Machines & Gaming: Media savvy
Games Media is a relative newcomer to the pubs market - but it's armed with some big guns being a subsidiary of US giant Scientific Games and with 10,000 of its terminals already installed in betting shops.
Its plan for the UK pub industry is a holistic one. Follwoing a series of 12-week the company has installed its entire digital networks in pubs - AWPs, SWPs, a jukebox and pool table.
"We are not a furniture removal business and we're not doing this bit-by-bit by stealth," says director of business development Peter Davies.
"We've taken over a whole site - not just put a digital machine in, and under the circumstances, with all the problems pubs are facing, the results have been exceptional. All the trials have delivered income increases."
As well as providing a complete digital solution, using its own Juice AWP and Indego SWP as well as jukeboxes from Sound Leisure and pool tables from Bar Billiards, Games Media is also working to inject marketing initiatives and involve licensees in the project."Licensees don't normally engage with the product, but gaming revenue can't be taken for granted," explains Davies.
"There is a marketing focus to what we are doing and the publican can be an ally in that. To the consumer he's the face of the business and our solution gives him something extra to work with - for instance they can cross-promote the different machines and link to plasma screens to maximise the growth potential.
"We are trying lots of other things too - promoting games, doing demonstrations, offering vouchers and cash prizes.
"Around 95 per cent of people who go into pubs don't play machines and that's a massive untapped market," he adds. "Pubs must offer the choice of games that can attract new people. This is still a content business at its core.
"We have specific menu types as the core offer, but then we can tailor the machines and marry the content to the environment by understanding what games work where."
Games Media is working with a number of pub operators, among them the Orchid Group where machines manager Bridget Bridgett has noticed striking results, particularly in the way digital AWPs have been able to attract women players.
"We have gone digital in about 10 per cent of the estate, in a cross-section of pubs, and we are getting more money in the cashbox in all of them," she explains.
"That's not coming from the traditional core player because that market's shrinking, so it's got to be new players - that's great news if it continues.
"The machines are more appealing, I think," she adds. "They're not as masculine looking as the old fruit machines and there is so much choice of games - bingo is a great one for the female audience."
