Operators of the Eighties April Profile:
Mickey Finn, No. Kansas City, Missouri
Astrodata
K I continued
Many people are aware that Many of these women returned
Finn pays a great deal of at-
the bowling industry and the
tention to the game operations
to the work force and our
amusement games industry
daytime business felt the im-
in his cente r. He is heavi ly pro-
have strong similarities- They pact. We had to create a new
motion-o riented and uses
both provide recreation, have
interest, so we reached out to
games to c reate vvhat he calls
sim ilar target customers and
the community and keyed in on an "action syndrome" . Accord-
both have been faced with im-
Senior Citizens, who were
ing to Finn, "I t is important to
age problems in the past.
se~king recreation activities.
c reate a feeling of action to at-
One of the key innovators in Today, these Seniors are a vital tract customers. You need a
the bowling industry is Mickey
part of our daytime league. "
proper mix of games to appeal
Finn, currently the manager of
"Bowling proprietors today
to a variety of people-space
N KC Pro Bowl and President of view coin-operated games as a games, sports games, driving ,
the Kansas City Bowling Pro-
crucial profit structure in their
and family type games. I have
prietors. Finn reflects on the
operations" , says Finn. " They
my six top games arranged in
recent history of the bowling
are exploring ways to expand
a circle in the middle of the
industry by summarizing.
and renovate their game areas. game room. They actually earn
" In the late fifties the bowling
Before, proprietors talked about more this way ''
lndustry w as soaring and L>y
·nigh bowling scores, but now,
As an ongoing promotion ,
1960 there was an oversatura- their conversations gear in on
Finn uses a token system for
tion of bowling centers. By
what's new and good in games." his games and his bowlers re-
1968 many proprietors went
Finn says that game rooms are ceive free game tokens when
out of business. Those remain- recognized as incremental reve- they bowl a specified number
ing were the ones who kept
nue builders and they draw in a of games. He also has used
strict maintenance on thei r
wide range of clientele which
billboards to advertise his bowl-
equipment and pursued an ac- also adds to the bar and/or res- ing center and highlight
tive promotion program ."
taurant sales. "Seventy-five per- ASTEROIDS™.
Today there are about 10,000 cent (75%) of our game reve-
bowling centers in the United
nues are generated from non-
Finn is also the author of
States. There are a startling
bowlers. Businessmen come in many published articles, one of
nine million regular league
during the day to play games
which focused on coin-operated
bowlers and in one year, close and they'll stop for lunch in
games and was f ea tu red in
to 80 million people go bowling. our snack shop. "
Bowlers Journal.
The bowling industry attracts
a wide range of ages. The tar-
get customers are between
18-34 years of age , very
similar to the target market of
coin-operated game players.
"Our key customers are a
declining age segment in the
population ," observes Finn.
"One way to buffer ourselves
is to recreate new target
customers. " As an example,
Finn cites, "Years ago our
daytime leagues were sup-
ported by women bowlers.
Billboard produced by F:nn to promote Asteroids at NKC Pro Bowl.
F. Radio Commercials. Scripts
for sixty, thirty, and ten second
radio spots dramatize the excit-
ing play features of the game.
Refer to the Radio AstroTips
sheet for suggestions about
how to produce and place radio
commercials to most effectively
take advantage of this advertis-
ing medium.
Atari, Inc.
1265 Borregas Avenue
Sunnyvale, California 94086
C,A Warner Commun,cat,ons Company
•tTM
G. Tournament Ideas. These
are proven tournament and
contest ideas designed to help
you promote in-location game
play (and repeat play). Thesf;
events are simple and inexpen-
sive and can work successfully
whether your locations are
" street" , " arcade" or in-
between. They are effective
new business builders, encour-
age semi-regular customers to
come in more often , and are
good publicity, enhancing your
prestige in the community.
Join the ATARI Astra Force
now. The Kit is free. All you have
to do is fill out the postage free
card enclosed in this issue. Or
write to us at Atari, Inc.,
c/o The Coin Connection,
1265 Borregas Avenue,
Sunnyvale, CA 94086.
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