Absolut unveils demonstration hub to generate revenues from connected lifestyles
Fresh from revealing its plans to turn Absolut bottles into digital media channels, Absolut has unveiled its first global test center for Internet of Things projects.
The experiment hub allows the brand’s marketers to investigate how their liquids can fit into lifetsyles that are increasingly connected via technology. Seeing how a connected Absolut bottle for example is influenced by other smart devices in the home such as speakers or a fridge could unearth new revenue models, whereby the bottle itself serves as another media channel.
It’s set up at the Absolut headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden though will also help other brands such as Malibu and Kahlua design and pilot more connected features. The space, which has been developed in partnership with Internet of Things agency Sharpend, will also double as a venue for focus groups in order capture real user feedback.
Initially, there will be eight demonstrations, spanning mood, provenance and homelife. The mood hub looks at how the connected bottle can interact with your surroundings to alleviate a person’s mood. For example, a person pouring the connected bottle could do so as lights on it flash different colours depending on the cocktail, which in turn decides what music plays from a pair of Sonos speakers,
The homelife space looks at how features such as weight-sensitivity work to deliver personalised and localised services including one that notifies delivery drivers close by should it run low. There’s also a focus on provenance that will use data from the bottle such as where the vodka was made and its journey along the supply chain to service up a more personalised take on the provenance positioning adopted by most alcohol brands.
The center will act as the focal point for Absolut owner Pernod Ricard’s early steps into the Internet of Things. It’s a long term play, with the business looking to use these efforts to make it less reliant on buying media to promote its brands and instead building the bulk of its marketing around providing services.