Touchscreens - not just for phones any more

Tourists and techies alike got their heads turned this week by a brand new, homegrown technology designed to make tourist information easier to manage for visitors and business owners alike.

Giant touchscreen What To Do information kiosks have been rolled in resorts and hotels around Port Vila by Vanuatu Media Marketing Limited. VMM Ltd is the parent company of Trading Post Ltd, which owns this newspaper.

The touchscreens contain a variety of tourist information resources, including shopping, dining, tours and activities, essential tourist information and much more. And it’s all provided in an engaging, interactive multi-touch display that integrates multimedia, maps, online booking and more.

These touchscreens are an offshoot of VMM’s long-standing What To Do print publication, which is the official tourist publication of the Vanuatu Tourism Office. Using the comprehensive listings compiled for that publication, VMM was able to put together a compelling information resource for visitors.

VMM Marketing Manager Peter Stadley says, “These Touch Screen Information Kiosks are a great addition to our tourism advertising product portfolio. They allow us to offer very attractive and powerful advertising packages.”

But they’re more than just an advertising platform. These interactive terminals act as a 24-hour concierge service as well, offering immediate online booking facilities for resort and hotel owners. This reduces staff costs and improves responsiveness at a time when excellence in service delivery matters more than ever.

The touchscreen interface was developed by vSolutions, a local contracting company with expertise on software and business process automation services that fit with Vanuatu’s unique requirements.

Implemented in compartmentalised, quality-controlled software packages, a new touchscreen kiosk takes only about 30 minutes to deploy. And each kiosk contains its own remote update service to keep information up to date.

This is the latest offering from VMM, which has been growing its range advertising platforms over recent months. With large-scale LED screens around town, Flight Information Display Systems in our major airports, online digital offerings, Buzz FM 96, print publications such as What To Do, Vanuatu Life & Style and of course its flagship publication the Vanuatu Daily Post, advertisers have a wide range of media to get their message out.

Trading Post Ltd director Gene Wong explains the creation of VMM: “From publishing the country’s only daily newspaper and a monthly tourism newspaper ‘What to Do’, the company has grown its advertising product portfolio.

“In 2012 we launched 96 Buzz FM and in 2014 we rolled out a number of seats with advertising panels which was the start of our outdoor advertising portfolio.

“In February 2015 we further strengthened our outdoor media portfolio with the introduction of LED billboards. We will soon have five of them across Vila in high profile locations.

“These billboards were just the start of digital network. We now have Flight Information Display Systems (FIDS) at Bauerfield Airport and will soon be putting one up on Santo. Now we are very excited to be launching our latest digital product the Touch Screen Information Kiosks. All this would not be possible without the infrastructure the Teco companies have provided”.

He adds “So with all this happening, the Daily Post advertising department has become much more than just a newspaper sales force. As such it needed its own identity to reflect the products and services it provides. That is how we came up with the name Vanuatu Media Marketing.

“Now we have just appointed Ro Moyler as Creative Director. Ro is a talented graphic designer. Her presence will allow us to offer much more than just advertising. We can now offer a top end design service from logo designs to complete brand development.”
Source:
Vanuatu Daily Post