Companies Changing Technology in Franchising: AMI Entertainment

More than 100 years ago, AMI Entertainment recognized the impact that music can have on creating an environment for restaurants and bars across the nation. What originally launched as a jukebox company has evolved to offer an array of state-of-the-art entertainment equipment, from mobile applications to video systems. But the company’s mission throughout a century of change has always remained the same, create an engaging atmosphere for operators that prompts customers to return.

To drive innovation in the digital era, AMI Entertainment brought on seasoned technology guru Ron Richards in 2005 as the company’s Chief Technology officer. With a fresh vision, Richards helped the team launch its first ever digital jukebox.

“I came on board at the inception of the digital jukebox and knew immediately how scalable a product like this could be. Aside from wanting to join an established brand, this launch was one of the main reasons I decided to join AMI.” said Richards. “The company has a deep history within the jukebox industry but at the same time, this high-tech application was unfamiliar ground. It was almost as if I was helping to run a startup within a company. I knew I could bring my past experience to this industry to develop a more mature software.”

The digital jukebox AMI developed is a touchscreen kiosk that offers customers the ability to choose the music they’d like to play from a large database of songs, genres and artists. The software also links up to a mobile application that allows customers to make a purchase to put a song in a queue or to boost it to the top of the list conveniently from their smartphone. The company boasts that 25 percent of interactions are now performed on the app.

“With the addition of the smartphone app, we now have a registry of over a million users. This gives us more ability to engage with customers and better tailor our music selection,” according to Richards. “As soon as a past user walks into a restaurant or bar with our technology installed, we can send them a notification with information that’s relevant to that location – like promotions, alerts for trivia/game nights, and more. It’s a great way to get our name out there and it’s improving the overall guest experience.”

But as AMI looked at growth opportunities in the franchise sector, the company realized that kiosks took up valuable square footage and were often more expensive than operators were willing to pay. As a response, Richards and his team developed AMI Music, a product that connects directly to a TV screen so that it doesn’t require a bulky device. Instead, it’s a more economical solution because it’s a simple media player, similar to an Apple TV or a cable box that a Comcast customer might get when they purchase a subscription.

“When we realized that a large portion of our customer base was interacting with our software on their mobile device, we knew there had to be a way to adapt that software to make it more franchise friendly,” said Richards. “With AMI music, all interaction is done through smartphones because there is no physical touchscreen. It’s also primarily used for background music at casual dining restaurants or sports bars.”

AMI launched the product in October and is primarily targeting casual dining restaurants and franchises in the early stages, helping to give their customers the ability to personalize their experience. From here, the company believes it can find success in other public areas like fitness centers and waiting rooms.

“We’re having a very controlled launch but know that this product has legs,” said Richards. “We want to help make music relevant by tailoring it through pay for play selections. What’s popular nationwide doesn’t always translate to what the consumer in the restaurant wants, and we love giving customers the ability to make customize their experience. AMI Music is our latest tool to enhance the guest experience, and we look forward to rolling it out nationwide.”