KioskCom Self Service Expo and The Digital Signage Show have announced the much-anticipated keynote presentation roster for this fall's event in New York. The co-located shows - which will be held from October 15 - 16, 2008 at the JacobK.JavitsConvention Center - attract attendees from a diverse range of industries - including retail, finance, hospitality, tourism, healthcare, government, gaming/entertainment, and restaurants/QSRs.
Highlighting the common threads between the kiosk and digital signage industries, the comprehensive event was designed to help educate audiences by allowing them to observe the technologies, complications and solutions that come out of both spaces as they research avenues to develop, launch and manage their deployments.
The co-located offering delivers strategic marketing and technical business solutions for organizations utilizing - or looking to utilize - self-service, digital signage and other customer-facing technologies. The shows are designed to help businesses plan for all phases of their customer-facing technology deployment from pre-launch strategy to budgeting and measuring ROI, while providing attendees with all of their technology solutions under one roof. The events boast an impressive list of educational sessions and presenters including key figures from Continental Airlines, the Georgia Aquarium and the US Postal Service (USPS), who will be making keynote presentations during the two-day conference.
Jared Miller, director of customer service for Continental Airlines, will open the conference with a presentation outlining the research and planning that went into Continental's self-service and customer facing technology deployments. Miller will also discuss how the airline's corporate focus on exploring new self-service functions, such as automating key touch points, has helped travelers take more control of their travel experiences and has increased Continental's customer satisfaction ratings.
Amit Dongerdive, chief architect for Georgia Aquarium, will discuss how the team behind the world's largest aquarium researched and incorporated various customer facing technologies to engage visitors in a more dynamic way, as well as for brand promotion and cross brand promotion, and community activities. Among the strategies employed by the aquarium were hosting digital screens that were placed throughout the facility to show live webcam feeds of marine life, promote show times for its 4D Theater and showcase upcoming events (such as Jazz nights and parties), member benefits and informative videos for its visitors.
Closing the conference will be a joint presentation by Margot Myers, manager of retail in-store programs, and Janet Webster, manager of retail service network and access management delivery, for USPS Retail Services. As part of the team behind the United States Postal Service's testing and deployment of large-scale communications networks, Myers and Webster will address how USPS integrates multiple aspects and touch-points of customer facing technology and digital signage to not only redirect customers but change customer behavior. They will also discuss the four key metrics for digital signage success and how USPS is working to create a consistent customer experience throughout its vast retail network.
The speakers' expertise is now more relevant than ever as both industries continue expansion into mainstream arenas in the coming years. According to a recent study conducted by the IHL Group, transactions at self-service kiosks will surpass $607 billion this year in North America alone as consumers continue to embrace self service technology, and projections indicate that this amount will triple to more than $1.7 trillion by 2012.
"The utility and effectiveness of kiosks and digital signage is very evident in multiple industries, from retail to education to health care to hospitality and more," said Lawrence Dvorchik, general manager, KioskCom Self Service Expo and The Digital Signage Show. "The increased use of customer facing technology - and specifically the use of both self-service kiosks and digital signage is a perfect example of why a combined event is so important for professionals in both fields. It exposes them to the tactics and trends that are shaping one another's industries, as well as allowing for learning from each others previous successes and failures."
Named by Tradeshow Week as one of the 50 Fastest Growing Trade Shows in North America three separate times, KioskCom Self Service Expo has continued its reputation as the most critical, strategic, largest and longest running conference and tradeshow for kiosks and self service media and technology, worldwide. The expo has maintained more than a decade of success by delivering critical content and strategies to ensure deployment success directly from end-user companies that utilize these technologies within their organizations.
For more information on Self Service Expo, visit www.selfserviceexpo.com.
For more information on The Digital Signage Show, visit www.thedigitalsignageshow.com.
