DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Mondelez International, a leading maker of chocolate, biscuits, gum and candy, has announced it will host an Oreo Trending Vending Lounge, a space that will deliver customized snacks based on real-time data collection for the South by Southwest SXSW Interactive Festival attendees in Austin, Texas, that begins this week.
This creative space is made possible by the Oreo Trending Vending Machine, a new way of imagining snacking distribution and consumer engagement through increasing connectivity and customization.
"Trending Vending is about connecting with consumers in an innovative way by enabling them to use unique Oreo flavors and colors to design and customize their snacks using the latest technology," said Bonin Bough, vice president of global media and consumer engagement at Mondelez. "We're also revolutionizing the distribution process by creating the cookies in real time with experimental 3D printing technology. …We're connecting trending moments to the cookie itself in real time and in real life."
Powered by Twitter, two custom-made vending machines will enable SXSW attendees to create and eat custom Oreo cookies based on trending social conversations. Users browse a selection of "trending flavors" displayed on a large touchscreen panel on the front of the machine. They choose from 12 flavors and colors of creme and then watch the machine build their Oreo cookies.
Created by technology design firm and innovation lab MAYA Design, the experimental machines use 3D printing technology to assemble the Oreo cookies in less than two minutes. Consumers can follow the conversation using the Twitter hashtag #eatthetweet.
"Mondelez International continues to push the boundaries of digital creativity by using technologies like Twitter to bridge real-world events with online conversations," said Ross Hoffman, director of U.S. brand strategy at Twitter. The concept gives "SXSW attendees the ability to transform and customize something as iconic as an Oreo cookie, simply by tweeting."
The Oreo Trending Vending Lounge provides a snacking experience for SXSW attendees by featuring a display screen showcasing tweets using the #eatthetweet hashtag and a Milk Bar serving a variety of milk types and flavors. Several Oreo cup containers will have a star printed on the bottom to signify that the user has won a prize.
Mondelez also announced a global strategic partnership with Facebook, as the company continues to shift more media spending to digital, especially social and mobile, across the entire consumer journey. The partnership leverages the scale of both businesses to deliver overall competitive advantage via "step-change brand-building," innovation and access to research, training and capabilities.
"Our recent campaigns with brands like Cadbury Creme Egg, Milka and Nilla Wafers demonstrated that Facebook can drive business growth, and this made us rethink our media approach," said Bough. "For the first time, we'll be able to incorporate Facebook at the core of our media investment plans. This isn't just about having a social media strategy; it's about digitizing our entire approach to communications."
"As an industry, we're shifting back to a more personal way of marketing, leveraging technology to bring a personal touch to business with the scale and efficiency of mass media," said Carolyn Everson, vice president of global marketing solutions for Facebook. "Every day, people spend more of their time on mobile and on Facebook, which is built around people and the things they care about."
Deerfield, Ill.-based Mondelez is a global snack company, with 2013 revenue of $35 billion. It is a world leader in chocolate, biscuits, gum, candy, coffee and powdered beverages, with billion-dollar brands such as Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate, Jacobs coffee, Oreo, LU and Nabisco biscuits, Tang powdered beverages and Trident gum.
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