MediaTile And Roku Get Show To Themselves

Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief

As Bill Gerba and other industry commentators have pointed out so many times there are far too many shows in our industry and to our mind as well, far too many Kiosk shows jumping on the Digital Signage bandwagon.

The organisers of KioskCom – Self Service Expo Europe (and supposedly running alongside it “The European Digital Signage Show”) refused point blank to update us, when asked earlier this week, on any (new) signage related exhibitors that may have booked space at the show in early October.

This was, they said, due to things we had written previously on the blog – that will have been our – ASK DailyDOOH – feature then where we wrote

Avoid any shows with the word ‘kiosk’ in them and especially any Digital Signage events that are attached to Kiosk shows. I’m afraid that Kiosk organisers just don’t get digital signage and unless you have a product or service that meets the needs of both kiosk and signage then we suggest you steer well clear.

Therefore we can only go on the exhibitor list on their web site which shows pretty much that MediaTile (through their association with Box Technologies being primarily a kiosk / retail vendor are silver sponsors of Kioskcom) and Roku with their Brightsign product are the only true signage players in attendance – though it looks like 3M may be showing their Vikuiti product and Samsung may also be there.

We are not quite sure what to make of the organiser’s claim (below) now…

The event will allow you to access the industries leading suppliers and learn from others who have already successfully deployed their digital signage projects. With some of the biggest names in Digital Signage, two days of free educational content, show features showing you how this technology can work for you, and the opportunity to network with others looking specifically at this sector – if you are thinking of Digital Signage you need to attend The European Digital Signage Show 1st – 2nd October 2008, Olympia 2, London.


http://www.kioskcomeurope.co.uk/


2 Responses to “MediaTile And Roku Get Show To Themselves”

  1. Lawrence Dvorchik Says:

    Adrian:

    Unfortunately, I once again find myself having to explain all of the previous experienced customer facing technology deployments, and how digital signage (or OOH media) can learn from their successes and mistakes.

    As I mentioned in a previous Ask Daily DOOH (http://www.dailydooh.com/archives/2243):

    As a regular reader of the DailyDOOH, I appreciate the insight you provide professionals in this industry. I think we can agree that a thorough analysis of successful Customer Facing Technology (CFT) deployments is an asset and anyone interested in DOOH should seek out case studies on successful deployments and learn from them.

    Where I would have to disagree with you, is in your statement that “Kiosk show organizers just don’t get digital signage”. Actually, many of the important successes that should be examined come from DOOH’s sister market, the kiosk industry.

    For 13 years I’ve been involved at all levels of the CFT industry, from kiosks to websites to handhelds to digital signage. I’ve worked with thousands of deployers (purchasers) and technology / service providers, conducted research and industry analysis, and demonstrated the benefits of these CFTs to the mainstream universe – retailers, hotels, travel, government, food service, etc.

    My work has brought a number of “hot buttons” DOOH issues to my attention, including:
    • Securing funding, Senior/Executive level buy-off and organizational support (current and ongoing)
    • Exploring and selecting the appropriate technology for the project
    • Creating relevant and engaging content, and ensuring your content is presented in the right context
    • Improving the customer experience
    • Providing ROI metrics to purchasers
    • Increasing revenues with the deployment while reducing operational expenses

    These same issues have been a staple of the kiosk industry. The only difference is that they’ve been discussed and addressed within the kiosk market, and action plans based on these conversations now are used as the platform for many DOOH deployments.

    Kiosks and digital signage share an incredible amount of analogous DNA, so I think it would be wise to explore events that cover both areas versus avoiding them because those mediums – exhibitions included – will help them to most quickly launch and succeed with their project.

    From an attendee/session perspective (as Jim’s response was), the speakers at our events have been hand selected an vetted thoroughly. These sessions are conducted by speakers who have actually done the implementations so we can inform people (like Jim) of what they can do for successful deployments. We focus on the strategy and how-to’s in those sessions, leaving other areas, including the exhibition floor for technology issues and demonstrations

    As in your posting of May 15, 2008 titled “Only Do Great Tradeshows”, http://www.dailydooh.com/archives/1832, you clearly agree that is THE critical element, and the organizers of the largest Kiosk and Digital Signage Events make a compelling case.

    I’d like to invite you The Digital Signage Show in NYC in October as a guest in the hopes that the experience will change your outlook on this subject.

    Lawrence Dvorchik
    GM – The Digital Signage Show http://www.thedigitalsignageshow.com
    GM – KioskCom Self-Service Expo http://www.kioskcom.com
    Las Vegas ◊ New York ◊ London
    lawrence@jdevents.com

  2. Robert Ventresca Says:

    It’s a tough act to follow such an articulate response from Mr. Dvorchik, but I do feel the need to comment as well.

    How does one define “true signage players?” Not to appear self-serving (pardon the pun), but there are over 8,000 digital signs in operation worldwide using Netkey software, including one of the largest and most successful out-of-home advertising networks in the U.S. While Netkey is best known for its long history in the self-service kiosk industry, we are also – by product sales, customer base, signs deployed, any measure you wish to use – one of the largest providers of digital signage software in the market today. And we’re exhibiting at KioskCom & The European Digital Signage Show in London, as well as the similar event weeks later in New York City.

    The lines between what consititutes “digital signage” and “kiosks” is rapidly blurring, and to create labels about who or what is “true” to one or the other segment is an arbitrary exercise at best.

    Best regards…

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