City Centre Info Kiosks

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The question of how to revitalise a downtown area and convince shoppers to go to pedestrian zones in the centre of town instead of making the trip to shopping centres or megastores on the outskirts of town has no doubt been one that has vexed local governments for many years past.
 
According to newly released data, over 12,000 people commute each day to their place of work in Schwechat, Germany. As tax receipts show, this group represents a potentially lucrative market of high-income consumers. Unfortunately, the typical Schwechater only shops every two weeks in the downtown area on average. The city’s downtown area to date has barely scratched the surface in terms of tapping the purchasing power of this group.
 
Retailers, service providers, and banks in Schwechat have therefore devised a clever scheme to attract more shoppers to the centre of town. The city has established an economic forum to represent the shared interests of downtown businesses and implement targeted measures to increase the number of visitors. As part of these efforts, a website has been set up containing indepth information on events and special attractions in the downtown area. In addition, a customernews letter is also published with all the details of the main attractions the downtown area has to offer. And even a new currency, the Schwechater, was launched to boost purchasing power.
 
As this process unfolded, the question arose how to advertise the innovative offerings of the downtown area in a new and interesting way. What would be the point of having the best website and the most interesting newsletter if Jane Q. Public isn’t aware of their existence or, more importantly, does not know where to find them? One option to remedy the situation could be to mail flyers with pertinent information to all residents of Schwechat .But what about tourists and visitors from nearby cities? So Schwechat chose a special, highly innovative solution for these issues too: a digital-signage and information system using interactive information kiosks from friendlyway.
 
Local residents and tourists visiting the city can read about where to shop and learn about the latest sales on the interactive friendlyway kiosks. They can also access the online services offered by local government agencies. The information kiosks are installed indoors and outdoors throughout Schwechat.
 
Because friendlyway’s high-quality ‘impress’40” touch screen systems were already in use indoors, only the best would do for the outdoor display of the economic forum. The City of Schwechat therefore chose to go with the new friendlyway ‘arctic’ systems with 32” anti-glare outdoor monitors.
 
“I am quite pleased that we are once again playing a pioneering role in Austria with the roll-out of this brand new type of digital-signage and information system. The main focus of the project is to unlock new revenue streams for our city and expand on this in the years to come,” said Mayor Hannes Fazekas.
 
This project helps Schwechat live up to its reputation as an open city with a strong multimedia focus and demonstrate how visionary and modern it is. It furthermore opens new opportunities for Schwechat-based businesses to advertise their products and services to a wider public each day.
 
Before the official launch, many businesses in the city were already expressing an interest in the information kiosks and wanted to present their companies and products in a modern and appealing manner to Schwechat’s residents and tourists on the digital signage and information system.
 
“The new digital signage and information system was launched last year in late November,” said Manfred Merten, an external advisor to the Schwechat economic forum. “Initially five locations in the city are planned: two indoors and three outdoors. It is one of a kind in Europe, in that the system covers the entire downtown area. On a further note, any member business can advertise here.” Companies are given two choices on howto showcase their business on the system: a basic presentation available free of charge or a larger presentation where the customer is charged for the service.
 
As the saying goes, ‘Competition drives business.’ In Schwechat, the equation is slightly different: competition is pushing forward new ideas that help revitalise the downtown area creating new business.