Next month's New York installments of the co-located KioskCom Self Service Expo and The Digital Signage Show are set to feature a full slate of new content for attendees. Among that content are sessions and programs on each side of the show floor designed to help deployers of both technologies understand their value propositions as the struggling global economy appears to be regaining strength.
Alex Camara, recently appointed general manager of NCR Corp.'s entertainment solutions, says the timing of the event should encourage potential self-service deployers to spend the money and effort to attend.
"Particularly with the fact that the retail environment and the business environment is starting to show some signs of recovery," he said, "I think the timing of this event is perfect. There's going to be a lot of new customer-facing technology at these meetings, and there's going to be a real focus on how, in a tough economy, retailers can focus on cost savings, efficiency, reducing expenses, increasing revenue and so on."
Camara will oversee a session on the self-service side of the floor called "The Value of Customer-Facing Technology in Economically Challenging Times," which he says will focus on how self-service can help business operators bounce back from economic trials.
"This is a particularly challenging time, and this is an area that is very topical for people at the moment," Camara said. "This is certainly a session that's going to dig below the rhetoric and try and get to what we can do, what retailers can do to really make a change in this area and how self-service can lead that way."
Also during the event, attendees will have the opportunity to tour the digital signage side of the floor by participating in The Digital Signage Connections Tour, hosted by Magenta Research.
According to The Digital Signage Show's organizers, the program, which is complimentary, will provide an overview of the digital signage supply chain path from start to finish, outlining how each element factors into the process and integrates into a successful digital signage deployment.
"Understanding the nuances between these components and effectively piecing them together to create successful digital signage or digital out-of-home deployments can be a daunting task," said Lawrence Dvorchik, general manager of KioskCom and The Digital Signage Show. "We are firm believers in sharing as much of the expertise gained by leading deployers as possible so our attendees can make informed decisions." Dvorchik says the tour will run on both days of the tradeshow and that the feature is an example of the new, more impactful types of programming event organizers have in store.
"These tours are another way we can provide this education and help our attendees gain a much stronger understanding of the complexities involved than they might on their own."
While these programs should be particularly educational for attendees, they represent only a sample of the programming organizers have planned. Some other highlights include:
The DIGI Awards: The Digital Signage/Group and Digital Signage Magazine will host the annual awards ceremony, which recognizes "resellers, integrators and service providers who have gone the extra mile to ensure success for their clients, thereby furthering the digital signage industry as a whole."
Understanding What Makes Out-of-Home Digital Signage a Viable Media Platform: Digital signage industry consultant Lyle Bunn will chair this session, which show organizers say will focus on the emerging digital out-of-home advertising segment and share measurements and case studies on the topic.
Funding Your Kiosk Project: Creative Business Strategies for Any Economy: David Drain, executive director of the Self-Service & Kiosk Association, will chair this session. Speakers and attendees will look at different approaches to obtaining funding for a kiosk rollout.
KioskCom's Self Service Expo and The Digital Signage Show will take place Nov. 10-11 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. Attendees can register here.
