Fighting to Survive in the FEC Market

It’s a tough marketplace as FEC’s compete with a growing list of local entertainment options, often times, located in close proximity—all offering family-friendly fun with special events and party options, eating away at market share. 

"Today’s family entertainment centers face more competition than in the past, but not only from other FECs," says Gilberto Guido Vazquez, global chief experience officer at KidZania, with locations in Mexico, South America, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States. 
"The competitive set has expanded to almost any option that can capture a family’s leisure time, discretionary spending, and attention. The main shift is that families are no longer comparing only 'one FEC versus another FEC.' They are comparing every possible way to spend their time and money together,” Guido Vazquez.

The PRiZE takes a closer look at how FEC operators around the globe stay relevant and keep guests coming back for fun.

Create an Experience Worth Leaving Home For

As a world of endless screen time fights for guests' wallets, facilities are in a fight to create moments worth leaving the couch for, says Prashant Agarwal, group chief marketing and digital officer for The Entertainment and Education Group (TEEG), which owns Timezone Games with locations in Australia, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, India, and New Zealand.

"This shapes the way we approach value delivery at Timezone," he explains. "Everything is focused on helping families and friends play, laugh, compete, and connect together." 

Agarwal says the best way to stay relevant and keep guests coming back is to deliver on what they want. "We have one of the most comprehensive guest insight programs," he details. "Be it post-visit satisfaction surveys, reviews, promoter-scores, or even the massive data analysis, we perform on what our guests do at the venue, we keep refining our understanding into what guests enjoy, what we need to fix, and how we can flex to enhance their experience."

Treat Guests Like Family 

At DiDonato's Family Fun Center in Hammonton, New Jersey, Vice President Christina DiDonato says the business experiences competition due to its location 20 minutes from both Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. To keep guests coming back, she says the attraction maintains a clean, family-friendly environment—a hallmark of the operation since 1952. 

"Getting to know our customers and treating them like they’re family when they walk in the door," is a tactic DiDonato believes is important. "I think giving that personalized experience and giving that small business feel when you walk in here—even though we're not necessarily a small business anymore—is definitely something that keeps us on people's radar." 

Focus on Being the Best

At Play Factore in Manchester, United Kingdom, director Fawad Munir says the company focus is on being the best at delivering services and offerings that create a perceived premium value. This practice avoids competitive price war which benefits no one except the end user. 

"We promote our unique offering which can be summarized, [by] the size of our location, the variety of activities on offer, and premium F&B offering from barista coffees to authentic Neapolitan pizza," Munir adds. 

Use Special Events to Draw Guests In

Vazquez says KidZania runs special events at its locations to create urgency, novelty, and new reasons to revisit. "This is especially important for a concept like KidZania, because the core experience is permanent,” he explains. “If families feel that 'KidZania will always be there,' they may postpone the visit. Special events help change that perception by communicating that something new is happening now."

Special events at KidZania may include connections to local calendars, cultural moments, and holidays, as well as an opportunity to reach different audiences and occasions.

"In Mexico, for example, we have explored formats such as adult-oriented events and family promotions where parents can participate more directly in the experience," Vazquez says. "These types of events help expand the use of the city beyond the standard child visit and create new commercial occasions."

Keep Parties Competitive

Just about every entertainment venue offers birthday party options. DiDonato's focuses on offering custom packages where everything needed for a party is taken care of, including homemade ice cream cakes from the attraction’s new on-site Pin Deck ice cream shop. 

"If you're having your birthday party here, we try to make it easy-peasy for those families and those parents," DiDonato says. "You can come here, do all your food here, order your cake or your custom cupcakes. We even provide plates, cups, and all your party platters. So, you could just come in and enjoy—less work for the families." 

Avoid Complacency in Marketing Efforts

Munir says at Play Factore, moved away from traditional leaflets and now focuses more resources on digital media, including paid advertisements, email marketing, social media, and collaboration with bloggers and influencers. 

"Digital media is an important part of staying relevant in the eyes of our customers, so we place a focus on Instagram and TikTok," he explains. "We partner up with Groupon once a year to offer a discounted ticket, which drives secondary revenue in the shape of food and beverage. We're starting to home in more on schools as they can be an important revenue stream for quieter times." 

Don’t Worry About What the Other Guy is Doing

For FECs who may be experiencing a lot of local competition, Agarwal advises attractions to stop worrying about what the FEC down the street is doing and focus more on understanding its guests. 

"Your real competition is the living room, and your superpower is shared human connection," he explains. "Many operators assume they compete with other FECs. Fact is, they compete with every other way people can spend their leisure time. The key is understanding why guests choose you, what they value, and what keeps them coming back."

And, Agarwal says, focus on value, not price. "Guests aren't necessarily looking for the cheapest entertainment option," he adds. "They're looking for experiences that feel worthwhile, memorable, and worth sharing with family and friends."