More Than Snacks and Soft Drinks

You walk into an airport and you see the usual snacks and beverages in the vending machines, but then there is one dispensing more than a calorie inducing treat. You blink your eyes in disbelief, but yes, this vending machine is dispensing something that costs a lot more than the usual treat. Instead of putting in a dollar and some change, you insert your credit card and out comes a fresh iPod Nano.

While reading the New York Times column Jet Lagged: Navigating the Unfriendly Skies I ran into the article Flying Solo, which talked about the unthinkable to me. Yes, there really are iPod vending machines. If you are like me and don't exactly travel by air often you probably have not ran into to one of these new-age marketing tactics. The question, I think, most people ask is, "Why?"

First, I should admit I am an Apple junkie and I fiend almost any new product they release. (I have the new Mac OS X Leopard coming in the mail right now and I can't wait!) With that said, I even questioned these vending machines. I mean, come on, iPods in a vending machine just seems a little much. Sure, we rush for that quick sugar fix, but do people really need to get their iPod fix that bad?

The whole concept of this just seemed rather loony to me. Spending $250 at a vending machine is not exactly a leisurely purchase for most people. I bet parents with teens love seeing these things, because not only do they face the stress of the airport but now they have to listen to their son or daughter rant about how much they need an iPod. For the rest of us that do desire them, but haven't made the purchase, it just another reminder of something that we want that we don't have. It might be rather tempting to max out your credit card, though, when they are in a vending machine.

After my shear dumbfounded state I decided I needed to take a step back. What did Apple know that I didn't know?

Recently I would hardly say Apple has been making bad advertisement and marketing campaigns. They have to be the one company I actually go to their website to watch their commercials. Then it clicked to me, it isn't about actually selling the iPod, rather, it is a glorified version of an advertisement poster slapped up against the wall.

This form of advertising goes one step further. This is more than an image. It is a lot different seeing a product in person. You get a more intimate connection with the product when it is placed in front of you. I can't make any claims to Apple's official philosophy behind this, but I think this is a pretty logical guess.

Apple can afford to station a bunch of their products out there in a vending machine even if they never sold one at them. The thing is, I would bet they do sell a decent amount. Maybe even more than they expected. Being able to just cut through all the mess at the store and just swipe does have some satisfaction and could grab those pondering consumers by their corporate neckties.

Sure, there is no music actually in it when you buy it, but most people now-a-days have a laptop and the airport will have wireless internet. This leads you to a simple buy and sync process that will have you listening to your music (or audio books and podcasts) in a matter of minutes. This will sure beat screaming babies.

If I ran into one of these, it would seriously make me ponder getting one. I doubt I would buy it out of a vending machine, but, hey, that would be a cool story to tell your friends. I can already see the friendly battles ensuing: "Dude, all you got was that crappy bag of broken chips, but I got a freakin' iPod!"

I have to hand it to Apple, they really do think outside of the box. That is probably why more and more consumers are being drawn to them. They are the one company that sometimes is hard to get out of your mind and now, even at airports, they will continue to tempt you.


Photo Courtesy of Nesster