Review: KIOSK EUROPE EXPO 2008

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KIOSK EUROPE EXPO 2008 and DIGITAL SIGNAGE EXPO 2008 opened in May 2008 at Messe Essen, near Düsseldorf in Germany, to great acclaim from visitors and exhibitors alike. Over the course of the three-day event, 170 exhibitors presented their latest innovations to a total of 3,306 unique visitors, making it the largest show of its kind, not only in Europe, but across the entire globe.
 
The growth in the numbers of visitors and exhibitors and the expansion of the exhibition space covered equates to an increase of 31% over the already impressive results of last year’s event. Well-known suppliers including 3M, friendlyway, IBM and Wincor Nixdorf presented their solutions to an audience of the highest quality; 38% of all visitors were Managing Directors and CEOs, 30% were project leaders and head of departments, and half of all visitors were of international origin.
 
A wide range of exhibits were on display in the main exhibition hall, offering solutions for a wide range of different vertical markets, from public service kiosks to kiosks made entirely out of stone! The event also saw a great variety of technologies geared towards developing the possibilities kiosks offer, including touchscreens, keyboards, printers, cash and card acceptors and contactless payment solutions.
 

 
 
The Self-Service Auditorium was the venue for the “Future of Customer Service” Panel Workshops, which were held during the mornings on each day. The unique format of the workshops enabled delegates to choose which day/s they wanted to attend, even making it possible for delegates to attend on all three days and still have the opportunity to visit the rest of the exhibition during the afternoons. The high quality of the speakers was praised by delegates, and high points included the presentation given by a representative of the EU, who explained how self-service can play a part in the EU’s e-inclusion campaign, as well as insights into how self-service can exploit the latest CRM thinking from Dr. Moira Clark of the Henley Management Centre.
 
Innovation was celebrated at the Self-Service Futures Parlour, where a range of cutting-edge self-service comdevelopments were demonstrated by companies and research institutes from across the globe. The area included multi-touch and virtual-reality displays developed by the Fraunhofer institute, an example of NFC implementation by NXP Semiconductors and Sony, Gesturetek’s gesture manipulation display, infrared frames from Hamburg University and the unique virtual cyclist, a VR development from the University of Rhein-Bonn-Sieg. Visitors enjoyed the opportunity to see what can be made possible through interactive technology and to try out new developments and projects for themselves.
 
Meanwhile in the afternoons, the Self-Service Auditorium hosted a diverse range of free-to-attend, drop-in presentations from across the European industry and covering a wide selection of vertical markets, from retail to healthcare. The goal was to demonstrate how self-service can be beneficial to almost every vertical market where customer service plays a role, and this was clearly explained in the course of the eighteen different presentations over the three afternoons. A particular highlight was the presentation by Grant Cambridge of the Meraka Institute in South Africa, where self-service has been used to help provide education and learning opportunities for young people in South Africa.
 
The events will return next year on 5, 6, 7 May 2009. KIOSK EUROPE EXPO 2009 and DIGITAL SIGNAGE EXPO 2009 are organised by hf media & events, Europe’s leading B2B publisher & events organiser. DIGITAL SIGNAGE EXPO 2009 is presented in partnership with POPAI, the global association for marketing at retail.