News

Trade-ing in on kiosks

Kiosks and trade shows have developed a synergy, with exhibitors using kiosks to communicate and display their products and trade shows utilizing them as communication tools.

March 13, 2002

As KioskCom 2002 recently showed, numbers are down at most trade shows in terms of exhibitors and attendees. The fragile state of the American economy during 2001 and into the start of this year put a strain on corporate travel budgets and forced companies to be more discriminating in what shows they attended.

But even in difficult times, the trade-show industry survives. For attendees, the goal is to maximize their information gathering potential. For exhibitors, that means delivering the information in the most efficient, dynamic form possible.

And that is where kiosks come into play.

Some companies, including those that exhibit at numerous shows annually, have turned to kiosks as a way of showcasing their products. For at least one kiosk enclosure manufacturer, that has created an opportunity to become a leading niche merchandiser.

"We work with a lot of companies that are extremely image and brand conscious," said Alexander von Welczeck, president of the North American division of friendlyway Inc.

Other kiosk-related companies have used trade shows as a way of developing relationships and highlighting the versatility and quality of their products.

Some trade shows also use kiosks to communicate with exhibitors and attendees. But at least one major show chose to go a different path this year.

Getting friendly with clients

At friendlyway, whose North American office is based in San Francisco, the goal is to create sophisticated, information-laden kiosks that can handle the stress of a trade show environment.

When von Welczeck was asked to describe his company's product, he noted four characteristics: elegant design; durability through the use of high-end alloys rather than wood, plastic, or laminates; mobility (most units are one piece and weigh about 80 pounds); and plug-and-play capabilities.

"Our premier kiosk is an interactive information station and it's ideal for allowing companies to present themselves in a very high-end way, which companies like to do at trade shows," he said.

Trade shows are expensive propositions, and many companies spend six-figure sums on their efforts. As a result, they are seeking maximum positive exposure. That is where a kiosk comes into play, according to von Welczeck. He said kiosks work by providing up-to-date information in a technologically pleasing and efficient way.

"Companies are not looking to take risks when they invest $100,000 in a trade show to exhibit in front of their best clients and their fellow peers," he said.

friendlyway Inc.'s kiosks are designed to be durable enough to handle the trade-show environment.

Some companies that exhibit at numerous shows each year chose to own kiosks; others prefer to rent them on a show-by-show basis. friendlyway has created separate purchase and lease programs for its kiosks. Companies can rent kiosks for three or more days at a price of $1,150 per day, von Welczeck said.

That kind of flexibility has helped make friendlyway a leader in the trade show sector. According to von Welczeck, more than 50 Fortune 500 companies turn to friendlyway for kiosks at trade show time. He cited Boeing Co., Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp., eBay Inc., and Marriott Hotels among the companies that have done business with his company, and estimated that friendlyway has rolled out about 4,000 of its Internet Information Station kiosks since mid-1999.

von Welczeck said friendlway has put a lot of effort into developing its brand identity within the trade show sector, and one leading kiosk consultant said it has paid off.

"They own that market, end of subject," said Francie Mendelsohn, president of Summit Research Associates Inc. "They found a niche and went for it and it's as simple as that."

The soft sell

Like most people, Alex Richardson, president of kiosk software solutions provider Netkey Inc., views the trade show as a non-stop opportunity to impress and do business.

"Every 30 seconds a customer comes in; it's a real retail event," Richardson said. "Trade shows are all about qualified leads. How do you capture that?"

For Netkey, an opportunity developed within the trade-show arena itself, and it was provided by one of the technology industry's A team players - Microsoft. Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer approached Richardson with concerns about Microsoft's trade-show expenses, which had reached $100 million annually. Netkey developed solutions that helped ease some of that burden.

"Steve Ballmer asked how do you cut down expenses on trade shows," he said. "The solution was to develop a lead retrieval and electronic brochure distribution system."

Microsoft was spending $400,000 a year on brochures, according to Richardson. Netkey eliminated the physical brochures by creating a system for compiling an e-mail database. The brochures are then sent electronically to everyone on the database.

"What we did was create a system that forces people to swipe their show badges at the booth," he said. "On the (badge's) code is your e-mail address and the kiosk asks you to verify the information."

Ironically, while Netkey is working with Microsoft to make its trade-show experience smoother, the kiosk software company itself has diminished its trade-show activities for 2002.

"We made the decision back in September to scale back all our shows in 2002 and convert our (show) budget to Webinars," Richardson said of Netkey's online series of information seminars.

Netkey did have a booth at KioskCom 2002 in Orlando, Fla., March 4-7, but Richardson said that would be one of the company's few shows for the year.

"We think KioskCom is important and we wanted to be loyal to KioskCom and the kiosk industry," he said.

Views from the other side

Companies that exhibit at trade shows are not the only ones utilizing kiosks in that atmosphere. Trade show organizers also have found kiosks to be an effective means of getting their message across.

In most cases, trade shows use kiosks as communications tools. Scattered throughout the trade show floor, kiosks offer information on daily events at the show, lists of speakers, and mapping information. At larger trade shows, where there are thousands of booths, a mapping kiosk can be vital in helping attendees find their way around.

The kiosks also serve an interactive role with attendees. Last December, friendlyway and Nova NetMedia reached an agreement to include Nova's streaming video e-mail services on its kiosks (See story:Video e-mail begins friendlyway run). Trade-show attendees can use the technology to record video e-mail messages for the office or their families.

friendlyway has a similar agreement with software developer Acteva.com (See story: Acteva, friendlyway partner on trade-show kiosks). The Acteva-friendlyway system acts as an event organizer, offering event registration and information along with e-mail and Internet access.

"We work very closely with trade show producers and managers," von Welczeck said. "We like to develop solutions for them that allow them to add value for their money by providing better service."

But the synergy between trade shows and kiosks is not universal. One trade show that shifted away from kiosks recently was COMDEX Chicago. The IT technology show has traditionally used kiosks as an information tool for attendees. But at this year's event, which took place March 4-7, the kiosks were gone, replaced by wearable computers.

Xybernaut manufactured the wearable computers, which COMDEX promoted as "queue-busting" tools. Worn by event staff, the wearable computers allowed COMDEX staff to reduce lines at registration booths, along with gathering information from exhibitors, attendees, and presenters during the show.

Bob Bierman, COMDEX Chicago vice president and general manager, said show officials had already used the computers for a number of business functions, making it logical to extend the concept to the trade-show floor.

"Wearable computing can be used much more widely to make our professionals more efficient and effective on a daily basis," Bierman said in a news release. Bierman did not return phone calls seeking additional comment, nor did he comment on the future of kiosks at the show.

Mendelsohn said she was not familiar with COMDEX's decision, but said it sounded like the show was showing off its ability to identify trends.

"They're going with the latest thing, and that's what works for them," she said.