Reliability & Trust

How Embed Redefines Tech Innovation for Amusement Operations

A customer’s confidence in a business is in its consistency. The same can be said about Embed, the company says. They’ve been consistently providing their tech systems to FECs and other locations, boasting themselves to be trailblazers for more than 20 years with breakthrough innovations.

True to its commitment to operators and the business of fun, Embed said it has been “the industry’s constant thought leader and innovator, a staple and household name in the FEC business.”

With customers like legacy multi-location FEC Fun Factory, dating back as early as 2003, to big names like Dave & Buster’s and rising stars like Game Over Arcade, Embed says they’ve learned that more than its roster of tech solutions, “real reliability” is what operators are searching for in a tech provider. It is what gets them in for the long haul, too, they say.

“At the core, we have our customers at the heart of everything we do – it’s been that way since our beginnings as a player with deep roots in the family entertainment, arcade, attractions and amusement industies, dating back to 1956,” explained Renee Welsh, Embed Solutions Group CEO. “The consumer preference and industry has since moved from manual to digital – from coins to cashless to contactless. And since almost every solutions provider is already offering these, it is that crucial element of trust that will make businesses like us stand out.”

How does Embed translate this promise of customer-centricity since it began “fueling fun” in 2001?

Developing Tech Reliability

While it’s no secret that Embed is always knee-deep in research and development of solutions that “enable, empower, and ease the business of fun” – like releasing new tech every year at IAAPA Expo since 2019 – the company says it’s not only the tech itself that the company innovates and redefines.

“The truth is, anyone can create new hardware and software,” said Andy Welsh, CTO at Embed. “But what’s unique about Embed is our ability to not just design and produce tech but reimagine reliability that you just can’t replicate with anyone else other than the best tech partners in the world.”

Embed is known to use pilot technology of tech giants like Apple, Google, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) and see how these can be adapted for the FEC industry. They boast that their award-winning Mobile Wallet is still the only Apple and Google-certified FEC solution since its launch in 2019. The virtual game card sits in guests’ Apple or Google wallets so they can pay and play with their phones with no additional app download required. This, they report, boosts the location and operator’s bottom line. “The solution’s 2022-2023 metric results show a whopping 5x increase in average reload value ($50.57) versus cash ($9.90) or credit card ($31.95),” with 60% of reloads happening even before guests arrive at a venue.

Sara Paz, CMO and Growth Officer at Embed, explained that the consumer psychology behind this is straightforward. Since they are using their phones when playing, customers are no longer afraid of losing their game cards. The result is that when players reload, “they go big!” she said.

“With an opportunity as big as what the Mobile Wallet presents, we continue to offer it free for one year,” Paz continued. The company also layers additional value through their Embed GoTrain free on-site or virtual staff training geared towards driving uptake of Mobile Wallet usage “so operators can realize that 5x increase in average reload value – or more – regardless of business size.”

“Bringing Mobile Wallet in as another level of guest interaction allows us to build relationships and be something unique that sets us apart from competitors in the area,” said Brandon Baker, GM of Stars & Strikes in Myrtle Beach, S.C. “It allows us to work step-by-step to help guests secure and have more control over their accounts and game cards, so it brings a level of personalization and control over their own finances instead of just coming into the venue and being presented only with certain amounts or ways to purchase game cards.” Embed said the multi-location FEC saw “Mobile Wallet registrations shoot up to 411x post-training, racking up 42x higher average reload value.”

The single-site Yakima Family Fun Center in that Washington town saw the following results: a 5.4x increase in Mobile wallet guest registrations after their GoTrain session, which resulted in a 5x increase in average reload value. (For other GoTrain success stories, use the QR code at right.)

“By reliable tech, we mean solutions that grow with you and grow you,” CXO Michael Lopez explained. “It’s never just about getting another sale or another client for us when we innovate. We keep going back to how we can layer more value to the solutions our customers already have, so they can enjoy more profitability with lower operating costs and less manpower – and with these, transformational growth.”

Embed says this is only possible when tech solutions perform how they are intended to and when they are expected to. Pointing to recent global network outages, system integration issues, and lack of data stability plaguing industries across the globe, Embed says its system reliability is designed to “guarantee a superior guest experience and business longevity”:

“We partner with the world’s best tech partners so we can deliver a system architecture that’s built to work even during network outages,” added Andy Welsh. “We are in the strategic position to respond to the need for trusted tech partners as we work closely with AWS for their data centers and tech development.”

Embed’s hybrid system comprises a strategic combo of on-premises and cloud-based systems. On-site servers ensure business maintenance and continuity when the internet is unavailable, keeping gameplay and sales running. In case of downtimes, cloud-based systems move data from on-premises servers online to keep them optimized for operations during a network outage.

This partnership with AWS led to the development of STATS, a business intelligence dashboard operators can use to have real-time visibility of their FEC data like game performance, revenue prediction based on retro data, inventory, and even manpower allocation. Embed says, “Operators can make data-driven decisions instantly and use it strategically to zoom in on pain points that can otherwise go under the radar,” thanks to insights gleaned through STATS.”

Customer Joseph Cruz of THE BLVD! is a big fan: “I’m thrilled with STATS; it brought some shady game card transactions to my attention through leakage reports and helped us identify when these transactions happened. We were able to intercept the game cards, keep them off the floor, and recover around $640.

Trust: The Competitive Edge

With the amount of industry trust received through the years, Embed says they are committed to keeping reliability as the anchor of customer success.

“When you’re trusted by the best in the biz, you must be doing something right,” Renee Welsh touted. “Our customers’ trust is utmost to us – that’s why we are constantly working with the world’s best tech partners so we can be the right tech partner for the Embed family.”

Added Sara Paz: “This is also why we emphasize on layering value for members of the Embed family. It takes a squad to succeed in this business, and one testament to our customer-centricity is forming the Embed Success Squad, a dedicated team of experts and management consultants that help customers maximize their Embed system.”

Aside from its training arm GoTrain, the Success Squad includes Payment Gateway Gurus, who offer complimentary payment processing consultations so operators can cut their losses from fluctuating credit card processing costs (hidden fees, etc.) and take advantage of the savings they can get by simply changing their payment provider.

Resident Payment Gateway Guru Jeremy Dickamore explains: “We do this because we understand that it’s not enough to offer the best cashless business solution and then watch operators get straddled with a payment processor that absorbs their revenue with hidden merchant fees.” I see it time and again, changing their payment processing provider is more than a game-changer; it’s a life changer.”

Dwayne Combs of Castaway Play Café is one of the beneficiaries of this service. He said: “Thanks to Embed for analyzing our payment processing costs for us. They made the process of switching to another payment provider easy. Keeping processing fees low is an important part of maintaining our budget and we saved 51% from processing fees when we made the move.”

If 20-plus years of industry trust and reliability can produce these succcess stories, the Embed team says they’re eagerly looking forward to the next 20-plus years. Lauds long-time customer and industry icon James Miller, CEO of Funstation UK, “Your whole reliability is in your tech partner’s hands. Your whole business is in their care. Embed was a great fit and a good product from day one.”

“I’m very pleased to say that now, over 10 years of operating with Embed, it is very sound. You’ve got to invest with the right people, with strong partners. We have challenged them, and they’ve challenged us. It’s a good relationship. They listen, we listen, and we improve together.”

 

---

Why Tech Partners & System Reliability Matter to FECs

by Sara Paz, CMO & Growth Officer, Embed

Downtimes are the bane of the guest experience. Business solutions that cannot withstand the repercussions of downtimes can cause guests to walk out the door. Several times this year, we’ve heard about ongoing network outages, from players in our industry to mass-scale, global industry-disrupting ones (Delta, United, etc.). Suppose you and your guests have been victims of downtimes, especially during peak hours or holidays. Did that get you to question the overall reliability of your tech and partners and how they impact your ability to keep operations running smoothly?

Through my experiences at Embed, I’ve become keenly aware of how considering and selecting a tech partner is a huge business investment, requiring that you ask critical-thinking questions. What is the business solution and technology stack built on? Are the technology platforms established and world-renowned partners? Is the backend reliable? Or, is the tech system loosely built on third-party nameless software licensees, plug­ins, and a data center that can be acquired and wiped out at any time? Is the solution you’re considering coming from an actual “tech company,” one developing its own “Software as a Service” (SaaS) solutions, or are they taking software off the shelf (white label) and branding it?

These are essential questions to ask because tech partners should take accountability in response to outages and shouldn’t pass the fault to their own providers or tech partners.

So, with the above in mind, I’ve identified some key questions to guide you in your selection process:

Hardware: 

• Who designs the hardware?

• Is it done internally or externally?

• Where is the hardware manufactured?

• Do you hold the IP?

• Are any of your hardware solutions straight off the shelf, with your logo just added?

Software:

• Who designs your software?

• Is it done internally or externally?

• What elements of your platform have an IP that you own?

• Where is your software hosted?

• Is any of your software straight off the sheIf?

• Are you an IT partner or just one of many nameless licensees?

Tech Partner:

• Are your tech partners actual industry partners? If so, how?

• How will the partnership benefit your business?

• How is the reliability and the security?

The technology partner you select to run your business makes their tech partners your partners. Having a partner means you are getting the following:

l. Transformative revenue streams – Your solutions and tech partners should create new opportunities to develop revenue-generating experiences, packages and promotions to indulge guests. If the tech solution doesn’t pay for itself, then look elsewhere.

2. Optimal operational efficiency – The right tech partner ensures your ability to process payments, obtain data and have visibility over the business in case of downtimes.

3. Trans­formative profit – You can keep more of your earnings instead of spending on hardware or software maintenance, troubleshooting, additional manpower and other expenses incurred in system failure/outages.

4. Peace of mind – The only way to have this is by knowing that your business is running on the same reliable technology behind some of the world’s biggest brands. Likewise, choosing globally renowned tech platforms ensures that you get the benefits, best practices and consumer trends with key tech.

 

Your solutions provider or tech partner runs the systems that enable you to drive greater revenue with less manpower and generate more profit to future-proof your business. Talk­ing about downtimes, for example, a hybrid system can keep your operations up even when the network is down. A hybrid system is a strategic combination of onsite and cloud­ based systems. Onsite servers ensure business maintenance and continuity when internet connectivity is unavailable, keeping gameplay and sales running.

 

In downtimes, cloud-based systems move data from onsite servers online to keep the latter optimized for operations during a network outage. But without a reliable tech partner, even multiple onsite backup servers will get overworked during an outage, causing the guest experience to take a hit. It hurts your profitability, too.

Simply put, the reliability of your business solutions is measured by the reliability of each of the tech partners behind them. It’s important to know who their third-party service providers are for hardware, cloud-based solutions and, most importantly, their data centers. Hearing about some operators’ revenue loss due to massive data center outages this spring was a challenging time for the industry, and can be prevented with the right tech partners.

Pick a partner who layers value throughout your lifecycle, long after your purchase decision, and ensures continuous growth. Do they have a dedicated team of specialists (trainers, consultants, etc.) with deep expertise and focused roles in areas that will serve you and your business versus just one or a few customer success consultants for the entire clientele base?

Do they have tools and training to maximize your business solutions to increase profitability and reduce costs?

In our industry of fun, one of the biggest secrets to success is choosing partnerships with the right games and solutions providers. The amazing news is that you don’t have to be an FEC giant to get the best technology. Conversely, costly lessons are learned when selecting a provider solely based on the lowest price. Remember: When you take a shortcut, you can be cut short.

Sara Paz, the Dallas-based CMO and “Growth Officer” at cashless payment system provider Embed, is a multi-awarded global marketing specialist and “Chief Cheerleader.” Embed claims to be the only FEC provider to partner with Google and Apple, doing so with their award-winning Mobile Wallet, as well as with Amazon Web Services with its TOOLKIT software solution and STATS business intelligence dashboard. Among Embed’s roster of products are kiosks, card readers, game cards and wearable media. The company writes that it has 1,000+ customers and 3,000+ installations globally, and is “equipped and ready to empower FEC businesses with direct sales, services, and support anytime, anywhere.” Visit embedcard.com for more information.