It started out as a spec ATM enclosure design for the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain — shaped like a cracker barrel, of course. But Custom ATM founder and president Dennis Baker decided after a few months of working on the custom design that he was on the the wrong track.
"I realized the idea was great for Cracker Barrel, but it didn't have any application beyond that specific customer," Baker said.
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So Baker started thinking "outside the barrel." And eventually, he came up with the idea of the Bevcan, a beverage can-shaped ATM surround that could be wrapped with the graphics of literally any canned quaff.
Baker spent nine months developing prototypes, filing patents, negotiating rights with the MillerCoors legal team to use the company's graphics, and finding the right ATM model for the design. He has several working Miller Lite Bevcans in operation now, one at a beer distributorship, two at bars, and one that travels to outdoor fairs.
"The customer reaction has been the same everywhere we go," said Baker. "The three most common responses are: 'I can't believe someone didn't think of this a long time ago'; 'It makes me thirsty'; and 'Are you looking for investors?'"
Watch the Bevcan slide show.
For more on this topic, visit the enclosures/surrounds research center.
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