Article

KioskCom 2002: When less is more

The number of exhibitors and attendees was down, but enthusiasm about a rebounding economy was up at this year's KioskCom conference and trade show.

March 11, 2004

ORLANDO, Fla. - Assessing the success of KioskCom 2002, which wrapped up March 7 at the Orange County Convention Center, came down to the question of which is better, quality or quantity.

Those in the quantity corner would have been disappointed at the end of the four-day show. The number of exhibitors fell from 103 to 83, or 19.4 percent, while attendee registration dropped from 1,300 to about 1,100.

But the missing were not missed by those in attendance. For exhibitors, the diminished floor traffic was disappointing, but the show may yield greater results than last year's event for one reason: this year's attendees were more focused. The economy is beginning to improve and companies are more focused with their kiosk plans, and The Kiosk Factory president Julian Bowron said that was obvious during the show.

"There's not as much floor traffic this year, probably half as much as last year," Bowron said. "But I haven't heard any flaky business cases yet and that was a problem last year. The leads are a lot more solid this year; there's a lot more of a need (for kiosks)."

Because of comments such as that, KioskCom executive director Lawrence Dvorchik said during a March 7 interview that this year's show surpassed its goals.

"The quality was at an all-time high this year," Dvorchik said. "One of the figures I got from somebody was that 80 percent of the people they spoke to were qualified leads."

The drop in numbers did not disappoint Dvorchik, who expected attendance to be down after last year's economic slowdown and the lingering effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"In a down period for shows in general I was pleased with the quality of the traffic and the interaction between exhibitors and attendees," he said. "Part of the lure of this show is you're not going to waste a lot of time."

At any trade show, the intentions of exhibitors vary. Some want to showcase products and attract new clients, some are seeking partners, and still others seek a combination of the two.

Terry Balthaser, a sales representative for MagTek, a magnetic stripe and smart-card reader manufacturer and first-time exhibitor, was pleased despite slow traffic at his booth.

"I'll probably get more business out of going to other booths than from people coming by," Balthaser said. "People walking by are looking for a kiosk to meet their needs. I came to see people in the booths, so I'm happy."

Sylvia Berens, co-founder of kiosk developer Apunix Computer Services, noted the variety and purpose of the attendees at this year's show.

"It's been better from the point of view that the customers that are here are more serious about deployments," Berens said. "And it's good that there are lots of vendors here because there's lots of choices. It's good to be able to pick the technology that fits your corporate culture."

With 20 fewer exhibitors in 2002, there were familiar names missing from the show, including ePOINT Ltd., Factura Corp., and Olea Exhibits/Displays Inc.

MagTek wasn't the only newcomer. ATM software developer Nexus Software displayed its products as it attempts to move into the financial services kiosk market. Kiosk manufacturer Ceroview had a booth this year. Another manufacturer, Meridian Kiosks, chose to exhibit this year after showing up as an attendee only in 2001.

Meridian Kiosks was one of several companies exhibiting at KioskCom for the first time this year.

"It was a last-minute decision to come but it's been worth it," said Meridian co-founder Dave Petsolt. "We got a lot of good leads and made a lot of good connections within the industry."

There were fewer people in the exhibit hall, but the change in atmosphere at this year's event was detectable all around, said Fidelity Investments director Emily Freeman.

"It's definitely a smaller, fewer frills affair," Freeman said. "It's got all the trappings, but it seems less fancy. But they still seem to have drawn the industry-leading people to speak."

As pleased as he was with this year's event, Dvorchik said KioskCom could be a better show.

"We're still looking for ways to get more buyers here, whether they want to deploy one unit or 10,000," he said, noting that leading retailer Wal-Mart was among the attendees at this year's show.

Dvorchik identified two ways to get more buyers to the show: marketing and price points.

"We're doing a lot more marketing and partnering with some of the industry groups (at the show)," he said.

From a price standpoint, he said next year's show will be less expensive. Retailers who attended the show paid $1,399 if they registered before Jan. 11 and $1,699 after. Government, academic, and non-profit groups paid $1,299.

"Attendee prices will be going down," he said. "Next year it will be no more than $899 for an attendee to visit the show and that's before any kinds of offers are made."

As Dvorchik attempts to get more buyers to the show, he said he will continue to work with exhibitors to tweak the show's schedule. Traffic in the exhibit hall dried up during the afternoon seminars on March 5, though it picked up significantly during the final day the hall was open, March 6.

He said this year's schedule, which included six focused tracking sessions, an opening-day series of workshops, and a technology seminar on March 7, was designed with input from exhibitors at last year's show.

"We're always in the quest for the perfect schedule and we'll focus everything we can until we get there," he said.

Berens said that despite the first-day hiccups KioskCom has made improvements.

"One of the really good things is that there's been adequate time for people to explore the show," she said. "Lots of attention has been paid to meeting customer and exhibitor needs."