Interview with Eckhard Reimann

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We spoke to  Eckhard Reimann, the world's most prolific author on self-servce, and one of its strongest advocates.
 
KIOSK EUROPE: So what qualifies you as a voice for the self-service industry?
 
Eckhard Reimann : I have always tried to bring the criteria of an optimum terminal with regard to ergonomics, ease of use and discretion, that could also be adapted customer needs, to the fore, and to highlight the importance of multimedia terminals as more than just an additional service to the range of available machines. I have now played a key role in organising 10 specific kiosk conferences, including the conferences and forums at Kiosk Europe Expo 2007, as well as Kiosk Europe Expo / Digital Signage Expo 2008, 2009 and 2010 in Essen.
 
In addition, in the years 2002 to 2005, as chairman of the jury of experts for kiosk systems and interactive room installations as part of the German Multimedia Awards (DMMA), I have ensured that excellent and innovative kiosk solutions have been given the relevant platform for maximum impact with the public. These activities have really made an impression in expert circles, and I have become known as ‘Mr. Kiosk’, the ‘Father of the Kiosks’, ‘Multimedia & Kiosk-Pioneer’ and even ‘Kiosk Pope’!
 
KE: How have you seen the self-service market develop over your long career?
 
ER: Very good service solutions are now used in all industries. Once forerunners in the use of this technology, banks have now been overtaken by retail, especially in relation to information and telecommunications. However, museums are also increasingly using digital media in order to give visitors an understanding of complex issues in a playful and emotional way. However, it is noticeable that the German market is still largely shaped by skeptics. In other European countries, as well as in America and Asia, access to the new media is much less complicated and there is much greater willingness to experiment. Consequently, there are also many more unusual and innovative solutions to be found there.
 
KE: What were the big issues for the industry in its infancy? And do those issues still have the same relevance today?
 
ER: Self-service is one of many ways of addressing customers within the multi-channel strategy. The customers decide, or should decide, which options are best for them – when and where. It’s important that the application is easy to understand, that the customers get what they want, or find out what they want to know, in just a few steps and that it’s easier for them than asking someone. Today, we must remember that the so-called ‘m-generation’ has and wants a completely new way to access media. This is why it is essential to enable access via mobile interactivity. We are currently experiencing a boom in digital signage. However, I see the danger of a phase of disillusionment creeping in, because the promised success does not materialise. No one wants to have adverts interrupting a film or sports on the TV at home, but the viewer at home has the option of switching off the television or changing to a different channel. In contrast, with digital signage, the consumer is bombarded with a stream of annoying content and can do nothing about it, apart from move away from the irritant.
 
However, this means that all the effort and the actual aim of digital signage evaporates. The message sent out ceases to reach the addressee, both now, and in the future, the investment is worthless, perhaps even counterproductive. Many digital signage suppliers/service providers often repeat the mistakes from the beginnings of multimedia and the Internet.
 
KE: So what should deployers do to get these things right?
 
ER: It’s basically quite simple: you have to see things from the perspective of a so-called occasional user – then you’ll get to know exactly what the customer and what the target group you are addressing actually want. You need to know about buying and social behaviour, advertising impact, customer relationship management and the basic requirements for the right choice of touchpoint, location and GUI. Smart hardware, cute images and attractive applications alone are not enough.
 
I urgently recommend that investors and operators of kiosk and digital signage solutions seek professional help when choosing suppliers and service providers. However, it’s also wrong and sometimes completely disastrous to believe that only large companies can do everything. In the case of young and innovative start-ups, innovation and a wealth of ideas are often paired with fast implementation and individual design – they just don’t have a lobby behind them.
 
KE: You’re currently working on a book documenting the history of this market: can you tell us a bit more about this?
 
ER: The “World Media Almanac – Kiosks & Digital Signage in der Praxis” shows how kiosks and digital signage can be used in different ways for the benefit of both customers and companies in individual sectors. Whatever sector they are used in, readers can get ideas that may also be suitable for their own company. The book describes interesting and innovative kiosk and digital signage solutions in 18 markets initially, and later in a total of 33 markets. It currently has about 1,100 pages; the first 13 chapters, initially in German, were officially launched at the 4th Munich Digital Signage Conference 2010 on 19th October 2010 in Munich.
 
KE: You are particularly active in the German kiosk market, through your ekiosk meetings and participation at Kiosk Europe Expo’s forum. What have you been exploring in the ekiosk meetings? What have your findings been?
 
ER: To help avoid the mistakes of the past and to give market participants a platform for exchanging ideas, I led the ekiosk workgroup from May 1999 to February 2006. Since May 2006, I have been moderating ‘E-Kiosk and Digital Signage Networking’. It now has more than 575 participants from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Benelux countries and the UK. In addition to presenting case studies and short company presentations, we focus on the mutual exchange of ideas. Unfortunately, it has to be said that the kiosk sector, and now also the digital signage sector, do not understand how to present convincingly the possibilities they offer users. Again and again, players in these sectors are pulling back from trade fairs and shows, leaving others do the hard work for them and assume the risk, only to rake in the rewards later. This can’t work. It’s like in commerce: for reasons of cost, the customer stops shopping in small corner shops, preferring to go to big discount stores, and then complains when the small corner shop has gone out of business and only standard goods are available.
 
KE: How have you seen the self-service market evolve and grow over the years?
 
ER: When researching the various self-service solutions, I realised that, even in the early years of the multimedia age, some really exciting solutions had been developed, for example, the Union Bank of Switzerland’s ‘Minnelli’ multimedia information kiosk. However, in the meantime, flat screens, Bluetooth, RFID, gesture control, multi-touch, etc. have provided technological improvements that enable much more innovative solutions.
 
KE: So where do you expect it to go next?
 
ER: Mobile and digital technologies will continue to communicate: iPhone & Co will become the interactive access media for kiosk terminals and digital signage displays. Digital signage will change from a passive to an interactive medium – and it will then only address those who really want to be addressed.
 
KE: So what are you, personally, going to do next? Is it time to retire yet?
 
ER: As long as I’m fit and healthy, I will be happy to share my expertise with the industry. There are still countless chapters of the World Media Almanac to be written. I have also already planned the dates for E-Kiosk and Digital Signage Networking until the end of next year. And, of course, there will be countless more Open Forums for Kiosk Europe Expo and Digital Signage Expo to organise!
 
Biography
 
Eckhard Reimann is a consultant for ekiosk and digital signage applications. He spent seven years as ekiosk advisor at Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft. He is the author of more than 1,350 specialist articles about multimedia, self-service, retail banking, CRM and multi-channel management, and has played a key role in organising 10 kiosk and digital signage conferences.