When TLM came to Beyond Design to help them with The Like Machine, their purpose was to give shoppers a fast and easy way to express their opinions and receive feedback from others, right at the shelf. Insignia Systems is an in-store promotion expert service that helps companies drive trial and sell more products. With their capabilities, Insignia Systems can deliver three seconds of power to provide the truth to help customers engage shoppers when it comes to purchasing a product.

Understanding the Consumer

Many consumer packaged goods companies have social media pages that promote their products, which turn into thousands of likes. Their consumers become brand advocates and are willing to show their support online. Our team wanted to understand and create a way for shoppers to use an interactive machine that would increase the likes of a product on a shelf and enhance its popularity. We conducted research in stores and online with users who visited well-liked stores to see what items they valued and wanted to share with others. Our three main concerns that we had were the amount of interaction between the consumer and the machine without disruption of the retail experience, if stores would carry it, and creating an item that has the “wow” factor to draw someone in.

Designing for a Purpose

Our team wanted to design this product to let consumers voice their opinions when shopping. If a consumer is passionate about a specific brand, product or experience, it’s fast, easy and a convenient channel to let others know what you like and recommend. The Like Machine is narrowing the gap between the physical and digital worlds. We realized that there are many marketing tools in both worlds, but not any that are combining these two aspects in the consumer packaged goods space. The challenges in bringing a new product to market are never ending, even more so when creating a new category. Our team had a few hurdles while developing the product, such as size, cost of components and providing power to the unit, but all were handled strategically as the journey progressed.

Providing a New Way to Influence

The Like Machine is a game changer for the industry, providing another interaction point with the customer. This is major for grocery store aisles and stores like Target or Walmart.The more stops a consumer makes down an aisle, it provides more interaction with The Like Machine. Think of The Like Machine as a miniature in-store Facebook or Pinterest posting, which can be a industry changer, gravitating to the consumer’s mindset when picking their favorite product to share with others. Consumers enjoy convenience and researching products before purchasing. It’s local, personal and can be extremely influential to shoppers.