in the ball, the center knows at all times where the ball is. Learn more here and see a video here.

Source: we-make-money-not-art.com

#17 Vending Machine Red Japan

Coca-Cola has giant robot vending machines (aka Vending Machine Red) walking around Tokyo. They are tied to a TV advertising campaign. Learn more here.

Sources: laughingsquid.com and flickr.com/photos/sanchome

#18 The Magnificent Jeans Machine ItalyClosed, a jeans brand, has just presented their first vending machine for jeans in Florence, Italy. The idea is to place these vending machines at airports and train stations so that travelers and commuters can purchase clean, new trousers on the go.

Sources: trendhunter.com and annytime.tumblr.com (picture)

#19 MediCafe (Media + Coffee)

Apex Corp. has laid out plans that will bring free or subsidized non-alcoholic beverages to thirsty consumers who are willing to watch a 30-second commercial before partaking.

Source: engadget.com

Launched in Japan, the MediCafe project will give users the option of plunking down the ¥70 ($0.58) to ¥120 ($1) required to purchase an item, or watching an advertisement for half a minute while the machine dispenses their liquid of choice in a branded cup. Learn more here.

#20 Coca-Cola Freestyle

The Coca-Cola Freestyle vending machine stores 140 different flavors which are designed to be mixed according to customer preference. Using a touchscreen, consumers can not only choose their flavor, but the calorie count, amount of caffeine and color (so you don’t end up with brown “swamp water” every time). Learn more here and here.

Sources: trendhunter.com and displayblog.com (picture)

AND TWO MORE…REVERSE VENDING MACHINES

#21 Pepsi Dream Machine

Pepsi plans to put thousands of recycling kiosks around the country to catch those elusive, on-the-go single cans and plastic bottles that usually get thrown away instead of dumped in the recycling bin at home. Learn more here.

Source: container-recycling.org

#22 Bulb-B-Gone

The world’s first and only consumer eco-friendly collection center for spent energy-saving CFL bulbs. Consumers get a coupon for each bulb they recycle. Learn more here.

Source: americanaenvironmental.com

WRAP-UP

These next generation vending machines are clearly about convenience for consumers and new sources of revenue for brands.

With more than 20,000 machines, Redbox DVD rentals may be the most recognizable of this new generation of vending machine (and possibly the final nail in the coffin of traditional brick-and-mortar video rental stores).

Pizza, shoes, jeans, swimsuits – the vending machine code has been cracked and the sky’s the limit for smart marketers and entrepreneurs to reach customers with 24/7 access to the products they want.

CONTACT AND MORE INFORMATION

If you are interested in learning more about Luckie & Company and how we think, please visit our website, www.luckie.com and check out our 10 Trends to Watch in 2010.

We publish five monthly newsletters. Four “Trend Tracker” newsletters that take a quick look at what’s new and interesting in the Banking, Snacking, Telecom and Tourism industries and one “Generational News & Views” newsletter that takes a quick topical look into the lives of Gen Y, Gen X and Baby Boomers.

If you would like a complimentary subscription to any of these newsletters, please e-mail david.stutts@luckie.com and mention your newsletter of interest in the subject line of your e-mail. And follow me on Twitter for more interesting insight: http://twitter.com/stutts