As part of their participation at the 2020 Amusement Expo International (AEI) in New Orleans, several hundred executives from the out-of-home entertainment marketplace will go back to school during the one-day AEI conference program on 9 March, 2020.
A long-standing fixture at AEI, this year’s curriculum will feature tracks developed by and for practitioners in multiple industry disciplines, including amusements, games and music; family entertainment centres; virtual reality and laser tag.
Over 20 seminars – a blend of presentations, panels and workshop-style roundtables, and a pair of “keynote presentations” to open and close the program – will be conducted at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel, the housing headquarters for the 2020 AEI. For a full schedule of the AEI seminar program, please visit www.amusementexpo.org.
In addition to the AEI education offerings, the Foundations Entertainment University (FEU) is also coming to town, conducting its 51st program in New Orleans at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside on 7-8 March. For more information on FEU #51, visit www.foundationsuniversity.com or contact Jackie Zilligen at jazilligen@comcast.net.
Sheryl Bindelglass will be hosting an after-expo event on 11 March and 12 March 12 titled “Fast Track to Group Sales Success”. Attendees will receive interactive, expert training in booking larger groups, increasing profits from group sales, retaining group business and much more! Visit www.sherylgolf.com for more information on this event and to register.
The line-up
The Opening Keynote at 8:30am will be Larry Johnson, co-author of the top-selling book: “Absolute Honesty: Building a Corporate Culture That Values Straight Talk and Rewards Integrity,”. He will speak about leadership, change, customer service, project management and honesty in business. His varied work experience includes eight years as manager in the private sector health care industry, three years in city government administration and 26 years as president of his own consulting firm.
At 4 pm, the final session will feature the Closing Keynote Presentation by Ed Rensi, former president of McDonald’s of 13 years, and former CEO. Starting as a grillman for minimum wage in the mid-1960s, he became an operations executive and eventually served on the company’s board of directors. He has also served as a consultant and director of several large, multinational corporations and organizations, and is a highly-regarded speaker on management, consumer trends, franchising and employee relations. Ed’s messages are based on his life experiences and lessons learned.
The rest of the lineup is filled with timely topics, directed by a “who’s who” of the marketplace. Currently, over 20 sessions featuring 35 individual presenter/panelists are on the schedule.
Subjects to be covered include valuating/selling routes; creating marketing plans; pinball; inspired leadership; cyber security; escape rooms; small footprint FECs; card-stored/cashless systems; unique promotions; FEC and Operator roundtables; hiring/retaining employees; ATM best practices; the “Infinite Game;” and rewards/membership programs.
A separate track on the spectrum of virtual reality topics will also be conducted concurrently as part of the AEI conference offering and laser tag components—which have had collocated shows as part of AEI–have developed their own educational programs that will be held on Monday, March 9 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel. It all adds up to an epic educational experience in the Big Easy!
To register to attend the AEI Seminars, please visit www.amusementexpo.org.
Just after the scheduled 5 p.m. close of this year’s AEI Education Day, the All-Industry Gala Reception will be conducted at the hotel, providing a festive, relaxing transition between education and the exhibition program.
AEI, the annual spring event for the out-of-home entertainment industry, is co-sponsored by the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) and AMOA.