Arnold: The World's First Social Beer Vending Machine

To bring about a more social experience in the workplace, we created Arnie-the world's first social beer vending machine. Arnie is fully automated, intelligent and works on the seventeenth floor at Arnold Worldwide.

He's able to recognize users, recommend beers and has his own online personality to invite employees to socialize via Facebook and Twitter.

The Beer and The Branding

We custom-brewed ten types of beer to stock the machine and used sophisticated tracking software to automatically reorder supply when Arnie's beer levels run low.

We branded these beers "RedA" and baked Arnie's voice into the packaging. In an effort to continue a user's social experience with the machine and brand, each label features a unique, conversational line to match the flavor and variety of beer.

The Interaction

Not only does Arnie look great, but he's a great bartender too. He's got personality to spare and is always easy to interact with. Technically speaking, he uses RFID fobs to recognize users by name, a sound tube to walk them through the vending process and a touchscreen interface to interact with.

The Technology

Arnie: Life of the Party

Arnie has both dedicated Twitter and Facebook accounts to interact with users in the social space. He uses these accounts to automatically send out updates on refills and invites to socialize. For example, if five people get beer from Arnie in a twenty-minute time span, he will send out an invite encouraging everyone to pay him a visit and hang out.

The Make Project

Arnold funds the "Make Project" by setting aside $100,000 to encourage employees to "manage less and make more." The "Make Project" is an initiative that spawned the creation of Arnie.