Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Lancashire International Trade Event 09

Business people attending an event to support companies looking to branch out into international markets were invited to touch Planet Earth to access a wealth of expert guidance on the subject.

Touchpro Media Ltd were commissioned by event leaders Veritas Solicitors LLP to supply software and hardware for the free service which could be used throughout the day by visitors to The Lancashire International Trade Event 2009.

The bespoke touch screen 'content' contains information and links to each of the experts and guest speakers who were present on the day to provide advice and guidance to businesses thinking about expanding into overseas markets. The valuable content has been made available on the internet to ensure it remains accessible after the event for reference purposes.

The touchscreen kiosks provided a professional focal point for the event and for Veritas and once again highlight the innovative use of this type of technology of r event organisers to go the extra mile and offer guests and delegates the WOW! factor.

Technologies used:
Flash, SWiSH, Sitekiosk, HTML, C++

Collaboration with
Veritas Solicitors LLP

Contact Touchpro Media Touchscreen Kiosk Hire on 01706 212334

Thursday, 7 May 2009

Short story: long(er) hair! Production of a client's eBook

Why are we writing about hair loss? Well it is true that we have just produced an eBook on hairloss for a client who plans to give it away for free on their website. But we will also be working with the same client to provide touch screen kiosks uploaded with 'The Hairsense Challenge 2009' for consumers at gymnasiums up and down the country to learn more about the health of their hair and scalp plus about the truths around hair loss. So we've learned a great deal in a few months...

Promises which do not deliver are common in the hair loss industry. Sadly it's been that way for many years due to unscrupulous businesses cashing in on the vulnerable. Business plans are quite literally built upon consumers who desperately meander around the 'market' trying products, one by one, in the hope that 'this will be the one that works for them'. There are 300, 000 hair loss products available to choose from in the Northern Hemishpere. Is it really any wonder therefore why much scepticism exists?

Conversely, real 'ironclad' promises are a rarity in the industry so we were intrigued and, yes if honest, a little sceptical, to be approached by a manufacturing company offereing a seemingly unbreakable promise that underpins their new range of hair loss products.

Naturally, we wanted to learn more - about the products of course - but also about the company behind such a strong commitment to hair loss. We managed to secure an invite to the labs in Manchester and took along our company 'guinea pig' Carl who has seen unnatural hair fall for over two years and tried many products without success.

After an explanation of the theory of how the Hairsense range works to turn hair loss into hair growth, followed by a presentation of the scientific facts which underpin the formula, we managed to keep our optimism suppressed - the reason for this was our earlier study of the facts from the Institute of Trichology's website coupled with our own subject's experience of the many failed experiences with over the counter hair loss products.

Impressive 3D scientific presentations aside the ultimate question remained; does it work? Yes, Carl tried Hairsense and the product has had amazing results. Although Carl's notable results began to show in just over half the time than the product literature suggests - around just 9 weeks.

Our excitement was curbed somewhat by the manufacturers who were keen to point out that although earlier results can occur they felt it would be unfair to market the product on this basis; occasionally this is balanced by a slightly slower rate of progress. In the main however, results will begin to be evident from between three and six months of treatment.

So is that the promise? That the product is essentially the utopian hair loss formulation that men and women have been in search for since the Egyptian era? Not quite. The Hair & Scalp clinic have developed a Caffeine / Taurine compound which is clearly second to no other but even they will be the first to admit this is not a 'magic wand' for all types of hair loss. Sadly those who have experienced hair fall or balding due to conditions such as Alopecia Areata or Alopecia Totalis are unlikely to see full restoration from the effects of the Hairsense range, though they'll still benefit from Hairsense supplements.

The manufacturers are confident that Hairsense works for every normal hair loss condition. They say that if it did not, they would not be happy for a consumer to simply move onto another product without first identifying why the product did not work for them. That is why in the unlikely event of a client not responding to treatment from any product in their product range, they will arrange a specialist trichological consultation incorporating trichoderm camera technology to identify precisely why. In other words the promise is that the company will get to the root cause of its consumers problem. Since the company also export their products globally they have also set up an online 'Distance Assistance' version of this promise.

The fact that Distance Assistance has been used only twice to date is testament to the quality of the Hairsense product range. It is prudent to note that in one of these cases a dietary issue was the root cause of the problem. This was resolved and the client continued using Hairsense, harnessing results shortly after. In the second case the client was referred to their GP and it was discovered that a serious underlying condition was responsible for the hair loss.

Given our own successful experience with products from the Hairsense range, we feel that this promise is modest to say the least. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to produce this document on a product that has delivered where all others failed...ask Carl! carl.daley@live.com

Resources: -
Hairsense website
Hairsense hair loss blog.
Hairsense at Twitter
Touch screen kiosk hire from Touchpro Media - Information at their fingertips.

Hairsense: Touchpro Media: Top 11 Exhibitor's Essentials

Happy to provide a reciprocal here of HairActive's Hair Loss Pod

Hairsense: Touchpro Media: Top 11 Exhibitor's Essentials

Sunday, 3 May 2009

Hairsense Challenge Pods: Hair Loss: Business Winner!

It gives us enormous pleasure to be able to share plans for our touch screen kiosks to be used as customer facing devices which will allow members of the public to complete a new hair related challenge.

A joint venture between Touchpro Media Limited and HairActive-Online plan to use pods to raise awareness of the 'real facts' surrounding hair and hair loss by giving users in gyms, health clubs, hotels and spas the opportunity to access interesting hair and scalp related information at their fingertips.

Users will also be invited to take part in The 2009 Hairsense Challenge; a short, multiple choice hair related quiz that will give them a chance to win one of many superb prizes in a £5000 luxury Hairsense competition.

Hairsense is a hair loss system underpinned by an 'Ironclad Promise' - if it doesn't work, the company promises to get to the root cause of the problem. It's a promise that is very much welcomed in the hair loss market which is otherwise fickle by nature. The market is home to some 300,000 products in the northern hemisphere alone, many claiming to be the number one cure for hair loss.

HairActive-online make, sell and distribute 32 highly specialised hair and scalp products which are underpinned by the aforementioned promise.

Further information and links at:
Hairsense hair loss on Twitter.
Touchpromedia on Twitter

Watch this space.

Tuesday, 28 April 2009

Touch Screen Kiosks Help Make Connexions

A touch screen kiosk with on board video camera has helped a young people's support organisation to stand out from all the other exhibitors at a recent careers and jobs exhibition in the capital.

The touch screen solution hired by national organisation Connexions Direct allowed them to engage with thousands of young people, demonstrating their highly interactive web portal to during the two day show at Excel at Docklands in London.

The portal offers young people advice on areas such as careers, money, housing, health, rights and more, allowed users to 'link up' live - speaking face to face with fully trained expert support workers based at a operations centre near Newcastle. Users can also join the community which serves to help each other by chat rooms, message forums and debate areas.

Using the slimline portable kiosk offered maximum IT security to the Connexions Direct exhibition team, who enjoyed the benefits of being able to move around the stand engaging with the constant flow of visitors.

Previously exhibitions had seen them place laptops simply linked to the web site which saw users closing the web portal following usage - possibly habitually, or sometimes 'wandering' off onto other websites, which was not the idea!

All interactive elements of the Connexions Direct web portal were made available the fabulous looking touch screen kiosk which was placed in a prominent position for maximum exposure at the front of the stand.

The machine was set so that after any short periods of inactivity, the previous 'session' was automatically cleared and a branded screen saver was presented which, upon touch, would take the user to once again to the portal home page.

Monday, 23 March 2009

Top 11 Exhibitor's Essentials

There is an element of competition around the exhibition halls as to who is giving away the latest innovative freebies. And we can all spot those delegates whose sole purpose for appearing interested in your organisation's product/service is scattered neatly on the pristine white table at the front of your exhibition stand.

It seems to be obligatory to offer something for nothing - even if the chances are it will end up in the back of your top desktop drawer, the back of your partner's top desktop drawer or, your child's pencil case. Promotional freebies are a great option if you can afford the high risk of ineffectiveness that comes with your give-aways being, well, subsequently given away so that they fall into the hands of delegate's partners and children.

Do they really work and is the role of freebies frightening the frugal fraternity? A question perhaps for another day as we ditch the measurability of exhibition freebies question and guide you in a way that is more authentically successful.

Of course, when one thinks seriously about exhibition must haves surely the list should go something like this: -

  1. Eye catching / engaging stand to: -
    - reflect the organisation
    - set great first impressions
    - encourage greater number of visitors (and therefore leads)
  2. Good use of exhibition space; show your 'essentials' & offer a comfortable discussion 'zone'
  3. Secure use of any I.T.
The above may make for a robust framework but few exhibition stands really work without real life human beings. Therefore here is a quick top 10 of essentials to ensure you get it right every time. They're in the order of where you may 'fall down' if you do not follow them, however number ten is just as important as number one, if not more so.
  1. Immaculate appearance every time - Sleep! Hydrate! Be clean and well groomed
  2. Smartly dressed - appropriate for your sector
  3. Genuine smile - remember people do know the difference
  4. Friendly greeting - greet everyone who walks by, whether they stop by or not
  5. Fresh breath - essential
  6. Pleasant odour - not too much
  7. Demonstrate complete product knowledge - always
  8. Be helpful even if you feel that 'no sale' is imminent
  9. Find a way of engaging with every person that pauses at your stand (even momentarily)
  10. Ask visitors about themselves (and their business if appropriate)
    Read Dale Carnegie's 'How to Win Friends and Influence People'
  11. Keep as many conversations on your stand using 'open' body language as possible
    Read Andy Bounds' 'The Jelly Effect - How to make your communications stick'

Of course there are loads more. Books have been written about this subject. But these are the basics of what will prove to be effective and successful human interaction. They cost a lot less than freebies and in an either or situation would be far more effective than using such gimmicks.

Thursday, 19 March 2009

Harrogate: Bayer Stand at Endocrinology Society

Pictures just in of the touch screen kiosks hired for use on the unsurprisingly impressive Bayer stand from the Society for Endocrinology's BES 2009 Exhibition that took place at Harrogate International Centre in March 2009.

The stand had been designed and erected by one of the UK's leading exhibition creation and design companies - Skyline Whitespace - and was equally as impressive as the stand that they created for Bayer at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference (SECC Glasgow) documented in one of our former blog entries.

The impressive page turning software designed by the team at Net-Paper - again documented in a former entry was well utilised by visitors to the exhibition.

Touch screen kiosk hire is becoming increasingly popular at exhibitions outside of the capital, due to the benefits it provides in terms of visitor engagement - especially during busy periods, giving stand organisers the ability to show multi-media on a single secure platform without having to leave laptops hanging around.

It is thought that the many recent examples of security and data breaches coupled with a spate of thefts from exhibition halls have caused a surge in the hire of more robust and appropriate exhibition stand equipment.

Touchpro Media Ltd were delighted to have been provided the touch screen kiosks for both the Glasgow and the Harrogate events and on behalf of Net-Paper Limited.