Cover Story
(March 2008)Cover Story
(March 2008)Customers come first at Merit
Merit
Entertainment began its 31st year serving the needs of the coin-op amusement
industry with a strong showing at the recent Amusement Trades Exhibition
International (ATEI) in London, England.
Since
ATEI kicks off the trade show calendar for 2008, and Merit traditionally
launches new product each spring and fall, it was the perfect time to check in
with the company for product updates and a glimpse into their future.
Mike
Maas, President and CEO of Merit and its sister company AMI, attended the ATEI
for the second time. “Internationally, Merit had a good show with many of our
Aurora touch screen units on display as well as our software on Skill With Prize
(SWP) machines for the United Kingdom,” said Maas.
A
large share of the United Kingdom market is devoted to SWP machines and
Amusement With Prize (AWP) machines; each affords a different level of rewards
to players.
Merit
products were displayed in the Games Warehouse booth, a wholly owned subsidiary
of Merit, which supplies SWP machines primarily to the U.K. market.
At
the show, Merit announced a partnership with Almotech Ltd., a 25-year-old Irish
company with a digital download jukebox for the United Kingdom and Ireland
markets. Almotech’s new jukeboxes are powered by AMI Entertainment’s
software.
Maas
spoke about the differences in music licensing around the globe: “Music
licensing varies geographically because of government regulations. Today the
market for jukeboxes overseas is primarily CD updates but we believe that it is
moving toward digital download. That’s why we have a partnership with Almotech.
“Of
course, we have a good install base of Merit games that will link to the jukebox
the same way they link to jukeboxes in the United States. In the United Kingdom
we meet the needs of amusement-only equipment, SWPs, and AWPs.
“Merit
does a lot of international business which is very important to us. While ATEI
is a U.K.-based show, all of our key customers around the world come to it, from
Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. It’s a good show for us.”
Bob
Mills, Vice President of Sales, said, “It has the high energy of the U.S.
trade shows from the 1980s and 1990s.”
Innovative
products
That
energy was evident in the reception to the newest products from Merit, including
The Entertainer, which debuted at the Amusement and Music Operators Association
(AMOA) International Expo 2007.
“We’re
in the market with the Entertainer now,” said Maas. “We’ve done a number
of trials and tests and reports are promising. We did not know what would happen
with a Wallette with the music feature but we’re seeing an up-tick of 30
percent in earnings in the beta test. Production rollouts of that system are
underway. By the time of the Amusement Showcase International (ASI) later this
month we will have production level reports for the industry.”
The
Entertainer makes it possible for patrons to do it all: play games and music.
It’s perfect for booths or any wall space and features flat panel custom
advertising screens and the optional patent-pending MegaBracket for hassle-free
placement on any flat surface.
Maas
also mentioned that Merit changed the business model with the Entertainer by
using a classic revenue share like digital music downloads. “It’s been well
received,” he said. “We’re breaking new ground with business models for
the industry.”
Also
new: the Firefly, shown in prototype form at AMOA Expo 2007. This intriguing,
portable, hand-held unit has a touch screen plus wireless technology and is
ideal for chain locations. The Firefly also has a touch screen kiosk base
station.
“With
Firefly what we’re really looking at is a niche market for chains,” Maas
said. “We don’t see Firefly as a replacement for our core countertop
business. We are really hitting stride with the Aurora.
Pictured
right:
Brennan McTernan,
Vice President of
Software Development,
and his fan club.
“Our
plan is to let the market absorb the Aurora. That said, we are continuing to
aggressively develop the Firefly for this niche market. We do see an incremental
opportunity for our customers there. We have done a tremendous amount of work
testing the Firefly and designing changes we feel will be very positive.”
Software
strategy
Merit
traditionally releases new software twice a year: a fall release at the AMOA
International Expo and a spring release at the ASI show. The fall release is the
major new paid-for release; the spring release is free to purchasers of the fall
release and typically includes some significant system updates.
Maas
noted that in the Play Meter State of the Industry Report operators are looking
for more and more help in: a) reducing travel costs, and b) managing their
businesses.
“They
seem to be adapting to the online world more and more,” he said. Merit’s
fully downloadable spring update addresses those concerns. Maas explained,
“When the spring software comes out, operators don’t have to visit their
machines; they can download directly. That’s a big feature and in today’s
environment our customers will really appreciate that.
“Next,
we typically put three elements into a spring software release: system
improvements such as networking capabilities, user interface features like
operating system updates, and we have a number of games.”
Pictured
left:
Cathy Curran-Keebler,
Payroll Manager,
is celebrating 20 years
with Merit
Maas
believes in staying with Merit’s strongpoint: “We’re going back to our
roots with new twists on card games and new ideas for traditional kinds of
games. We put a lot of new updates into the core content for Trivia, Photo Hunt,
and Photo Pop. You will see refreshed content, which is really important. Those
photo and trivia games are big with players.”
Merit’s
Sneak Peek games afford a six-month head start for operators who have connected
machines as a thank you for moving in that direction and as an incentive for
more operators to take advantage of connectivity.
Operator
assistance
Merit’s
concern for operators does not stop at products alone. Recently, action on
countertops by local law enforcement in North Carolina resulted in operators
asking for Merit’s assistance.
Pictured
right:
Colin Higbie,
Director of Marketing
“We
engaged and sent help,” Maas said. “In this case, I’m quite certain that
we were the only manufacturer to do so. Merit has been very proactive, for
example working on anti-piracy around the world. Stepping up is not cheap but we
really want to help operators. Collectively in North Carolina we were able to
get a ruling that Merit games are legal.”
Maas
also noted that Merit products are designed so they can accommodate any
requirements state by state. “We work hard to make sure we are within the laws
of each state,” he said.
Focus
on customers
“We’re
obviously in this industry for the long run since we are entering our 31st
year,” said Maas. “We have a big development pipeline for new products.”
He was careful about revealing any surprises for ASI. He put it this way:
“There will be a big WOW factor coming from Merit this year. There should be
one every year; that’s my commitment to the industry.”
Pictured
left:
Print Art/Game Development/Content:
Jim Hartman, Lacey Tobias,
Brian Kubala, AJ Russo,
Natalya Prosvirnina, Diego Muya,
Francois Guignard, Stacy Sanders,
and Mick Kennedy
One way to secure
the future, according to Merit, is to take steps to connect with customers. Maas
said, “We started 18 months ago to really focus on the operators’ needs and
we’ve been living that. Our Operator Advisory Council (OAC) is one of many
things we’ve been doing to re-engage with our customers. The OAC has had a
significant impact on how we design products, starting with the Aurora.
“We
spent a lot of time with the OAC, welcoming suggestions that eventually folded
into a set of ongoing improvements for the Aurora. The Aurora product in the
market today with its 19-inch monitor is earning extremely well. It’s stable
and operators like it. Many of the current features in that system came directly
from the OAC. The same is true with the Entertainer.
Pictured
right:
Tim Kotzen,
Manager of
Customer Service
and Technical Support
“Other
design concepts we will develop over the next few years will reflect what we
have heard over the last year from the OAC. It has made a huge impact on
Merit’s business. Beyond that, we listen to our customers in other ways, such
as our monthly operator survey. I read all the comments. Programs can often be
traced to that input. For example, our Motherboard Express initiative, which
started a year ago, facilitates the repair of motherboards and gives our
customers a very significant financial break. That came directly from listening
to operator comments on the survey.”
The
future
With
the consolidation of Merit’s production plant in Pennsylvania and Rowe
International’s manufacturing plant in Michigan now complete, Merit’s
administrative offices also moved to new Pennsylvania headquarters in February.
“The connection between the two locations is very strong,” said Maas.
He
added, “In 2008 our plans call for us to double down and go even deeper into
customer involvement and understanding. We will launch several additional
programs and initiatives oriented toward getting closer to our customers,
listening to our customers, and rewarding our customers.”