Article

Press plays '""Meet the Kiosk'""

A new multimedia kiosk in the lobby of the National Press Club is more than a brochure for the Club's broadcasting services. The Cybertotem kiosk will let users browse archives of Club broadcasts and even watch live events broadcast over the Web.

March 31, 2002

Soon, when members of the venerable National Press Club in Washington, D.C. walk through the main lobby to attend Senator Joe Biden's talk on Missile Defense, or Bill Gates' live broadcast on National Public Radio, they're going to see something new: a multimedia kiosk.

The kiosk, made by Cybertotems, will inform users of the broadcasting services the Club sells to event organizers and will even let users browse archives of past events. Press Club events include press conferences and talks given by presidents, foreign officials and other speakers.

Robert Gallner, vice president of sales and marketing for the Cooper City, Fla.-based kiosk design company, said he expects the kiosk will generate interest in Cybertotems' kiosk business.

"It's a great way to get our name better known in the kiosk circles," Gallner said.

Not for revenue

There's no revenue associated with the kiosk itself. Rather, both broadcast provider ConnectLive and the National Press Club expect the kiosk to interest event organizers in buying video and audio broadcast services. ConnectLive, based in Washington, D.C., runs the broadcasts. The two companies share revenue earned from broadcast charges.

Gallner said in exchange for the $5,700 kiosk, which Cybertotems donated, ConnectLive and the Press Club agreed to keep the kiosk in the Club lobby for at least seven years. The Club and ConnectLive will maintain the system, Gallner said.

Exhibit A

John Bloom, manager of the National Press Club, said that a lobby exhibit makes an effective communications tool.

"We do lots of exhibits here. People tell me all the time they actually get better feedback and requests for more information, because the types of people who come through are reporters and PR people who are interested in this sort of stuff," Bloom said.

Bloom hopes the kiosk will translate into success for the Club.

"I'm hoping it will generate interest, not only of the members, but of the clients that come through here. Hopefully that turns into dollars," Bloom said.

Connecting with the Club

ConnectLive didn't just pitch the Club partnership idea and walk away with a lucrative contract, it won out over five competitors, Bloom said. Bloom preferred ConnectLive because of its superior handling of the broadcasts it arranged for the Club during the past two years. One of the factors behind the company's success at receiving the contract was its president and CEO, Michael Lessin.

"If I wasn't impressed with him, I wouldn't have done it," Bloom said.

Bloom said that not only was ConnectLive willing to share the revenue, but Lessin was willing to invest a lot of capital into the Club, including installing all the data lines, and installing robotic cameras in event rooms. These cameras can be operated by remote control from a studio and don't require a camera operator.

"They've invested quite a bit of money in this," Bloom said.

Terms of endearment

ConnectLive's agreement with the Press Club grants it an exclusive, seven-year right to provide broadcasting for events sponsored by the National Press Club or held at the Club by non-members. Under the agreement, ConnectLive doesn't charge the Club for broadcasting its own events. However, the Club and ConnectLive share revenue for fees paid for video services, satellite hookups, other broadcasting fees for non-Club events and Webcasts.

A Webcast is a live video or audio broadcast sent over the Web. It's similar to a TV or radio broadcast, but the audience uses a computer connected to the Internet to receive the broadcast instead of a television or radio.

While details of the revenue sharing terms weren't available, Bloom said that in addition to its own events, the Club provides a venue for approximately 2,000 news events and 3,000 private events per year. Charges for broadcasting range from $3,500 to $20,000 per hour for a satellite hookup and $5,000 to $6,000 for a one-hour Webcast.

"If you want to get a story out in Washington, this is the first place people try to book," Bloom said.

First, installation

Right now, the kiosk is sitting in Bloom's office. Bloom said he hopes to have the kiosk installed in about a month.

"I think it's pretty slick if it does everything I hope it does," Bloom said.

Cut to live

Eventually, the kiosk will be used to show live events, not just archived ones.

"We plan to actually feature the various live and archived Internet broadcasts occurring at the NPC and archives back to 1998," Lessin said.

Only one technical glitch is preventing the live connection:

"There's not an Internet jack in the lobby. That's the only thing holding us back," Gallner said.

Sleek kiosk

The multimedia kiosk is Cybertotems' Saturn model. This model features a small footprint, a sleek design and an integrated touch screen.

Cybertotems' Saturn brings multimedia to the National Press Club lobby.

Cybertotems designs and manufactures interactive kiosks. The company has deployed more than 1,000 units. It maintains offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Porto, Portugal. Its varied client list includes the Lisbon local government, IBM Iberia, BMW Motors, the World Trade Center of Fort Lauderdale, Puerto Rico Telephone and the U.S. Navy.

In addition to producing kiosks in standard and custom designs, Cybertotems provides concept design, storyboard and menu logic, graphic presentation, text, programming, network and marketing support.

The National Press Club, located inside the National Press Building near the White House, has been a significant part of Washington life for more than 90 years. Its 4,600 members have included four generations of American and foreign journalists, newsmakers and politicians, including presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Bill Clinton. Though not journalists, presidents become honorary members once they speak at the Club, Bloom said.

In addition to press conferences, The National Press Club hosts seminars, working lunches, gala dinners and weddings. The Club is a private organization and is not funded by the U.S. government.