MARTINI Smart Cube

Background

The one thing that interrupts a great time with friends is stopping the conversation to get more drinks and queuing at the bar for the next round.

Idea

Martini decided to give back to consumers their time with friends by creating a "Smart Cube", an ice cube that communicated to the bartender when a Martini drinker wanted another drink without having to go to the bar and fight for attention there.

When the ice cube hit the bottom of the glass, it triggered an iBeacon that sent the message to the bar using Bluetooth technology.

The ice cube cases were injection-molded in food-safe resin. As well as providing realtime ordering technology, they also functioned as ice cubes thanks to Aerogel, a technology created by NASA, which kept the temperature of the cube cool, and allowed it to stay buoyant.

Results

Martini partnered with Wired Magazine in the UK to tell this story.

(http://www.wired.co.uk/article/no-more-time-at-the-bar-meet-smart-cubes)

The story was also covered by another 28 publications across global markets, all with a positive or neutral-to-positive sentiment.

Our Thoughts

Quite frankly, this is a bit of a stunt. But an ingenious stunt. And the partnership with Wired is so-o clever.

Tech today has become important brand communication, especially when you're trying to reach those pesky millennials, who avoid advertising. The story of the ice cube in Wired would have made Martini suddenly look cool to a digitally-savvy audience, who, in turn, would have spread the story of the digital ice cube to exactly the sort of people Martini wanted to reach but couldn't with traditional media.

Great to see media planners and creative people actually talking to each other too. Cheers to the team at AMV BBDO.