Flash MX, iPoint Marketing`s touch-screen information kiosks are proving an effective marketing medium for Cape Town`s service-based businesses looking to target the growing tourist trade.
"For iPoint`s kiosk service to work effectively in high traffic locations, the systems have to be easy to use and easy to navigate so that users from all walks of life can effortlessly find the information, services and destinations they are looking for," says Jeremy Matthews, MD at Dax Data, the Macromedia solutions distributor in SA.
"By developing the kiosk service application in Macromedia Flash MX, iPoint has ensured the usability and reliability of its kiosk application each client brochure is no more than three clicks away," says Matthews.
Users can access the information service free of charge through a touch-screen interface. They can browse through client brochures with high-resolution pictures and videos covering services including accommodation, tours, restaurants and nightlife and information such as weather and news.
The application offers translations in French and German, and users can print out client discount vouchers for product or service promotions, as well as easy-to-follow directions from maps of various destinations in and around Cape Town.
"Previous touch-screen applications have often been slow and cumbersome. One of the key challenges in developing the system was that it be usable. We provide digital brochures that comprehensively showcase our clients` services by using vibrant high-resolution graphics, screen-to-screen transitions, animation and video," says Peter Siebert, director at iPoint Marketing.
"While these are traditionally taxing on operating system memory and disk space, our application, developed in Macromedia Flash MX, is totally vector-based and very resource efficient on the kiosks` operating system. This ensures a quick response time, particularly noticeable when using the video facility. Using Macromedia MX, we create compelling content that draws new customers and ensures their interest is maintained," says Siebert.
iPoint Marketing offers a total marketing solution to its clients. User exposure can be measured through the generation of detailed log reports of where and when information and services were accessed. Clients can log on to their Web sites each month and view the response rates to particular brochures on individual kiosk sites.
Matthews says Macromedia Flash MX meets the needs of both designers and developers to deliver rich content and applications that can be experienced consistently across all leading platforms and devices, such as iPoint`s interactive kiosks.
"For touch-screen kiosk applications to be effective and user-friendly, real runtime performance is crucial to keep users` interest so they stay longer on a client brochure. Flash MX provides an efficient, high performance runtime for executing code, content and communications," says Matthews.
Flash MX offers iPoint the ability to integrate content, communication and applications into a common interactive environment with media rich features such high quality graphics, animation, and full motion video and audio playback.
The flexible Macromedia Flash architecture enables kiosk content to be updated, maintained and page views monitored from iPoint`s application servers in real-time, reducing downtime and saving time in deploying new content.
"Macromedia Flash MX allows iPoint to deliver effective experiences to end-users, enabling rich applications that blend content, application logic and communications, thereby providing real value," concludes Matthews.
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