CINCINNATI - Electronic Art, an interactive agency specializing in custom kiosk software, kiosk hardware and integrated Web sites, will be providing services for two new clients, Adplex and Engagement Health.

Electronic Art is creating a kiosk for one of Adplex’s retail food clients as part of its customer loyalty program that allows account management and in-store printing of rewards. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Adplex is a strategic marketing solutions company with a focus on customer relationships and communication that drive measurable value. Visit www.adplex.com for more information.

In addition, Electronic Art has signed Engagement Health, of Westchester, Ill., as a client. Electronic Art will provide kiosk software applications to be used in corporate wellness programs that reduce healthcare costs for both the employee and the corporation. The kiosks incorporate specialty hardware for measurement of blood pressure, weight and other unique data items to help employees monitor their progress towards healthy living. Visit www.engagementhealth.com for more information.

For more information about Electronic Art, contact Tim Burke at (513) 321-1771 or visit www.ElectronicArt.com.

About Electronic Art

Electronic Art (www.ElectronicArt.com) is a Cincinnati-based interactive agency specializing in kiosks and digital signage as well as many related online services. Originally founded in 1998 and incorporated in 2002, Electronic Art began primarily as a Web studio offering high end custom programming, ecommerce, and design. Electronic Art provides custom solutions for many industries in kiosks, digital signage and Web site development. Sales of kiosk and digital signage hardware allow for a complete solution from one vendor, and an onsite IT staff handles build, integration and support needs.

I’ve been attending the Digital Non-Conference Conference (yeah, that’s the name) put on by the Ad Club of Cincinnati :  www.AdClubCincy.org .  It’s been a great conference so far, but my battery is dying so I’ll make this short (need power at each couch next year).   The conference is hundreds of people in the agency and creative world that are involved in online and interactive media for their clients.  And in some cases attendees are the clients themselves.  Everyone is here for networking and to hear industry leaders speak about topics of relevance.  

So for example, this morning was Pete Blackshaw  from Nielsen Online speaking on how “Loyalty isn’t enough anymore - Advocacy is Bigger than advertising”.  This topic rings true with me as I’ve been preaching this for several years to clients such as GlaxoSmithKline in a campaign we did for them and BlackBerry in regards to a retail kiosk we did for them that has peers telling why they love their BlackBerry’s.   Seems like everyone at Pete’s seminar are catching up and learning why consumers are more likely to buy if recommended by a friend rather than watching a commercial.

The Conference has been one of the better conferences I’ve been to in awhile.  The content itself is insightful and from industry peers so its relevant and in some cases eye opening.  The event is quite well run with great food.  Sushi and gourmet pastas, etc. the first day as an example, show off the Hyatt Regency’s ability to cater high quality food at events in their ballrooms.  The main ballroom itself is quite well done with artsy colors, big projection screens that actually work flawlessly (pro AV crew ensures it) and the ballroom is not a room full of hard chairs lined up in rows, oh no… that would be your typical non artsy conference.  They chose to use couches, acrylic charis, bar stools at long rectangular cafe tables, and a mix of mod looking chairs straight out of a James Bond film (or Austin Powers perhaps).  What a relaxed and comfortable way to enjoy speeches?  Kudos to the AdClub and their event producers: Accent on Cincinnati  (strange name for an event company, but as long as they do a great job… who cares?)

Another interesting method they have used to keep it interesting is to have each break out session on different topics (Creative path, Marketing Path, Technology Path, Academic Path)  and hold each session at local bars and restaurants, like Sullys, BlackFinn Saloon, Via Vite, & the Lodge bar. While you have to walk 2-3 blocks between sessions, it is a more creative and relaxed environment to listen to someone going through a slide show and talking about projects they’ve done.  And if you are so inclined, you could have a martini while learning about “Social Media’s Influence on Buying” (Daphne Kwan of ExpoTV).  I like this concept, and combined with all of the above I predict next year’s Digital Non-Conference Conference will be bigger and have more attendees.

Benjamin Palmer spoke at lunch on Saturday about how “Brands are people too”.  Interesting guy and very creative.  Great brand concepts. He showed some of their viral marketing campaigns done for Milwalkee’s Best beer.  Great video, great flash games,  what a great presentation with a young hip creative viewpoint.  I actually had dinner with him and the AdClub folks Friday evening.  He sat next to me at the Hoffbrau house and I had no idea who he was.  Now I know…

Follow my Twitter posts at:  http://twitter.com/KioskGuy to see play by play comments today during the event.  Comment on this blog post below if you have questions or comments.

Electronic Art has recently added Scala digital signage software to it’s list of products available to our clients.  As a Scala InfoChannel Value Added Reseller we can provide Scala licensing, software, installation and support in addition to the digital signage content we provide.  Scala approved player hardware is also available in addition to the multiple LCD vendors we resell such as LG, Samsung & Phillips.

InfoChannel is Scala’s digital signage management suite that provides enterprise level features and scalability for large and medium size installations.  InfoChannel provides the ability to collaboratively create, publish, schedule and centrally control media-rich content that can be delivered and dynamically localised at the point of playback to one or thousands of networked displays . As the leader in Dynamic Digital Signage solutions since 1987, the technology has field-proven scalability and 24/7 reliability.

The above image is a simplified version of a typical signage network using Scala InfoChannel tools to manage content provided by Electronic Art.  If you don’t already have a management tool for your digital signage, contact Electronic Art to determine if Scala is right for your digital signage network and see how we can provide rich messaging for your digital signage network.

General Data Company, Inc. has been getting a lot of press lately.  Here is another example:

SoapBox Media Article on New ID/Positive Product

We redesigned and built their current web site and are making ongoing improvements as requested. This company has some cool bar code scanning technology. The article above is about new lab related products that help keep lab samples from getting mixed up… which we can all appreciate.  Think about it, a company with products that improve health care for all of us.  How cool is that?

Have something to say? Comment below:

Today we had an unexpected and delightful gift.  Our benefits provider, The Advisors Group out of Chicago, sent over a chiropractor and staff with chair massages for all of our employees. The Kenwood Family Chiropractic folks did a great job.  It was a great back massage delivered on a set of massage chairs in our larger conference room.  Some employees of Electronic Art now have some high expectations of what we should be providing to them. 

I want to thank Charles Cooper of the Advisors Group for the very nice gift to Electronic Art.  What a special way to say thanks for your business.   Now, back to the computer and my bad posture.

With the credit crisis and market volatility, you may be holding off on purchasing hardware right now, but IBM Global Financing is making it easy for our customers to buy with a 3 month deferral on payment, or a leasing program that can give you a low monthly rate.  Leasing is great because you can expense the costs each year in full, versus depreciating the capital purchase over 5-7 years.  And you can always upgrade at the end of the lease, which is useful with technology.

See IBM’s announcment and details here:

http://www-03.ibm.com/financing/partner/promotions/esa.html 

So if you are thinking of purchasing or leasing kiosk technology, contact Tim or Rob at Electronic Art and we will walk you through the process, and help make the financing easy.

From the article, benefits of leasing:

Client benefits

• Leasing reduces risk and provides a hedge against technology obsolescence
• Leasing offers payment and term flexibility tailored to match either project or revenue-generation milestones
• Leasing preserves cash and credit lines for more strategic investments such as facilities expansion, increased research and development, sales force expansion or receivables financing
• Leasing enables more acquisitions within their current budget
• Leasing accelerates implementation of economically attractive new technologies
• Leasing reduces total cost of ownership and improves price-performance Leasing improves key financial measurements such as return on assets or debt-to-equity ratios

We are proud to announce a new partnership with Samsung for digital signage components such as their commercial LCD and plasma screens.  Sizes from 32″ to 57″ LCD screens and Samsung even has 70″ and 82″ LCD panels. But you had better bring the budget for those sizes!  Most digital signage falls within the 40″ or 46″ sizes.  Samsung has models with ultra thin bezels around the glass that are not only sleeker looking, but also allow you to put several together for a video wall that have nearly no black borders to draw attention to your message.

Many sizes include options for built in digital content players from Samsung for an integrated approach so you don’t have to have separate PC’s to playback your message. The built in players run Windows XP Embedded, which is a smaller commercial version of Windows XP that gives a very stable environment not made for consumers. And Samsung offers a content management tool called Magic Info Pro to allow the content to be managed across the network for a homogeneous solution. Using their built-in player pc’s allow for a total package with fewer cables, better security and a cleaner installation.  Some of the special features include: lamp error detection, brightness sensor, temperature sensor, built-in fan and more depending on the models.

Contact myself or Rob Brinkmeyer for more information on Samsung products or any of the other digital signage products we offer with our custom digital signage content.  Once you get the hardware, you need custom messaging that is on brand and on target, and that is what Electronic Art can do for you… the total package.

Chris and I were fortunate enough to be attendees at the sold out conference last week. The event, which covers everything to do with web design, featured some of biggest heavyweights in the field. What I enjoyed most is unlike other conferences I’ve attended in the past, this conference wasn’t too focused on inspiration or selling software, it truly covered a broad range of topics.

We are both really excited about applying what we learned to our current and upcoming projects, and sharing what we can with our team that was unable to attend. I for one am excited to adapt some of the brainstorming/problem solving skills and user interface tips. Borrowing words from a famous chef, we will be cranking up our work a notch.

One final detail, we got a sneak preview of Adobe Creative Suite 4 and I am IMPRESSED. There might not be as much wow factor as previous upgrades, but the usability and workflow changes are much appreciated by your truly.

Okay, rather than try to write another version of the same review, I’m going to point you to my other blog at www.Kiosk-Blog.com  for a photo and quick synopsis of the show yesterday.  I have to catch a cab to get to the convention center for day two!

This week is an odd week where many staff members are not in the office at Electronic Art.  Myself and Rob Brinkmeyer will be exhibiting at www.KioskCom.com , an industry trade show for kiosks, digital signage and everything related.  Come see us in NYC and see our kiosk & digital signage hardware and software services.

Also, Chris and Erik are in Chicago at www.aneventapart.comfor web design listening to notable industry speakers such as Jeffrey Zeldman, Eric Meyer, Cameron Moll and many others.  It’s a total geek fest from what I can tell.  Chris is making updates to Twitter throughout the conferences, his remarksare a crackup.  Sounds like a sea of Apple fans.  Not that we are not fans, Erik is a Mac head here in our office.  I just think it is funny that design happens on Macs and the world reads web pages primarily on Windows.  Such is the world for now, unless Apple can gain more market share!   (Go APPL, I own your stock in my retirement…)

I will also keep my Twitter & Facebook pages updated throughout KioskCom.  And we will hopefully be able to update this blog with some interesting show information.   Gotta go pack and catch an early flight to Manhattan.  Later!