Show Daily - Tue, Nov. 15

FEC Lunch and Learn: Boosting Party Business

By Mike Bederka

Over sandwiches and soft drinks, family entertainment center (FEC) experts engaged in lively conversation (including laugh-inducing game demonstrations) about growing and fine-tuning party business.
FECs should be marketing heavily inside their own buildings, especially since more parents today stick around during the party, urged Dorothy Lewis, president of Maxx Fun of PA, in Tuesday’s “Constituency Lunch for FECs: Parties and Events.”

“Behind every party room door, opportunity is knocking, and it should be pretty loud,” she said. “If you’re selling something, show it.”
One example is to buy an inexpensive logoed sign for the party room that could serve as a backdrop for group photos. These “Kodak moments” often end up on Facebook and become free marketing pieces, Lewis said.

She served up numerous other tips throughout the two-hour lunch and learn:

• Make an announcement on the PA system that the birthday child has arrived for his party. This touch helps him to feel special.
  
  
• Let the birthday child spin a prize wheel; announce this, as well.
  
  
• Always follow up with the customer post-party. A thank-you note goes a long way to create repeat business.
  
  
• Take time out to analyze party successes and failures. Do you know the average age of attendees? Are they boys or girls? Are some party package busts? (If they are, can them.)
  
  
• Strive for consistency from the first party of the day to the last.
  
  
• Have a kids club, where young guests can sign up for special savings and receive invites to members-only events.
  

Lewis also emphasized the value of opening up the facility to teen and adult parties. “Extend your market and extend your day,” she said.
For instance, FECs can cater to after-prom parties, sweet 16s, and bar and bat mitzvahs, she said. And don’t let worries about food preparation be a deterrent either. Facilities can dress up their standard snack bar eats with trays, chafing dishes, and even a sprig of garnish.

Sprinkled throughout the seminar, attendees also played games that could help make parties for all ages memorable. Cups and balloons served as simple props for the younger parties, and the audience saw a few people blushing during a sample newlywed game for the adult parties.

Sessions on tap for Wednesday’s FEC track include: “Adding the WOW Factor to Your Redemption and Merchandisers” from 9 to 10:15 a.m. in S320EFG; “Constituency Lunch for FECs: Reinventing Food and Beverage” from 12 to 2 p.m. in S330C; and the “Family Entertainment Center Reception—Fun in a Flash” from 6 to 8 p.m. in S330C.

Thursday’s lineup features: “Employee Training Tool Kit” from 9 to 10:15 a.m. in 320ABC; “Constituency Lunch for FECs: The FEC Roundtable Luncheon” from 12 to 2 p.m. in S330C; “Group Sales for FECs: An Afternoon With the Experts” (Part 1, 3:30 to 4:45 p.m.; Part 2, 5 to 6:15 p.m.; both parts in S320ABC); and “Surf-N-Turf: Does Adding Water Attractions Make Sense for FECs?” from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. in S330EF.