N&W believes that there’s something about the way that all their machines are made, which has the potential for operators to create a vending offer that really is unique – and they called in North West Vending M.D. Mike Cowley as Expert Witness…
The company says ‘we reckon that our range is the most customisable on the market, when it comes to appearance. Not that our machines aren’t smart – they are – but sometimes, removing the decals from an N&W machine and replacing them with a design that represents a brand, or even the customer, often adds potency to a its sales performance.’
All of which comes as no news whatsoever to Mike Cowley. North West Vending has been customising the look of N&W machines, with considerable success, for some years, so who better to ask about customisation? Is it a tricky process?
‘It was very, very easy’, Mike said. ‘I think the first machine we customised was an N&W Astro but since then, we’ve used the same tactic with other machines and all the N&W range lends itself to creative personalisation by the end user.’
NWV has a deal with Italian coffee giant Kimbo, which affords them the exclusive rights to vend Kimbo brand in the UK. At the time the deal was concluded, our Astro model was the companies’ chosen machine and it was ideally suited to the task of communicating the Kimbo brand. Astro’s successor, Canto, has now taken up the NWV / Kimbo ‘quality’ mantle.
There’s no doubt in the minds of many that a coffee machine or a vending machine is empowered by the presence of a strong, household name brand.
There’s no doubt in the minds of many that a coffee machine or a vending machine is empowered by the presence of a strong, household name brand. NWV saw the potential smartly, and began to offer customers the opportunity of installing a machine bearing the name of, for example, a Nestle brand.
‘We got to know the company that was making the decals for Nestle’, Mike said, ‘and that gave us an idea. We discovered that it was feasible to have ‘one-off’ decals produced to individual designs. That meant we could go to see a customer and whether their reception area was blue and green or red and black or whatever, then we could create decals that complemented the décor and helped to create the desired ambience.
‘Alternatively’, Mike continued, ‘we can incorporate the logos and use the colour palettes of our customers to deliver machines that not only to a great job, but look stunning and add to the style of the location, and to the prestige of our customer, in the eyes of both its staff and visitors.’
It’s worth thinking about; and having compared like-for-like sales in the same locations, before and after the arrival of branding, Mike’s economic case for creativity customisation is clear.
Don’t underestimate the power of branding; it’s much more rewarding to harness it!
*WE’D BE HAPPY TO RECEIVE SIMILAR BRANDING SUCCESS STORIES FROM OTHER OPERATORS.
