< Previous20 Kiosk and Digital Signage K iosks have become an ever-present part of people’s lives, especially since the pandemic. First normalised in the UK by fast food chains such as McDonalds, we now use kiosks in many areas of our everyday lives. And while they offer ease of service for customers, they also provide huge opportunities for businesses and organisations to learn more about their customers and clients through data harvesting and analysis. When a customer interacts with a kiosk, regardless of what setting it is in, they leave behind information about themselves. What menu options do they love? What time did they visit? Did they order to go? Were they picking up a click-and-collect order? Did they choose the table service option? Did they select a different language? Did they link their account using the app? Kiosks give you this insight, and more. However, many businesses just aren’t collecting this data effectively, and even those that are, often don’t know how best to utilise it. On top of learning about specific customers, kiosks also give businesses the ability to learn about their customer base as a whole. For example, businesses with multiple sites can push different menu items, user interfaces, or offers at different locations, tracking the success of each, and revealing which is more impactful in real- time. This data can then be used to align every location to the best option, even if that looks slightly different for each store. This is why kiosks have become so popular for operators and businesses, especially in an increasingly competitive business world, where finding the edge over your competition has become ever more crucial. Increasing in popularity across multiple sectors, especially hospitality Self-service technology has been around for decades. Dating back to 1967, bank ATMs were the first to be widely adopted. Since then, technology has evolved, and with the constantly improving quality of high-definition touchscreens, kiosks have become a viable option. Their widespread adoption has been fuelled by a change in the desired experience of customers. When the pandemic hit in 2020, there was a huge rush from operators in all sectors to adopt contactless ways of working. Consumers got used to this experience. Now, even though everyday life has returned to normality, people still like to use kiosks due to their consistent, fast and reliable service. In fact, some stores such as Burger King have been trialling fully automated front-of-house restaurants, where Why kiosks hold the key to data harvesting in 2024 Andy Kaplan, chief data officer, three rocks – www.threerocks.co.ukKiosk and Digital Signage 21 customers must order and pay using a kiosk. The technology not only brings benefits to customers, it also helps businesses to deliver a consistent quality of experience. An opportunity for operators to harvest real- time customer data All digital interactions leave a record in the data. If we gather and analyse the data from interactions with a kiosk, we can gain all sorts of insight into customers’ feelings on our brand. Whether it’s the products we provide, our pricing, or the deals we serve to them, we’re able to get real-time, factual feedback on the choices we offer them. A kiosk transaction is not filtered through our phones, nor done ahead of time – it’s right here, right now, in the venue, surrounded by, and part of, the brand experience. What guests feel and do at the kiosk reflects what they want from our brand; which is very powerful information. Kiosks do what they are told and remember everything. We can ask them to show different things at different times of day, or to different customers. We can ask them to welcome a returning customer or speak in a different language to an overseas tourist. If we have a theory that a particular action may have a positive impact on our guests’ experience, we can prove it by using our kiosks to run a test, analyse the results and roll out the improvement across the whole business. And this can happen in minutes using real-time data feedback. How to effectively collect data from kiosks Businesses must make an active decision to harvest and analyse their customer data, and the process should begin when onboarding a technology partner. Make sure that data capture is part of the brief to the supplier. When data is used effectively, businesses can use it to shape future business decisions, direct change, and provide the tools needed to enhance experiences for customers. To do this though, leaders must be willing to test and learn over and over again. Data is the key to using good technology effectively. Why technology such as kiosks is set to dominate 2024 From the Sears catalogue in the 19th century, through to supermarkets in the 1950s and the Argos sales operation in the 1970’s, the public have always proved willing to adopt new processes, even seemingly strange ones. Consumers may try this out of curiosity or the excitement of something new. However, they quickly form habits, and this is when they find true value in the process. Value exists when something is relevant and significant. Well-designed kiosk experiences can tick both boxes. They can be relevant because they give customers exactly what they’re looking for, and are significant because they are faster, more consistent, easier to use, and more controllable than the alternatives. The next twelve months are set to be transformative for many industries. With the rise of advanced technologies such as AI, automated solutions like kiosks will likely become an extremely effective tool for lots of businesses. They offer real-time feedback on customer behaviour, and are one of the most reliable and fruitful ways to harvest valuable customer data. However, it’s critical that businesses understand how to use this data, because if they do, it can shape everything they do to help grow their business. 22 Kiosk and Digital Signage What’s next for AV technology? Mark Atkinson, sales manager, Universal AV – www.uniav.com R ecent years have seen many innovations in AV technology, with organisations continuing to adapt their practices for working and learning post-pandemic. But what will 2024 and beyond look like for AV? Network-based solutions The main change within the AV industry has recently been, and will continue to be, the move towards network-based solutions. The vast majority of AV equipment, from a passive display screen to a fully integrated control system, will sit on a network - whether that is for service requirements, asset management or control. The AV industry needs to adapt and evolve to accommodate these changes. As the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes more prevalent in our daily business and personal lives, the AV industry needs to manufacture products and solutions capable of communicating in this way. Audio-visual integrators need to continue to adapt the offerings they present to customers. More and more we have to ensure that the solutions we offer are compliant with an organisation’s wider network infrastructure. AI Artificial Intelligence is everywhere in AV technology, and it’ll continue to play a huge Kiosk and Digital Signage 23 part in the industry going forward. We’re already seeing more and more innovative uses of AI, especially in areas such as digital signage. At Universal AV we work with digital signage platforms that can dynamically modify displayed content in real-time based on the viewer’s interactions with the screen, adapting seamlessly to the demographics of the audience present in the room. We expect that, especially for corporate AV, we’ll see an increase in organisations utilising AI technology to welcome their visitors, where dedicated receptionists aren’t an option. Tablets and touchscreens, which many companies are already using, will continue to speed up the signing-in process and advanced camera technology will recognise repeat visitors to deliver a warm, professional and personalised service. Smart buildings An emerging area for growth in the AV technology industry lies in the development of smart buildings, where organisations can leverage technology to monitor how their spaces are used. By using IoT technology, organisations can gain real-time insights into how their spaces are used. For example, if meeting rooms designed for eight people are primarily booked for one-on-one interviews, it suggests a need for reevaluating facility usage. Tools such as occupancy sensors, room booking systems, and desk booking software, offered by integrators like Universal AV, can then empower organisations to make informed decisions based on this data. AV as a Service (AVaaS) AVaaS or AV as a Service is also becoming increasingly popular, allowing organisations to spread the cost of purchasing AV equipment over a fixed period. Throughout this duration, they enjoy benefits such as regular hardware and software updates, service and maintenance contracts, and the ability to scale their technology as needed. As AV technology continues to evolve and become ingrained in more aspects of our day-to-day lives, there’s likely to be a bigger number of organisations investing in AV as a Service, as this allows a more flexible approach to purchasing and implementing new technologies. The future of AV technology is bright and the need for AV technology and solutions is growing, despite 2023 being marked by global economic weakness. As the world continues its post-Covid recovery, organisations are continuing to use audio-visual technology to adapt to the new work and learning landscape.24 Kiosk and Digital Signage How to get a better ROI from your digital signage T he sales of digital signage hardware are increasing year on year, and have been for the last 25 years. As it becomes more affordable, more businesses recognise its potential for improving their marketing efforts and/or operational efficiency. However, some of the businesses that invest in it find that it’s not the ‘silver bullet’ they thought it would be and isn’t delivering the return on investment (ROI) that they were hoping for. So, how do you avoid paying for an expensive ‘wall ornament’ and ensure that your organisation gets the best possible bang for its bucks that it can out of its investment in digital signage? Be generous with screen time All too often people approach digital signage with a narrow mindset. It’s often used exclusively by one department and only for one task, and subsequently its full potential isn’t explored. Digital signage creates a vast amount of screen time. If an appropriate content management system (CMS) software is used, different types of content can be shown at different times and on different screens. For example, before business premises are opened to visitors or in staff-only spaces, displays can be used for staff notices or training to reinforce best practice, or to advertise internal job vacancies. Put together a team from different areas of your organisation and make a list of all the operational efficiency issues and focuses for improvement – large or small – that you can think of from inside of your own team/ department and outside it. Once you have a list, consider whether and how digital signage could be used to alleviate issues/make improvements, and (if feasible) what the financial value of a small- medium- sized improvement to each of them might be to your organisation. If you can get multiple benefits from your digital signage for multiple teams, you’ll get a better ROI and achieve it faster. Paul Murphy, operations director Saturn Visual Solutions – Saturnvisual.comKiosk and Digital Signage 25 Track your ROI Unlike a lot of modern digital marketing tools, the results achieved using digital signage can be hard to quantify, so it’s important to clarify exactly what success looks like so you’ll know when you’ve achieved it. Once you know who’s going to use the digital signage estate and how much their collective problems are worth, you can start to work out how long it’s going to take to pay off the initial and ongoing investment. It’s worth calculating a worst-case and best-case scenario so that you don’t overestimate how long it’ll take to get a payback. Consider what direct and indirect effects your digital signage could have and how you can track them so that less obvious positive results aren’t missed. Direct effects could be an increase in sales of a promotion being shown on displays. An indirect effect could be an increase in customer satisfaction scores/return visits because perceived wait time is shorter as they’re distracted by engaging content on displays. With a little software development, touchscreen displays can be used to generate lots of useful data about what customers were most/least interested in. This data can then be used to improve the quality and effectiveness of the content you use. Expect to make incremental improvements All too often businesses load their content onto a playlist, publish it, forget about it, and then expect the results to come rolling in. Never assume that the content you’ve created is perfect and never be satisfied with the results you’re getting from it. Always keep striving to get better results than before. There aren’t that many digital signage content specialists, so businesses often use graphic designers that are used to designing materials for small screens – eg mobile phones/desktop computers – and assume that their design 26 Kiosk and Digital Signage skills will transfer seamlessly to digital signage content. Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily the case. We recommend using creative teams that specialise in or have substantial experience in digital signage content. Failing that, get your content critically reviewed by a specialist for quality control. Unlike marketing to people on a mobile or desktop computer, digital signage tends to be used in busy places where there are multiple distractions and people can pass by them quickly or slowly. Your content needs to take account of this. Timing is often an issue. Video content designed for social media may be too long for digital signage displays, especially if people are likely to walk past screens within 10-15 seconds or less. If content is running at too fast a pace, people may struggle to read it, especially if there are distractions in the area. If content changes too slowly (eg digital menu boards) or is timed badly, people won’t get the information they want when they need it, leaving them frustrated and potentially causing queues. Content might not be attention-grabbing enough to compete with other distractions effectively, so people don’t notice it. Or content could be too ‘busy’ with too much happening on screen at once so people struggle to work out what it is they’re supposed to focus on and quickly lose interest. Get any one of those things wrong and you’re unlikely to get the results you want. If your digital signage isn’t performing well, we’d recommend getting a digital signage content expert to review it to look for improvements you can make. Once you’ve nailed your content – and if you’re using a decent CMS - try using all the different features that it has and experiment with how, when and where you display it to get the best possible results. The more you try out new ideas and learn from them, the better ROI you’re likely to get from your digital signage estate. Check the fundamentals – what, where and how We often find that businesses treat buying digital signage like buying any other piece of electrical hardware and don’t get tailored advice on what they should buy, where they should put it, and how they should display content. As a digital signage consultancy, we’re constantly speaking to businesses and steering them away from buying inappropriate hardware and/or positioning it incorrectly. If you haven’t had tailored advice from an AV specialist, there’s a chance you may have made an error with what you’ve bought and/or where you’ve put it. Businesses often try to cut their purchase costs by buying cheaper hardware without fully considering the implications. A common mistake is to buy domestic TV screens and put them in brightly lit spaces only to find that it’s hard to see the content on screen or that they can’t control their estate remotely. Another common issue we see is buying displays that are too small to be seen properly from the most likely viewing distance/positions. Kiosk and Digital Signage 27 A good AV or digital signage consultancy will assess the space you have and the most common viewing distances/positions and then recommend a screen size accordingly. If you’ve installed a display at eye level in a space has very high footfall, there’s a good chance that people won’t be able to see it as it will be blocked from view. Another common positioning error is to put a display where there are walls/counters/pillars/shelving units partially blocking a clear view of it, or to put it on a wall where it’s easily missed by a large percentage of the target audience. This is why totem displays are so popular as they can be positioned in exactly the right place for the optimum number of views/visibility. Another common issue we see is businesses trying to save money by not using CMS software, and instead manually inserting a flash drive into a screen. As a result, they lose lots of the functionality that will help them get a good ROI – eg software for timing content to appear at different times for different audiences, screen takeovers to create a spectacle. Focusing more on saving money rather than getting a good ROI is more likely to set your business up for failure rather than success. Don’t assume success is easy There’s a very good reason why companies like our own exist. It’s because creating and running a digital signage estate and getting a good ROI from it isn’t easy. It requires specialist knowledge and lots of experience to get things right first time around. However, if you focus on nailing the fundamentals, getting as much value out of your estate as possible, and constantly testing and learning with content and how/when it’s displayed and to whom, you’ll be giving yourself the best chance of success and getting the ROI you want in the timeframe when you want it. We recommend using creative teams that specialise in or have substantial experience in digital signage content.28 Kiosk and Digital Signage T he demand for superior audiovisual experiences is on the rise, evidenced by the increasingly high quality of content production and the prevalence of digital displays in our daily lives. LED displays offer vibrant colors and exceptional brightness, making them widely adopted in commercial, corporate and educational spaces for the vivid presentations and clear signage they deliver. The global LED display market is witnessing consistent growth, with a forecast of an approximate 15% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) from 2020 to 2025 indicated by several market research reports. In our close collaboration with partners, we have found that LED displays present versatile opportunities for the hospitality industry. These displays are pivotal in creating memorable atmospheres and immersive experiences, enhancing the overall appeal of hotels and their offerings. They serve multiple purposes, functioning as public signage and communication tools to enhance the ambiance of reception, wedding, dining, bar and conference venues, among others. The hurdles of traditional fixed display installation for hotels Traditional fixed video walls are a common sight in hotel venues, providing large and clear visuals for their audiences. However, installing an intricate large-scale screen necessitates meticulous planning for the space, including interior design and electrical routing. Additionally, mounting displays to a wall can pose challenges in furnished rooms, potentially disrupting the existing interior design and limiting the space’s versatility for various functions. Dean Tsai, General Manager, Projector and LED – www.viewsonic. com/uk The potential of LED displays in the hospitality industryKiosk and Digital Signage 29 Furthermore, the installation and maintenance of fixed video walls are time-consuming and result in long downtime for the venue, potentially causing profits to decline. They require a dedicated space to house the control system, making it inconvenient to access controls. Additionally, hotels require professionals for display installation, system integration, configuration, and operation of the display. Given the staffing shortages that are challenging the hospitality industry, the significant workforce and expenses demanded by fixed wall displays have sometimes made the procurement of these solutions a daunting endeavor for hotels. Innovative foldable all-in-one LED display Recognising these challenges, we have ascertained that the industry demands more than just eye-catching, large-scale displays; it requires a solution that is versatile across diverse spaces to effectively address the industry’s pain points and elevate customer experiences. Therefore, we have evolved our All-in-One LED Display solution to incorporate a foldable screen design with high mobility, maximising convenience across venues and reducing transportation costs. Pre-assembled with LED modules, cabinets, a system control box, and a motorised floor stand, it is ready to use once unboxed. This effectively tackles the complex installation challenges associated with fixed large screen displays, providing an all-in-one integrated solution for events that demand ease of use and exceptional audiovisual performance. While foldable screen technology is still nascent and rarely found in large displays, we invest heavily in material selection, structural design, and assembly processes to ensure the reliability and efficiency of our products throughout their lifecycles - from production and transportation to diverse customer use cases. Recognising that business customers meticulously evaluate their expenditures and commit only when they find a solution worthwhile, our foldable LED displays effectively reduce packaging size and enhance mobility, lowering transportation costs and making the solution suitable for various scenarios, thereby reducing the total cost of ownership for hotels. From our clients’ feedback, this innovative LED display solution effectively assists them in mitigating operational hurdles and alleviates the need for large workforces. For instance, by delivering guests a high-quality and captivating audiovisual experience, the 135in LED display has enhanced the reputation of the Bankstown Sports Group - a prominent player in Sydney’s hospitality industry - and its venue as a premier entertainment destination. The massive LED screen display can be effortlessly set up by two people in ten minutes, due to its pre-assembled design. Its foldable nature offers versatility, making it easy to move between floors using only a large passenger elevator. This allows the premium hospitality group to use it for digital signage in lobbies and as a multimedia display for rooftop bar parties. Additionally, Gaia Hotel Bandung, a renowned five-star Indonesian hotel, uses the 135in LED display to provide world-class, innovative technology facilities for business customers - even amid staffing shortages. Its ease of use empowers flexible event hosting possibilities, as customers can independently operate the display for their meetings and conferences. Consequently, the display has elevated the hotel’s futuristic brand image, positioning it among Indonesia’s leading hotels. Visions and market outlook for LED displays In today’s digital age, the growing demand for digital signage, particularly advancements in LED displays, is evident. Therefore, we remain dedicated to advancing our display solutions to encompass an adaptable array of sizes, alongside our current offerings, to comprehensively address the diverse needs of both life and business scenarios, contributing to a more visually immersive future. We have evolved our All-in-One LED Display solution to incorporate a foldable screen design with high mobilityNext >