Article

KioskCom 2004 Fall Summit

The KioskCom Fall 2004 Summit was an opportunity for kiosk industry professionals to meet and share their insights. Presentations covered a variety of topics from ROI to developing content.

November 22, 2004

More than 400 "high-quality" attendees were at the KioskCom Fall 2004 Summit held in Miami, November 8 - 10, according to KioskCom Managing Director Lawrence Dvorchik. There was "good representation of both those who had deployed (kiosks) and those looking for info," said Dvorchik. He noted that the event was initially designed to bring together roughly 250 executives to share insights into the kiosk market. The Fall 2004 Summit gave people a chance to compare and share their ideas and experiences.

Exhibitors included 3M Touch Systems, Apunix Computer Services, Boca Systems, CeroView, Cyphermint, ECCS, Hemisphere West, KIS, METALfx, Nanonation, Netkey, New Edge Networks, Picture Marketing, PROVISIO, Seiko Instruments USA, St. Clair and TouchPoint Solutions . Conference presenters from Gartner, Kodak, Target, McDonald's, USPS and Burlington Coat Factory were on hand along with many kiosk industry speakers.

In

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addition to Dvorchik, several others shared their thoughts about the recent event held at the New Radisson Hotel Miami.

Inspired industry analyst

Francie Mendelsohn, president of Summit Research Associates, evaluates kiosks across the country and produces a variety of valuable kiosk industry reports. This conference presenter had rave reviews for the presentation by Greg Kaplan of McDonald's Ventures. He shared details of his company's recent foray into the market with its Redbox DVD rental kiosks. Mendelsohn found it interesting that 40 percent of the Redbox DVD rental kiosks are outside, rather than inside, a McDonald's restaurant.

Mendelsohn pointed out that there was a representation from a variety of verticals, including the government, retail, financial and hospitality markets. A number of people mentioned to her that the presentations "covered the waterfront." Not simply typical vendor briefings, the presentations provided attendees with useful information.

Exhibitor as educator

Sylvia J. Berens, PhD, was both an exhibitor and a presenter at the Summit. Berens is vice president of Apunix Computer Services . The company displayed its BarMedia kiosk for tableside ordering. Company president Peter Berens was also on hand, serving as moderator of the closing panel discussion.

Sylvia Berens' presentations was entitled "Kiosk ROI Case Studies: How Technology Can Help." She explained that her presentation was designed as an educational tool for attendees to understand the technology choices customers have and how the choices affect ROI.

The Summit was well attended, according to Sylvia Berens. "Customers had a chance to see a wide of range f applications and an opportunity to network with each other," she noted. All of the attendees she spoke with felt the conference was informative as well. "The attendees ranged from startups to Fortune 500 companies, some with existing programs," added Berens.

Time to do business

CeroView President Derek Fretheim showcased his company's new photo print station and digital order station kiosk. Also on exhibit were the PHILAE with a 3D product configuration application and a prototype kiosk for Federal Express. Fretheim liked the intimate atmosphere the Summit offered. "We definitely had more time to speak to potential clients who are looking for kiosks," noted Fretheim.

Fretheim had the opportunity to attend a few presentations, finding the closing session panel discussion most beneficial. He explained that when it came to the question of ROI, each panelist had a different response. "All the panelists had a compelling response and what I came out of it with is that ROI is different for every kiosk initiative," Fretheim explained. "Where it is an HR application or retail kiosk, it boils down to the business objectives of the company."

Branding and busting

Ken Stempler, vice president of sales for Cyphermint, Inc. was busy throughout the conference, with "wall to wall" people in his booth through lunch. Cyphermint showcased its AAA/CAA Customer Service Kiosk. Also on display was the PayCash One Stop, a turnkey solution equipped with APS' bill-payment services. Despite the seemingly heavy traffic, Stempler admitted the real measure of the event's success for this company would come after the show.

Stempler noted that many of the attendees he spoke with were looking for branded solutions and those that incorporate stored value. Many were also looking for line busting applications for fast food, C-stores, and chain drug stores. Those looking for custom solutions "fall right into our bailiwick," said Stempler.

Picture worth a thousand words

Spokesman for Picture Marketing Tim Hoyt noted that the exhibition hall though smallish, worked well for his company. He was impressed with the "serious rollouts" that were discussed, such as the United States Postal Service's automated postal center that was reportedly five years in the making.

Hoyt explained that his company was at the conference to showcase its PictureMark photo capture software used in kiosks. The PictureMark system was used recently in the FotoZap Kiosk to take fun photos of concert goers. The kiosk automatically uploads the photos to the PictureMark system where they are processed pick up online. The kiosk sponsor, in this case Honda, uses the online photo pickup to gather demographic data and for marketing.

Many just looking

Doug Peter, president of St. Clair commented that attendees, more than usual, seemed to know what they were looking for at the event. Peter's company has a variety of software applications to offer including gift cards, loyalty, prepaid and music download.

Peter was impressed by the number of "big guys" represented, such as Lowe's, Home Depot, Burlington Coat Factory and McDonald's. There were many others researching various skills and opportunities in order to pull solutions together. Others, noted Peter, could be defined as entrepreneurs who seem to attend every show.

[Editor's note: Info Touch Technologies became Tio Networks in April 2006.]