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Digital signage and kiosk success goes hand-in-hand for NV3

NV3, which does both digital signage and kiosks, has seen a 300 percent jump in revenues since 2008.

February 13, 2011 by Christopher Hall — w, t

The last few years have been a tough time for businesses across the board, and perhaps especially so for new start-ups.

Some emerging technology sectors, like the digital signage and kiosk industries, have done well despite the economic downturn, both posting positive numbers in a variety of growth metrics.

Still, a company reporting a 300 percent increase in revenue from 2008 to now – especially for a firm with feet planted firmly in both screenmedia sectors – should be a welcome sign for others in both the kiosk and digital signage spaces.

Baltimore-based NV3 technologies sent out a press release today to report that it has achieved a 300 percent increase in revenue since its founding as NV3 in 2008, and that it has expanded its customer base across multiple verticals across the country.

NV3 got its start making cell phone-charging kiosks that incorporated digital signage advertising to drive revenue from the charge-for-free kiosks. It has since expanded into offering a variety of customized digital signage and kiosk solutions, from freestanding wayfinding solutions to a digital signage network for auto dealership merchandising.

The company's flagship product, the cell phone-charging kiosk, had its origins well before the founding of NV3, as one of its partners, Scott Calhoun, developed the earliest form of the technology as a firm called Cellular Solutions. Calhoun got together with now-NV3 Managing Partner Ryan Doak in 2008 to form NV3 and to integrate the company's digital signage solution into its kiosk solution.

The firm also has received guidance and assistance over the last three years from a tech firm incubator, Baltimore's Emerging Technology Center.

But the real key to the company's growth and success?

"We were fortunate in the fact that we found a market that had a need," Doak said in a recent phone interview. "And I don't care what kind of economic times you're in, if you have something that everybody wants, that's a good thing."

According to Doak, what the company heard from people in the digital signage space led it to a solution that he expects to become ubiquitous as cell phones and smartphones become ever more prevalent in the United States. As digital signage itself becomes more omnipresent, how do advertisers or deployers keep their message from blending into white noise?

"With the evolution of digital signage today, the one thing that's very difficult to do is to keep that captive audience for a period of time," Doak said. "So we really look at the cell phone-charging kiosks ... as a real, integral part of that."

Of course, a 300 percent increase in revenue sounds great – and is great – but from nothing or very little to something or a little more can represent a 300 percent jump. So what does it mean? Well, NV3 being a privately-held firm that doesn't reveal income or revenue streams makes it difficult to tell, exactly. But what is evident is that the company is growing and quickly spreading its reach.

In 2008, NV3 started setting up manufacturing facilities in China, and in 2009 moved all its manufacturing back to the United States -- Baltimore. The technology and manufacturing parts are set, Doak said, so now it all comes down to sales and customer service.

Cell phone chargers should become the next ATMs, Doak said, as more people become familiar with the concept and the technology. The company already has deployments in amusement parks, bars and restaurants, he said.

NV3 has deployed its cell phone-charging kiosks to Six Flags theme parks around the country, according to the company. Six Flags has 12 theme parks with 10 charging kiosks located at heavily-trafficked food venues in parks across the country. In addition to their primary charging functionality, the kiosks stream targeted advertising for Six Flags VIP Passes, roller coaster rides, concessions and offers from third-party corporate sponsors, according to NV3.

"We were looking for additional ways to increase revenue, and the NV3 cell charging kiosk was the exact fit for the new model we were looking for," Jorge Parra, Six Flags Theme Park in Maryland, said in the NV3 press release.

And the auto dealership solution that NV3 worked on it did in conjunction with Timonium, Md.-based consumer marketing firm PIVnet Interactive Internet Services. PIVnet's in-store digital information display system, Dealership Connect, is powered by NV3 Technologies and enables its automotive dealership clientele to stream constant, customized marketing messages directly to their on-site customers.

"The inherent flexibility, remote management and customization are what make Dealership Connect a success for our more than 25 clients across the Mid-Atlantic," Jay Pivec, vice president of PIVnet Interactive Internet Services, said in the release. "The technical innovation and ease-of-use empower the host of features that allow dealers to influence the last-minute buying decision of their customers ... We have worked with the NV3 team for more than two years and throughout our relationship, we have found the products to be both reliable and easy-to-use, and the level of support to be prompt, responsive, and to have more than exceeded expectations."

And finally, NV3 is completely self-funded ("We don't owe anybody anything," Doak said.) and is well-positioned to ride the rebounding economy forward.

"We're excited about where we're going," Doak said.

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