KIOSKS OFFER NEW ADVERTISING OUTLET
By Adnews Staff
Over the next few months, Star Group Newspaper Networks Inc. of Toronto will be opening a series of kiosks offering consumers goods and services from a variety of companies. The kiosks will be run through Star's The Kiosk Network division. The first outlet will be unveiled in Barrie Ontario next week, with nine more outlets to be installed throughout Toronto by early December. The kiosks were originally scheduled to be in place by September, but were delayed due to new software being installed. TKN plans to have 15,000 operating kiosks across Canada and internationally within the next three years. The kiosks are touch-screen, interactive devices with large, easy to read video monitors. To use a kiosk, shoppers first access the main menu for a list of the companies contained on the network. They can then go to a specific company and access information, as well as audio and video clips for items they are interested in. Shoppers can order products with debit or credit cards and have the items shipped anywhere they want. Bell Mobility and Toronto-based Internet and telephone service provider ACC are the two biggest names on the network's roster. Judith Sykes Public Relations of Toronto is handling PR for the service.