Article

Digital Signage Drive comes to KioskCom

A new digital signage focus debuts at the long-running show.

October 1, 2007

For years, KioskCom's Self Service Expo, formerly known simply as KioskCom, focused on the pillar of the self-service industry — kiosks. But the advent of other self-service-related technologies has pushed the trade show to include digital signage, something those in the self-service industry see as a part of their future. (For a preview of major exhibitors from digital signage providers and self-service providers, click here.)

"We want to continue to expand our show and we want to be representative of what (technologies) are out there," said Lawrence Dvorchik, Self Service Expo's general manager.

According to a survey of April's Las Vegas Self Service Expo attendees, 41 percent of the attendees surveyed said they are deploying digital signage and 36 percent plan to deploy signage within 12 to 18 months. 

Increased interest in digital signage is why it will be in full effect when Self Service Expo makes its inaugural trip to New York City in October. Debuting at the trade show is "Digital Signage Drive," an area of the show's exhibit floor that will show attendees the latest digital signage technology solutions.

Sponsored byNanonation& ULTIMedia USA, Digital Signage Drive will demonstrate how interactive digital displays enable customers to become engaged with products, and how digital signage can help extend a retailer's marketing reach well beyond the display panel.

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In addition to digital signage, special speakers will be present, as well as exhibitors from across the industry. Most importantly, significant product and developments announcements will be made at the show, Dvorchik said. 

Networking opportunities will be available at the show, particularly with special discussion groups. The Birds of a Feather roundtable discussion groups will allow deployers to network and discuss critical business issues confronting self-service companies. For the first time ever, the Self Service Expo has arranged for industry leaders and deployers to share their experiences and answer specific questions over lunch during both days of the show. Representatives from Nanonation andSt. Clair Interactivewill facilitate discussions on topics such as customer experience, lessons learned from a longtime company, interactive digital signage and return on investment.

Tech Talk seminars will be another way for show attendees to interact with industry leaders. The sessions within the Tech Talks Theater focus on more specific applications and technologies critical to successful kiosk, digital signage and other self-service hot topics for success. Some of the seminars include: 

• Digital Signage: The Next Generation 
• Closed Loop Cash Management Process 
• All About Digital Signage Software: The Foundation of your Signage Network 
• Selling Digital On-Demand Products in a Retail Environment 
• Building a Better Kiosk

At the show, keynote speakers and session instructors will cater to those in the retail, food service, travel, entertainment, financial, government and healthcare industries, among others. Dvorchik said the show's educational content regarding those industries will be updated to represent the current issues in the self-service industry. 

Kerry Bodine, a principal analyst for Forrester Research and one of two keynote speakers at Self Service Expo, will focus her talk on improving customer service. Businesses that don't adopt a user-centered design approach put themselves at serious risk, she said. 

"In order to attain their business objectives, [businesses] must help customers accomplish their goals — and customers can only achieve their goals when self-service channels provide essential content and function, then help users find and consume it," Bodine said. 

The other keynote will focus on the strategic impact of self-service on an organization. 

Organizers are projecting more than 100 exhibitors and more than 1,000 attendees at the New York show, said Mark Freed, vice president of sales for Self Service Expo. 

The show, which Dvorchik said is an effort to make the Self Service Expo more accessible to those on the East Coast, is one of several shows planned for the next few months. Later this year and into early next year, Self Service Expo will present shows in London and Beijing. 

The move to international shows comes as the expo continues to make its shows prime territory for networking with top companies in self-service.