SUMMER LOOTFEST Chipotle Vending Machine Project User Prototyping, Fall 2011 JAMES HARRIS REMIE LUONG ANDY MERSKIN
THE PROBLEM Our assignment was to design a vending machine for Chipotle. We were given considerable latitude as to what the machine would do, but the general idea was that the company needed a way to service locations where a full restaurant wouldn’t fit. But a traditional vending machine is antithesis to Chipotle’s core values. Chipotle has invested enormous time, effort, and money ensuring that the food they serve is top-quality, never frozen, and perpetually fresh, and that the dining experience at their locations is superior.
We sought alternatives.
Far from drumming up business, having Chipotle burritos served by vending machines would actually damage the Chipotle brand, because it’s impossible to persuade the public that any food coming out of a vending machine is fresh, not to mention the logistics involved in cleaning, maintaining, and supplying such a machine. A Chipotle-branded burrito dispenser was simply a bad idea.
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
THE SOLUTION Historically, Chipotle has relied very little on advertising, preferring to promote its brand through word of mouth. This policy is founded on the observation that people are already saturated by ads and tend to automatically distrust pronouncements from mega-corporations, but place considerably more weight on candid opinions from their friends. Chipotle’s marketing staff are experts at harnessing this phenomenon. We propose a three-month marketing campaign styled after an Alternate Reality Game (ARG). It will sell burritos and build brand loyalty using Facebook, wikis, and geocaching. And vending machines. We guarantee it will stand out from the competition, and if all goes as planned, it’ll make the world a tiny bit better, which is also 100% in line with the Chipotle brand.
Advertising is not
believable.
— M. Steven Ells, founder and CEO of Chipotle
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
THE SOLUTION
Our vending machines aren’t dispensing food. They’re dispensing fun. JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
Here’s Our Story
THE STORY
Outside of a Chipotle, looking in.
Encouraging note to like their Facebook page with a hint to start “treasure hunting.”
Bill and Mary are hanging out at Chipotle.
For liking their Facebook page, Bill receives “Chipotle Points” for their summer campaign.
Bill notices a thank you note with a link to Chipotle’s Facebook page.
Curious, Bill scrolls down the comments on their Facebook page reading about the strange machines around the major cities that use Chipotle Points.
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
THE STORY
Bill ventures out curiously to find a machine at the nearby mall after reading some Facebook comments from his area.
Bill notices the machine dispenses only one kind of merchandise, in this case, bracelets promoting organic food and ingredients.
He sees the touch screen and decides to log in with his Facebook account.
Bill earns bonus points for discovering a new machine, just enough to buy a bracelet.
The next day, Bill tells Mary of his discovery and they decide to look into it more together.
They are linked to a wiki site from Chopotle’s Facebook, updated by other fans participating in the summer treasure hunts for discounts appear at the top of the leaderboards
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
THE STORY
They visit a machine near Mary’s house for more merchandise, like the top hat.
They are thrilled to hunt down machines after the switch every three weeks, gaining additional points for eating food with integrity from Chipotle.
Climbing the leaderboards got them recognition & discounts from their local Chipotle.
They help update the wiki, following the campaign to more exotic locations across the state promoting local farms & organic ingredients Chipotle uses in their food.
They check up on their progress from time to time on the Chipotle site, competing against friends and other fans across the nation.
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
The Vending Machine
VENDING MACHINE Because our users will be spending a reasonable amount of time at the machine, the touchscreen is designed for ease of access, just at the waist of anyone. The container is versatile enough to house a wide range of merchandise like hats, shirts, bumper stickers, bracelets, etc.
The item is dispensed through this opening. The door protects the item from falling too far.
The window features the item so the user can see exactly what they’re getting.
Branded to perfection. The Chipotle red everyone has come to know will make these machines easily recognizable from a distance.
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
VENDING MACHINE Ideally, the placement of the machines will have to be flexible, so partnering with certain venues and stores in the city’s area may be necessary. To promote Chipotle’s values of sustainability and fair treatment of animals, the partnerships we make would work towards elevating other businesses who share these values.
The vending machine in context.
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
VENDING MACHINE
WELCOME, TREASURE HUNTER
YOU ARE THE 4th TREASURE HUNTER
PLEASE LOG IN
TO DISCOVER THIS STATION SINCE LAST RESET
email password
+30 points New score: 133
NEXT
Facebook login is preferred, but security-conscious customers who feel uncomfortable typing their Facebook credentials into an unfamiliar machine can use their Chipotle.com credentials instead.
Machines are moved every three weeks; when that happens, their list of players who have “met” them is reset. The sooner you discover a machine after it gets moved, the more points you get.
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
VENDING MACHINE
THIS MACHINE STOCKS
TOP HATS
Your point balance: Price:
133 100
Hat of Emergency Burrito Storage
LOG OUT
REDEEM POINTS
The machine will indicate both on-screen, and through the window exactly which item is being vended, and redeeming your points for the item is at the simple press of a button. Your points balance is conveniently shown as well.
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
Merchandise
MERCHANDISE
Fedoras and top hats.
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
MERCHANDISE
Aluminum burrito kites
T-shirts
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
MERCHANDISE
Awesome
Ad
dic
tin
g
Chow Burrito
Nutrition Big
Cilantro Chicken Carnitas Fresh Rice Sour Cream Organic Vegetables Beans Culture Integrity Food Hungry Respect Cheese Care Deliciousness Fajita Guacamole Natural Beef Pork Local Sustainable Barbacoa Salsa Steak
Rubik’s Cube
Fridge magnet set
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
MERCHANDISE
Witty bumper stickers
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
MERCHANDISE
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
BONUS POINTS
1 CHANCELLOR The real incentive is not only rewarding our fans some swag, but to reward them with what they love most about Chipotle—the gourmet deliciousness it started out as. These titles will be given to the 1st–3rd place players on the leaderboard. The top 10% of the leaderboard will also be given titles. Each title has a discount associated with it.
2
VIZIER
3
CZAR
1%
BARON
5%
COUNT
10%
DUKE JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
BONUS POINTS It’s important to think about the consequences of one’s game design choices. A game which encourages players to eat at Chipotle very often may result in a “Super Size Me” effect: the highest ranking players become overweight, which can damage the Chipotle brand. To encourage high activity levels, provide increased challenge for dedicated players, and make the game more fun, high-value point caches can be found in remote locations, hinted at through clues on Chipotle’s Facebook page. These bonus points are essential to staying on top of the leaderboards in a competitive environment, and can only be found through hiking and climbing to scenic, out-of-the-way areas which require physical exertion to reach. This has several important effects: it distinguishes the truly hardcore from the rest of the herd, it ensures that Chipotle’s champions will be physically fit, and it provides a truly fun group activity that friends can achieve together. Long after the campaign is complete and the website shuts down, groups of friends will remember the epic trips they undertook together to reach the elusive red Chipotle sign.
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
Networking
MOBILE APP To accompany this campaign, we’ve designed a mobile app that will help explorers keep track of the items they have collected. It will also allow them to share the locations they’ve visited with their friends—and the treasure hunting becomes a very social thing.
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
SOCIAL NETWORKING In addition to the app, we will be providing a Facebook page for fans to get updates, ask questions, share machine locations, and to brag about their loot. We will also be featuring upcoming merchandise as the machines are rotated throughout summer.
JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN
LET’S REVIEW LOOTFEST
We have a game that lives and breathes Chipotle’s culture, which speaks for itself. The Chipotle Lootfest will not only reward fans for loving Chipotle, but give them even more of what they love: our mouth-watering
BURRITOS. JAMES HARRIS
REMIE LUONG
ANDY MERSKIN