Article

Image-driven ATMs

Like to get that 20 bucks from a jukebox or a robot rather than a boring beige box? Sure you would -- and no, you're not seeing things. by Kevin Gibson, contributing writer

March 11, 2002

You're in the New Age gift shop to buy a friend a birthday present when you realize you're out of cash. You walk up to the 12-foot-tall Buddha and its jaw drops, revealing a screen. Words appear: "Please insert card into the idol's belly button and type in four-digit PIN ..."

OK, not a true story. In fact, despite the appearances of some out-of-the-ordinary ATMs -- perhaps best exemplified by a jukebox cash transaction machine at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland -- such a story probably will never come true.

"The one-of-a-kinds are neat," said Mark Harling, vice president of sales for North Salt Lake City, Utah-based Companion Systems, "but they don't come along too often. I suspect it's more image driven (than profitable)."

Chuck Scavelli, who helped develop and promote the aforementioned jukebox machine, suggested that one-of-a-kinds are unique for a reason. The jukebox, which plays music when a card is inserted, cost $37,000 to manufacture; not many financial institutions want to deploy 500 ATMs with such a hefty price tag.

Scavelli, ATM franchise manager for KeyBank, said the Cleveland-based company went with the expensive design for two reasons: "It was kind of a unique opportunity for Key to do something that enhanced the environment and, at the same time, put our name or our brand out where it would be seen by lots of people."

It worked. Scavelli said photos of the jukebox, which was unveiled during the 1995 opening of the Hall, were published in Time magazine, local newspapers and trade magazines all over the country.

Bobbie the Robot, another one-of-a-kind ATM in Cleveland, didn't do as well, Scavelli said. Then again, Bobbie's home, the Great Lakes Science Center, isn't a national tourist mecca.

Bobbie plays prerecorded messages that are activated by a motion detector. When someone walks past, it wakes him up, prompting him to talk, blink his eyes and turn his head to and fro.

Bobbie was a big hit with crowds at the opening of the science center in 1997. "I kind of stood and just watched people to see what their responses were," Scavelli said. "Children were just drawn to him; they would stand there and watch him and attempt to climb on him."

Bobbie, which cost $35,000 to construct, was a less obvious creation than the jukebox. KeyBank's president was on the science center's board of trustees and, once the decision was made to install an ATM, Key reps went to the center to see what ideas the management had for a possible theme machine.

"They pulled out a miniature robot they had used at the ground breaking," Scavelli said. "It was a talking robot that walked around and made jokes and talked to people. They had adopted it informally as a mascot. We just kind of took it from there and designed it so it would surround an ATM."

Scavelli said there are no plans in the works for another such ATM; at the same time, anything is possible. "These are opportunities that just kind of pop out of the sky. It's not something we go out and look for, but if it's presented to us and it's the right opportunity, we take advantage."

A Diebold 1075ix ATM deployed by First Union National Bank at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Fla. features a bamboo-covered surround and looks like what the seven castaways might have used on "Gilligan's Island" -- if they'd had debit cards.

The bamboo motif suits the machine's location near the Enchanted Oak Tavern, a restaurant within the park's Lost Continent island. And it was built to last.

"To serve the most people, it was important to have the unit outside," said Wayne Rosenthal, vice president of sales for ATM Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of First Union, in a press release. "That meant we needed
something tough enough to handle the weather conditions in Florida, specifically the heat, humidity and rain."

First Union has purchased four more of the 1075ix machines. Diebold bills the 1075ix as the "first self-contained, exterior walk-up cash dispenser" and touts them as a money saver for deployers. Because the free-standing machine does not require a protective building or enclosure, it can be placed for one-third to one-half the cost of other exterior units.

Not truly unique but more glamorous than the traditional "box" are the ATMs popping up in casinos. Nate Goore, senior vice president of product development and branding for InnoVentry, said the new Atreva ATMs his San Francisco-based company is placing in casinos are pretty much what any patron would expect: colorful, with plenty of light and action.

"Instead of presenting people with something that looks and feels like just what they would get from the bank, we wanted to create something much more contextual with the surroundings," Goore explained.

While this doesn't mean security will escort you out if your account is overdrawn, these machines, which feature overhead screens, sleek design and a more exciting interaction with the customer, certainly are designed to fit the glitzy mood of a casino.

There are a couple dozen Atreva machines in casinos now, and the response has been good. Goore claims completion rates are higher than other casino ATMs, and customers seem to like them. Several different versions of the machine are in use.

The screens, eight feet off the ground, make the ATMs easy to find amongst the banging, clanging slots. "We made this thing almost like a beacon," Goore said. "That, in and of itself, has increased the volume."

So what's next? How about an ATM/slot machine hybrid that allows people to gamble straight from their bank accounts? "We're not going to go that far," Goore said with a chuckle.

But InnoVentry does see a future in ATMs made to fit their surroundings if, like the casino machines, they can be deployed in quantities large enough to make them recognizable and financially feasible. About 175 InnoVentry Rapid Pay Machines, similar to the Atrevas but less flashy, are being deployed in Houston, Phoenix and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where they will replace the company's more basic Mr. Payroll models.

Harling, of Companion Systems, said his company is doing more and more specialty surrounds, but usually only in multiples.

For instance, Mellon Bank wanted to install an ATM in New Jersey's Jerry Hill Mall, but the mall owners insisted that it fit in with the decor, Harling said. "So we took some standard elements we have, such as a side pod, and adapted a tower behind it that had the same metal look that you would find in the mall."

Companion did another one-of-a-kind, or "one op," for First Union. Companion's President and CEO Doug Fonte said that ATM, a drive-up kiosk, could be used as a model for future machines, meaning the extra expense to produce it doesn't necessarily have to be written off as a marketing expenditure.

"A one op can be three times as much as a unit that would have the potential of being rolled out, just because of the engineering and development work," Fonte said.

Right now, Companion is producing a new line of ATM surrounds for Bank of America, an order that could total 8,000 by the time it is finished. Already, 2,500 units have been shipped.

"It's a fairly simple design," Harling said, "but they're dramatic in presentation. It creates a halo effect, a background panel with what appears to be a floating panel in front with the (bank's) new logo on it. It's pretty dramatic and eye-catching."

Not to mention equitable and ultimately more practical for the financial institution. Companion Systems has been asked to do some one-of-a-kind surrounds that were never produced: a Budweiser can, a Coca-Cola can, a milk container. Those proposals never got off the ground because of their impracticality.

"I think there are certain locations where you're going to need one ops, if you wanted it to be in a theme park or special high-exposure office building," Harling said. "But certainly it's not a trend."

Inside a sports stadium was a potential site for one-of-a-kind ATMs that was mentioned by several people. But how much does anyone want to withdraw cash from an 8-foot-tall George Steinbrenner?

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