Everland Entertainment Revamps Video Kiosk

When Everland Entertainment launched its Kid City interactive kiosk in 1994, it revolutionized audio and video marketing at Christian bookstores and helped many of those outlets double their sales, according to company officials.So why, with results this good, is the Nashville-based company making major changes to the kiosk?"After three years, we felt it was time to refresh and update the display," explains Wayne Zeitner, Everland's vice president and general manager. "Also, there have been some major advances in computer technology. The old unit had to use still pictures and 8-bit mono sound, but Kid City II features full-motion video and 16-bit stereo sound."The company made many other improvements as well. For example, the first version was square with a gray housing while Kid City II has a hexagonal shape with a bright yellow, molded urethane housing; colorful, vacuum-formed video characters; and a molded urethane spinning globe on top. Measuring about 80 inches high with a 38-inch-diameter footprint, the new kiosk is 20 percent larger and offers 42 percent more display facing space via 50 extruded plastic shelves that can be adjusted as needed.Brightly colored strip signage is used to highlight product categories. Most popular is the company's Veggie Tales series. Other hit products are the Psalty and Jungle Jam series. When fully stocked, the kiosk holds 600 videos, but Zeitner says most aren't kept that full. "Retailers get a planogram whenever we introduce new products, and we try not to cram things in too tightly," he explains. "Our product mix is about 70 percent video and 30 percent recorded music on cassettes and CDs, so that's the product mix you typically see in the kiosk."As in the past, one side of the display presents a computer touchscreen, but it now measures 17 inches instead of 14 and protrudes enough that several children can view videos or sample audio products at the same time. Powering the display is an Apple 230 MHz computer with CD-ROM that can be accessed easily for upgrades or maintenance through a flip-front drawer below the touchscreen that doubles as a mouse pad."With a faster computer, we can offer a lot more features than before," says Zeitner. "Children can now fast forward, reverse and pause the full-motion video, so it's a lot more fun and much more interactive. Giving the consumer control and allowing human interaction that brings more smiles and giggles means the technology is doing its job instead of getting in the way of fun."Other changes to the kiosk resulted from retailer feedback. For example, the pull-out step stool beneath the video monitor now extends an additional eight inches, the corner posts are now 10 percent smaller, and the speakers are located above the touchscreen. Also, a volume control is tucked behind one of the asparagus characters at the top.Everland collaborated with Phoenix Display, a Union Camp company in Paulsboro, N.J., to design Kid City II. Phoenix is also producing the kiosks.Zeitner expects the displays to roll out this spring. Unlike the earlier version that was placed in 335 retail Christian bookstores, the revamped unit will be offered to only 250 retailers."We've made a conscious decision to narrow our focus," says Zeitner. "Kid City II is larger and heavier, and with an average size of 4,000 square feet, not all stores can accommodate it. Also, it's more expensive and therefore not suited to some locations that may not have the threshold of product turns to justify the expense."The cost per kiosk is expected to exceed $7,500. As with the earlier version, Everland will offer retailers a three-year contract under which they pay a monthly fee representing 40 to 45 percent of the cost. The company picks up the rest of the cost and provides free video updates at least twice a year on CD-ROM as well as free technical support.

Everland Entertainment Revamps Video Kiosk

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