Song Air Lines Opens Concept Store
Song, Delta Air Lines' new low-fare air travel service, has opened a first-of-its-kind concept store in New York City to replicate the unique travel experience Song delivers to its customers. The 2,700 sq. ft. “Song in the City” store enables visitors to experience Song's travel environment and state-of-the-art amenities in a high-concept, high-design space.
The store has six distinct "Areas." The In-Flight Entertainment Area, located in the center of the store, features two rows of three actual Song all-leather aircraft seats. The Entertainment Area features a wall of 25 plasma screen monitors, highlighting Song's in-flight television channels and video-on-demand capabilities. The Food & Beverage Area offers guests the opportunity to purchase items from Song's in-flight menu, which includes such selections as Stonyfield Farms Organic Yogurt and “Rock ‘n’ Roll” Veggie Sushi.
FotoZoomer Provides Self-Service Photo Kiosk
FotoZoomer, from Graphic Enterprises, North Canton, OH is a self-service photo kiosk system for creating on-demand poster-sized color prints of digital images from a consumer’s personal photos.
The FotoZoomer will accept digital image files from Photo CDs, Digital Camera memory cards, media sticks or floppy discs.
The FotoZoomer offers special features that allow the user to easily crop, add text, rotate, etc. Users can also access a border library and create personal messages for special occasions.
Fotozoomer is offering retailers a variety of kiosk models. The XP unit shown features a 19” touch screen. The unit is 31" (L) x 37 1/4" (W) x 57 1/4" (H).
In-Store Kiosks Promote SBC Yahoo! DSL
SBC Communications has joined forces with many leading retail providers to make SBC Yahoo! DSL available at more than 2,000 stores across its 13-state operating region. Distribution agreements are expected to help accelerate broadband adoption by making it more convenient for consumers to shop for and purchase SBC Yahoo! DSL.
Major retailers now offering SBC Yahoo! DSL include Best Buy, RadioShack, Cingular Wireless and Gateway. “We’re enabling prospective customers to experience the benefits of SBC Yahoo! DSL firsthand and to order the service in the way that is most convenient for them,”said Ray Wilkins, President, SBC Marketing and Sales.
SBC Yahoo! DSL will be promoted through in-store kiosks, brochures, advertisements and signage.
Alpine Display Demonstrates Navigation System
This sleek display was used by Alpine Electronic of America to demonstrate the Alpine Car Navigation system. The display is fully functional and interactive.
The display was successfully placed in 100% of the targeted dealers with significant increases in Navigation sales attributed to the display in subsequent months following the rollout.
The Alpine Navigation display was produced by RP Creative Display, Inc., a point-of-purchase display firm located in Irvine, CA.
Pepsi Launches iTunes Promotion
Pepsi-Cola N.A. has announced a promotion to legally give away 100 million free songs to Mac® and Windows PC users from Apple's iTunes® Music Store. Beginning February 1, 100 million winning codes will be randomly seeded in 20 ounce and 1 liter bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Sierra Mist, and the winning codes will be redeemable for a free song from the iTunes Music Store. Winners will go to Apple’s iTunes Music Store (www.iTunes.com), enter the code found under the bottle cap and choose any 99 cent song from the online store's vast catalog of over 400,000 songs.
“iTunes has revolutionized the way we buy music,” said Dawn Hudson, President of Pepsi-Cola N.A. “iTunes provides music fans with a fast, reliable and easy way to get the music they want, when they want it. During the Pepsi iTunes promotion, they will be able to get more of their favorite music for free.”
Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, said, “Pepsi has marketed their products through music for generations, and this is going to be another one that is remembered for decades.”
MusicNow Works With Best Buy To Launch New Digital Music Store
MusicNow Inc., developer of a legal online music store and service, and Best Buy have launched the MusicNow Download Store, initially available only through Best Buy. The MusicNow Download Store for Best Buy allows consumers to download music more easily to their favorite digital music players from industry leaders such as Creative, Rio, iRiver, Phillips/Nike, and Digitalway. Unlike other digital music offerings, the MusicNow Download Store for Best Buy enables users to transfer songs directly to more than 40 portable devices without having to convert their music or download extra plug-ins.
The MusicNow Download Store for Best Buy is available now at www.bestbuy.com/digitalmusic and also can be viewed through special kiosks at Best Buy retail stores.
Kiosk Transactions To Surpass $900 Billion
The annual dollar value of transaction through Self-Service Kiosk technologies will approach $1 Trillion annually in North America by 2007 according to a new study from IHL Consulting Group.
Greg Buzek, President of IHL Consulting Group, said, “Self-Checkout systems at the supermarket, ticketing kiosks for transportation and entertainment and new self-service technologies being introduced into Fast Food/Quick Service are rapidly growing in acceptance.”
According to the study, over $155 Billion in transactions will be conducted at Self-Service Kiosks that accept payment in North America in 2003. “When you consider that we excluded Pay-at-the-Pump and Internet transactions in the study, the dollar volume of the transaction growth we are seeing is simply staggering,” added Buzek. “Essentially, by 2007 we are talking about a dollar amount of Self-Service transactions that is equivalent to the revenue of 4 companies the size of Wal-Mart. This is going to provide tremendous opportunities for vendors to sell their wares. While we saw a major shift to value-conscious consumers in the last five years, the next 5 years will see a similar shift towards Self-Service, Buck added.”
Pondanet, Inc. offers an all-in-one digital display advertising panel. Advantages include the ability to design and update the contents using Macromedia Flash; there's no PC or operating system to manage; easy content replacement; no need to purchase additional software; and low maintenance and power consumption. It is ideal for guiding and enhancing the customer buying experience as well as providing exceptional control of promotions. Models available include desktop, wall mount or kiosk in sizes 6.4", 10", 12", 15", 20", 30" and 42". For more information, contact Pondanet, Inc., 1415 Warner Avenue, Ste. A, Tustin, CA 92780; (Tel) 714-258-8282, (Web) www.pondanet.com.
Display Werks Inc. is offering its new 40" AMLCD for the digital signage market. The 40" liquid crystal display is one of the largest in production and is a cost effective alternative to plasma technology. “The 40" LCD rivals plasma technology in picture quality and longevity,” said Mark Harriman, President, Display Werks. “These displays consume less power, have a longer back-light life and are not as prone to image burn-in like plasma displays.” For more information, contact Display Werks, 2747 29th Ave. SW, Tumwater, WA 98512; (Tel) 360-705-4112, (Fax) 360-709-9552, (Web Site) www.displaywerks.com.
IO2 Technology has announced the Heliodisplay display, which can project TV, video and computer images into free space -- thin air. People can walk around, or even through, the floating images; The display unit, about the size of a bread box, currently projects images as large as 27 inches with a capability to expand to 150 inches. Images can be manipulated just as though they were displayed on a conventional computer monitor, but with Heliodisplay, instead of a mouse, a viewer uses a hand to move an image or a finger to move the cursor. For more information, contact I02 Technology, PO Box 83 Lake Forest, IL 60045; (Tel) 847-234-3683, (Web Site) www.io2technology.com.
Touch International Inc., offers Digital Ink, the worlds’ thinnest and only form fitting, unbreakable, wear-resistant touch technology capable of stylus, finger, and gloved-hand input with palm rejection. Digital Ink is ideal for retail signature capture, Web phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), gaming devices, global positioning systems (GPS), and other handheld applications where thinness, power-efficiency, and low-weight are crucial to design advances. Digital Ink brings the functionality of a touch screen to any material, including a window store front, table top, or bullet proof glass. With its palm rejection capabilities, Digital Ink eliminates accidental input from the pressure of the user’s knuckles or palm, ensuring accurate input registration. For more information, contact Touch International, Inc., 2222 W. Rundberg Lane, Austin, TX 78758; (Tel) 512-388-0090, (Web) www.touchintl.com.
ETREMA Products is launching Whispering Windows, which uses an advanced “smart metal” to transform any pane of glass or solid surface into a high-performance audio speaker. Whispering Windows emits music or recorded messages throughout a pane of glass or other solid surface, transforming storefronts into attention-getting speakers. Whispering Windows allows sound to emanate from glass, steel, plaster, wood and other solid surfaces. For more information, contact ETREMA Products, 2500 N. Loop Drive, Ames, IA 50010; (Tel) 630-236-8474, (Web) www.etrema-usa.com.
TouchSystems Corp. has introduced the Mighty Touch, a wireless kiosk designed to provide self-service customers with a flexible, fully integrated kiosk system. The terminal features a 15-inch display with choice of three different touch screen technologies; resistive, capacitive, or surface acoustic wave. The Mighty Touch can be broken down into three modular pieces to allow for flexibility in installation. It can be deployed as a desktop, pedestal, or wall mount kiosk. Mighty Touch can perform multiple e-commerce functions and connect to POS peripherals including; a thermal printer, MSR, smart card reader, and 3D scanner. For more information, contact TouchSystems Corp., 220 Tradesmen Dr., Hutto, TX 78634; (Tel) 512-846-2424, (Web Site) www.touchsystems.com.
Graphic Globe is a new information display system, which can promote a company’s message in a highly creative and visible format. Fully customized graphics, animation, and text can be vividly displayed on the full-color 360 degree sphere, and can be programmed to run at pre-determined times. Messages can be customized quickly and efficiently. The Graphic Globe works through the magic of persistence of vision. This allows the human eye to believe it is visualizing a graphic inside the globe while, in fact, it exists only in cyberspace. The globes are capable of wireless networking to other Graphic Globes, or may stand alone. They run on either AC/DC or long-life batteries, and can be operated remotely through Bluetooth™ technology. For more information, contact Graphic Globe, 11100 Astronaut Blvd., Orlando, FL 32837; (Tel) 407-856-4173,(Web Site) www.graphicglobe.com.
Avitra Exhibit Technologies provides audio-visual solutions for the display and exhibit industries. It offers Trimline interactive kiosks. These systems are designed to be cost effective and are available with a wide range of options, including the use of track ball, touch screen, sound clips, video clips, graphics and text. Avitra also offers audio systems, including message repeaters and dome speakers. It offers video systems, display lighting, and animation controls. For more information, contact Avitra Exhibit Technologies, 1567 S. Cora St., Des Plaines, IL 60018:(Tel) 847-803-4832; (Fax) 847-699-3116; Web Site: www.avitra.com.
VirTra Systems, Dallas, TX, has produced a new promotional virtual reality experience for Red Baron Pizza’s museum project in Marshall, MN. The Red Baron Museum, which will open in the first quarter of 2004, will commemorate the 25th anniversary of Red Baron’s Stearman Squadron bi-plane aerobatic team. Located adjacent to the squadron’s hanger, the museum will use VirTra Systems’ newly enhanced, high-definition virtual reality to develop a destination experience.
Sony Corp. of America has unveiled an entire floor of new interactive exhibits in the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, the free public museum located at the Sony building in New York City. The exhibits have been designed as interactive tools to help young visitors better understand the importance of communications technology. The Sony Wonder Technology Lab occupies four floors and 14,000 sq. ft. in the atrium of the Sony Building. Second Floor Exhibits include: Wonder of Games, Music and Digital Entertainment, History Of Interactive Games, In The Game, The GameBuilder Exhibit, Wonder Of Music, and Moviemaker. An Atrium Window Projection, a large scale dynamic projection features video from the Wonder of Imagination.
Theatre Kiosk Sign System Is Launched
Nanonation has introduced an interactive kiosk that allows movie patrons to control the movie previews they view. The system utilizes multiple computers and projectors to display video and promotional content.
Nanonation, a Nebraska-based developer of interactive software and Douglas Theatre Co. combined to develop the next generation of dynamic signage. Patrons choose from current and upcoming movie trailers. The kiosk plays the multimedia clip and communicates wirelessly to a second computer controlling multiple projectors mounted in the theater’s lobby. The projectors run the chosen trailer on two large 89" screens that “float” suspended in the lobby area. Two smaller circular screens run motion-enhanced sponsor advertisements.
David Livingston, President Douglas Movie Co., said, “The kiosk signage system not only offers customers an engaging waiting experience, but offers our sponsors a more meaningful way to communicate and promote their efforts.”
New Health Station Delivers Ad Messages
Computerized Screening Inc.’s (CSI) Health Station delivers customized, product specific messages to consumers while they are in the healthcare mindset.
The CSI Health Station, a digital, freestanding kiosk featuring a complete array of health screening tools and preventive education resources, is utilized at retail locations nationwide. Patented technology enables consumers to track blood pressure and heart rate, as well as other vital signs. A Personal Medical Record (PMR) feature allows consumers to compile and store test results from Health Stations, physician office visits, hospitalizations and prescription histories. These integrated technologies combine to create a health maintenance system that attracts over 5,000,000 users annually.
For more information, contact Computerized Screening, 1395 Greg St., Sparks, NV 89431; (Tel) 775-359-1191; (Web Site) www.computerized-screening.com.
New Technology Helps Target In-Store Ads
Captive Audience has developed a sophisticated technology that is making it easier for supermarkets to capture the full power of electronic digital signage (EDS) by allowing the stores to target their messages to reflect specific dayparts, weather, demographics, or in-store marketing tactics. It is available to both retailers and manufacturers who might wish to cross-promote products throughout the store.
For example, evening messages, posted in the deli where waits can be long, might suggest dessert from the bakery, or remind consumers about milk for the next day's breakfast. “Our system can be programmed to run certain messages in all the stores, and, at the same time, store-specific promotions in just a few,” said John Ward, Captive Audience. Wakefern Foods has been among the first to adopt the technology.
For more information, contact Captive Audience, 1 Industrial Drive, Vernon, NJ 07462; (Tel) 973-209-3400, (Web site) www.get-ca.com.
Back to Top
To See previous issues of Creative Interactive Merchandising click here
To See Previous Issues of Online Weekly in Creative's Archives, click here.
To See other Creative Online Newsletters click here
