Article

Kiosks build brand loyalty

The right kiosk can extend a company's brand, reach new markets and sell more products. A successfully branded kiosk attracts and engages customers in a variety of ways. Find out the keys to branded kiosk success.

December 2, 2004

What's in a name? Everything if the name is Nike, M&M's, Pepsi or McDonald's. Mere mention of these company names conjures up images of logos, colors and products. Why? Because these companies spend millions each year to make sure you know who they are and more importantly, what they sell.

Kiosks - when done correctly - enhance a company's branding and marketing efforts, say two industry insiders. Bradley K. Walker is president and CEO of Nanonation Inc. His company provides interactive kiosk software and digital signage. Sandra Nix is owner of D2 Sales, LLC. Her company builds enclosures and environments to house branded customer content.

When it comes to branded kiosks, two examples quickly come to mind: Kodak's bright-yellow Picture Maker kiosks and Coinstar's green coin-counting kiosks. These kiosks are consistent in their color schemes and their functions. Customers know they will have a similar experience each and every time they use these devices. As a result, customers come to trust the companies and their products.

But branded kiosks are nothing new, said Nix. Failed kiosk projects from the past have haunted the industry to some degree, slowing the adoption of branded solutions. Nix points to a tire store kiosk from the mid '90s that unfortunately, was probably ahead of its time. It allowed customers to view onscreen what their car would look like with different tires. The problem, according to Nix, wasn't the kiosk; it was with the customers' lack of comfort with the "new" technology. Unfortunately, the tire store kiosk spawned dozens of projects that "failed out of the box because they weren't well thought out," Nix explained. A lot of companies soured on the idea of kiosks as a result.

So why have a branded kiosk solution? The bottom line for the company investing in kiosks is to make money, whether by cross-selling, up-selling or introducing new products and services, noted Walker. Branded kiosks are being used to efficiently reach new demographics, such as those rolled out by Mazda and used to sell cars to a cross-section of people.

Kiosks also help build brand loyalty. Burger King's Virtual Fun Center is designed to do just that, said Nix. Because the kiosk is colorful and resembles a large toy, children want to interact with it. Nix told the story of a young boy who visited a local Burger King every week because he could play with the Virtual Fun Center. On one particular day, he arrived at the Burger King to find the kiosk being replaced by a newer version. According to Nix, the little boy cried until the service technician assured him the new kiosk would be up and running in just a few minutes. Clearly even the youngest customers are brand loyal.

Can kiosks simply be a gimmick used to attract attention? Yes, if they're the right gimmick to promote the right product. Nix points to Yahoo! as an example. The Yahoo! bus shelter kiosks and the purple kiosk cow attract uses to Yahoo! online shopping. At the same time, the kiosks attract media attention.

"The shelters were simply a launch pad for publicity," explained Nix, who noted that the media coverage of the kiosk bus shelters appeared in 150 different markets. "They (Yahoo!) are probably the best example of how to intelligently leverage the launch of kiosks to promote a specific product."

Another D2 client, SBC Communications, used old phone booths as kiosks to educate potential customers on the benefits of DSL. "We wanted to tell the story that the product comes from the phone company and you trust the phone company," said Nix. People experienced the new technology in an old, familiar setting. A gimmick, maybe, but it worked.

The kiosk must be more than "a Web site on a stick," according to Nanonation's Walker. "A customer looks at (something like) that and says I can get that on my computer at home." The software must "inform, empower and engage the customer," stated Walker. A kiosk gives customers something more. The best kiosk experience, according to Walker, would be similar to combining a Microsoft Xbox game system, a high-definition TV and the Internet.

Often the software takes a cue from the kiosk enclosure, which in turn is a reflection of the brand. For example, the Discover Card is marketed using that company's trademark orange color. The software must have more than color, however. "Focus on the use of rich media," advised Walker. "Video is more engaging than static text." Walker also recommends using higher resolution graphics and larger graphics. He suggests DVD-style menus that are more familiar. "If there isn't an engaging customer application, nothing works. It's the point and purpose of the kiosk," added Walker, noting that people often lose sight of this fact.

"Draw them (the customer) into the branded experience so they will use it more fully," he added. One way to do this is by what Walker calls context-sensitive computer. It means you know something about your customer at a certain point in time. For example, customers using a kiosk in the boys' department of a store in Nebraska are different from customers using a kiosk in the girls' department of the same store in Florida.

Kiosk software plays an important role in keeping a kiosk up and running. An attractive, engaging kiosk is worthless if there is a handwritten "out of order" sign hanging from it. Unfortunately, these signs are not uncommon. "What does that say about a brand?" was the question posed by Walker.

Walker noted that investing in high-quality systems that include monitoring tools keep kiosks up and running. Automatic alerts can be sent from the kiosk to store managers or service technicians who in turn fill the kiosks with printing paper and change printer cartridges. "You have to think about the whole cycle of how the kiosk is another touch point. Just like the person checking you out at the cash register," said Walker.

"Slapping a logo on a kiosk doesn't brand it," stated D2's Nix. While branding is partially visual, Nix said that branding is really the customer experience itself. "It's about telling the product's story, conveying the message of the product," she added. And while Nike and Pepsi are spending millions of dollars to promote their products, a branded kiosk solution does not have to break the bank. "It doesn't have to be expensive, but it does have to be thoughtful and compelling," Nix said.

Branded kiosks don't necessarily have to involve a long production cycle. They must, however, be built by a company that understands the goals of the client.

Nix recommends getting feedback on branded kiosk designs. "We use focus-group testing on designs to make sure the message we are sending is what is perceived," explained Nix. D2 often relies on the opinion of Bob, an 80-year-old man, for the usability of its public access kiosks. If Bob can walk up to the kiosk and use it, it passes the test.

Ultimately, the successful branded kiosk is one that blends appropriate kiosk design with engaging software in a one package that promotes the client's message. The actual kiosk will somehow transcend the enclosure manufacturer and the software designer to become part of the brand.

"A brand or logo is two-dimensional," said Nix. "Kiosks take that to the next level and make it a three-dimensional experience. There must be a seamless integration between the software and the enclosure for a seamless experience."