CES 2020: Alexa and Coca-Cola introduced show attendees to voice-activated vending machines.
TechRepublic’s Karen Roby talked to Jaideep Kibe, vice president of Coca-Cola, at CES 2020 about its Coke Energy Wall. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
Jaideep Kibe: This is such an exciting moment for us, first of all. You know, for the first time at CES, we have teamed up with Amazon and Alexa, to create a truly experiential experience, that is interactive. And we’re using this experience to showcase the launch of the first energy drink product under the Coca-Cola trademark, which is Coca-Cola Energy, which is going to be on shelves on Jan. 20. All the folks, the media, our guests, visitors at CES, get to taste Coke Energy for the first time, thanks to this interactive experience here at CES.
SEE: Amazon Alexa: An insider’s guide (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
Karen Roby: That’s really cool. Folks come up, and they say what?
Jaideep Kibe: “Alexa, order me Coca-Cola Energy.” And, you shall receive.
Karen Roby: And bam, you get your Coca-Cola Energy drink. We were talking earlier, off-camera, about what this kind of dovetails into in the future, in terms of experiential marketing, and technology, and the human component. Explain that.
Jaideep Kibe: It’s a great question. We at the Coca-Cola company think about innovation in a very holistic way. It’s not just product innovation, or package innovation, or new flavors. It’s really, how do we create innovation in consumer engagement and interaction? In our 133-year history, Coca-Cola has tried to show up in consumers’ lives in unexpected ways, create a bit of magic, some surprise, and delight. And this presents for us an interesting moment to fuse technology with surprise, but make it a two-way dialogue with our consumers.
Karen Roby: Very cool. And the Coca-Cola Energy drink, you said, available to the public on Jan. 20, but there’s a cool way to order it, and have it in your cart, through Alexa.
Jaideep Kibe: Yes, you can pre-order it, on Alexa, and have it in your cart, even before launch. So, get started and go try some delicious Coke Energy.
Leave a Reply