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Self Service Excellence Award winners, Part II

A final look at the award-winning deployments from May's KioskCom Self Service Expo.

May 28, 2009 by

In addition to recognizing deployments in the travel/hospitality, healthcare and retail verticals, the Self Service Excellence Awards at the KioskCom Self Service Expo honored a deployment in the entertainment/gaming category, as well as those with the best overall hardware and software solutions.

In the Best Entertainment/Gaming Deployment category, Ecast took home the award for its EQ solution, a high-definition digital signage display that delivers digital music, games, video, user-generated content, targeted advertising and social applications and offers myriad opportunities for promotion at the point of purchase.

The product, which aims to reinvent the concept of a jukebox and is deployed mostly in bar environments, is vertically oriented and features a 40-inch, full HD flat-panel touchscreen. The display can support any manner of content and is divided into three sections to offer various types of views. Interestingly, the device's form factor looks similar to a giant Apple iPhone, attracting users to explore its content even more. The display's hardware, enclosure and software are an all-in-one solution, with each facet of the technology supplied straight from Ecast.

The judges at the Self Service Excellence Awards were particularly impressed with the Ecast entry's use of new technology and innovative content to replace the traditional and dated jukebox in bars and clubs, as well as its relevance to deployers as a viable platform for advertising revenue.

Since its launch, 40 EQs have been deployed, and the company is forecasting 500 installments by the end of the year. But for now, EQ's makers are thrilled just to have received recognition from the industry.

"Receiving the self service award is especially gratifying because Ecast is celebrating its 10-year anniversary," said Suzanne Maineri, marketing manager for the company. "The recognition highlights a decade of commitment — and vision — toward leveraging broadband and interactive media to drive consumer engagement in the out-of-home market."

VIDEO: The Ecast EQ

Taking home the award for Best Overall Software Solution was Netkey Inc., for its e-commerce kiosk program with Cabela's, an outdoor sporting goods retailer with more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue. As part of a 2008 strategic initiative toward channel integration (Cabela's distributes more than 130 million catalogs each year and offers more than 200,000 items on its Web site), the retailer sought to enhance the customer experience by extending its online presence into its brick-and-mortar locations with interactive kiosks.

Beyond the typical e-commerce capabilities, the kiosks support several customer-facing applications, including guided-selling, an in-store pick-up program and catalog order centers.

There are four types of Cabela's kiosks:

1. Outfitter kiosk: An assisted-selling and customer self-service tool that provides full touchscreen usability of the Cabela's Web site. Other applications include product-inventory views, marketing promotion registration, sweepstakes, catalog order, loyalty program registration, Cabela's credit card applications and store event news.

2. Promotional "flex" kiosks: Placed in high-traffic areas, the kiosk is designed to capture customer attention and support brand promotions.

3. Gun Library kiosk: Placed in Cabela's Legendary Gun Library to support and display thousands of vintage, collector and new guns available in-store. The kiosk's enclosure is designed to fit the unique gun library look and feel, and employees use it to help close a sale or provide the customer with information.

4. Catalog order center: A countertop kiosk located near the customer service counters that includes catalogs, a phone line to Cabela's customer service specialists and desktop Internet access with touchscreen capability.

Judges' comments indicate that the Netkey/Cabela's deployment was chosen as a winner thanks to the kiosks' ease of use and ability to achieve total customer satisfaction.

"The Cabela's kiosk offers the consumer new levels of convenience on the store floor, while at the same time helping Cabela's build customer loyalty and drive new sales," said Netkey CEO V. Miller Newton. "Netkey is pleased that its kiosk application and management software has played a key role in the success of the Cabela's kiosk program."

VIDEO: The Netkey/Cabela's deployment

Lastly, Innovative Control Systems Inc. won the award in the Best Hardware/Enclosure Design category for its Auto Sentry outdoor kiosk. The device caters to the car wash industry, which struggled with declining earnings and a poor customer experience in the late 1990s. ICS developed the kiosk model to provide car wash operators with a reliable outdoor performance under a white ride of weather conditions, high-capacity service (approximately 100 transactions per hour), cash dispensing technology and a simple and intuitive user interface.

In addition to car wash deployments, the kiosk can easily fit a range of drive-through applications, such as quick-serve restaurants and parking garages. With more than 1,000 kiosks installed, ICS has one of the largest deployments in the country and has captured 75 percent of the express car wash market.

VIDEO: The ICS deployment

Judges of the Self Service Excellence Awards touted the kiosks' rugged design and ability to withstand the elements as nudging it above the other entries. David Cincera, vice president of marketing for ICS, said the company is proud of its achievement, considering the past award-winning deployments and its tough competitors.

"We are positively thrilled, because we are acutely aware of previous winners and the standards (the judges) accept in the kiosk marketplace," Cincera said. "We were competing in a tough area with high standards, and that combination just left us thrilled with receiving the award. It's a way of recognizing all of our people back in the company who have done so much hard work in developing and making this possible."