LAS VEGAS - Conferences today are a dime a dozen; but this year Chicago-based BAI topped the dollar with its annual retail delivery show.
The Bank Administration Institute's Retail Delivery Conference & Expo is a mainstay in the ATM and financial services industry; but competition for attendee attention has bogged the show for the last several years.
This year the conference, held Nov. 14-16 in Las Vegas, topped its 2005 attendance by 40 percent, hitting 2,700, said BAI's Jeannette Weiland.
"We're attracting higher-level executives," Weiland said. "I think the increase is due to promoting to larger banks. The marketing has really helped our attendance."
Getting the word out early to qualified attendees definitely made a difference for exhibitors like Paderborn, Germany-based Wincor Nixdorf International.
"I'm impressed because in last years not so many attendees came to our booth," said Uwe Krause of Wincor Nixdorf. "Today you see many more international customers, and they're qualified customers. It's really unbelievable the number of U.S. customers we have here now. I think they feel we are innovative and flexible."
Wincor's Julia Waugh said BAI has made tremendous improvements by asking top exhibitors what they want and need.
"BAI approached us and asked us about the show," Waugh said. "They asked us what we thought and made some real changes."
BAI's perspective encouraged exhibitors to test a different method.
NCR Corp., one of BAI's largest exhibitors, stepped out of its conference comfort-zone with a smaller exhibit-floor booth and an expanded second-floor showroom.
"We've been doing private demos for years, but we only had one-on-one interaction," said NCR's Andy Orent. "This year, we're trying to talk with more customers."
In a three-suite setup, Dayton, Ohio-based NCR debuted some new, some old, and some anticipated applications and solutions.
North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold Inc., also one of BAI's premier exhibitors, made some changes as well.
Although Diebold's exhibiting approach was similar to years' past, this year the company took an opportunity to highlight a trend affecting the overall industry: branch automation.
In a private viewing room, Diebold showcased its "Branch of the Future."
The concept may be five to 10 years away, but the emphasis on branch automation is here.
"The hurdle is making everything possible," said Jim Block, Diebold's director of global technology. "Nobody's ready to do this, but they're all imagining it, someday."
In addition to branch automation, biometrics, cross-selling, RFID (radio frequency identification), intelligent security and deposit applications also are industry trends, industry experts and insiders agree.
During a Wednesday panel discussion about the future functionality of ATMs, Reinhard Rabenstein, Wincor's senior vice president and chief technology officer, said only the most innovative players will survive.
"Wincor, NCR and Diebold will fight like hell for the market; but the winner will be the one who understands business solutions in a straight-through way," he said.
