7 Email Marketing Ideas for FECs, Bowling Centers, and Arcades

Despite living in an age where digital noise is louder than ever, email remains one of the most powerful and cost-effective ways to stay connected with your guests. Whether you run a family entertainment center, bowling center, arcade, or even a full-scale theme park, email marketing offers unmatched ROI – especially when it’s done with strategy and purpose.

To help you deliver the right message at the right time, we’ve pulled together a few practical tips to spark your own strategy-building success. Read on for seven marketing tips for FECs, smart ways to market your amusement park, and how to tap into current arcade business trends to boost group bookings, drive loyalty, and fill your venue with happy guests.

No. 1: Lean into Seasonal and Special Events.

It’s no secret that you should market seasonal experiences and special events, such as summer date nights, back-to-school bashes, birthday specials, and more. Every email you send should be clear, concise, and have a clear, concise, and focused call to action. In Daniel Pink’s book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, he explains that urgency, especially when tied to a clear deadline, significantly increases conversions because it triggers a psychological effect known as “temporal scarcity.”

Examples:

• Halloween Bash – Limited Entry: “Only 50 tickets left for our Haunted Glow Night! Book by Oct 15 to guarantee entry—last year sold out fast!”
• Holiday Break Gift Card Promotion: “Grab your Unlimited Play Pass before Friday at midnight and get a FREE $10 bonus card—offer disappears after Dec 20!”
• Birthday Party Promo: “Planning a party? Book by the 15th and get 100 free game tickets for every guest—it’s a limited-time birthday bonus!”
• Summer/Spring Break Camp: “Spring Break is almost here (or There’s still time for this summer’s camp season!) Sign up by Sunday to secure your spot + score a free T-shirt.”
• New Year’s Family Countdown Party: “Early Bird pricing ends Dec 15! Lock in your bowling lanes for our Family NYE Bash before prices jump.”

No. 2: Leverage Loyalty & Season Pass Upsells.

Memberships, loyalty cards, and season passes remain popular trends for FECs, amusement parks, and arcades. For example, one of our FEC clients, Funland of Fredericksburg, sold over $50,000 in a four‑day online season pass sale, building a base of 5,500 annual members. Further, the team at Rev’d Up Fun is able to cover facility overhead before the doors even open each day, thanks to their membership program. Additionally, ancillary spending by members who take advantage of their membership benefits boosts the bottom line on slower days. To encourage people to join or purchase these programs, consider a three-part marketing campaign that invites current guests from your CenterEdge data to join, highlighting exclusive rewards or fast-track benefits.

For example:

• Email 1: “Thanks for visiting! Upgrade/Join now to unlock level 1 perks!”
• Email 2: “Only 10 spots left at this price!”
• Email 3: “Last chance to upgrade + bonus prize!”

No. 3: Boost Group & Party Bookings.

Marketing to current and past event guests is one of the most cost-effective ways to boost revenue while introducing your facility to new visitors organically. These guests already know your brand and have experienced your venue, making them more likely to return or recommend it to others. By sending well-timed, targeted emails, you can re-engage them with exclusive offers, referral incentives, and event previews.

For example, send a “We Miss You!” email to past birthday party hosts with a discount or bonus for their next group event. Or launch a “Bring a Friend Night” invitation to recent guests that includes a 2-for-1 game card offer. You can also automate post-event thank-you emails with links to leave reviews, share photos, or book their next outing, each creating more touchpoints and potential for new guest exposure.

Tips for event promotion:

• Use dynamic content based on party type (kids, teens, corporate).
• Provide easy “book now” CTAs linked to your online group booking system.
• Use “hidden links” if you would like to promote exclusive offers for guests to book online that are only available to email recipients.

No. 4: Highlight Prize Redemption & Arcade Engagement.

So often, we tend to highlight attractions, passes, and bonus play. But when your game room is such a large earner in your business, why not send some targeted arcade marketing? I visited a facility recently that had a huge following for pinball (with leagues and everything!) and dozens of claw machines with uniquely themed plush. Are you leveraging those interests with fun unboxing videos shared on social and in email? Your Redemption experience can be a huge driver of repeat visits and increased spending.

For example:

• Send “You’ve got 500 tickets!” reminders.
• Promote new prize arrivals with images, unboxing videos, and top-shelf items.
• Include “double points” days and discount codes (for tracking later!)
• Send “you’re so close to Gold Status!” messages.

No. 5: Connect Email with Other Marketing Efforts.

Marketing messaging can get siloed without a holistic strategy. When considering a compelling offer, take the time to think about where and how the message can gain more reach. For example, integrating admissions interactions at your POS as well as digital signage messaging with your email and social strategy gives you seamless marketing. Personalized greetings, such as “Great to see you again, Sarah!” to loyalty program members or guests redeeming a bounce-back offer, make them feel valued and special.  Consider sending pre-visit emails that highlight what to expect during their visit (like special events or loyalty point offers), then follow up post-visit with reward reminders, survey links, or promotions to bring them back. Onsite digital signage can reinforce these email offers with subtle nudges like “Ask about your bonus game credits from your last visit!”—creating a full-circle marketing loop that drives return visits and guest satisfaction.

No. 6: Measure Marketing Success to Determine ROI.

Marketing success can be tricky to quantify, so tying back to special offers and promo codes can help you track what’s working. Start by using offer code redemptions to directly tie specific campaigns to guest spending; this shows exactly how many people acted on your emails, texts, or in-store promotions. Compare year-over-year sales during campaign periods to see if your efforts are driving growth. While vanity metrics like social media likes or email open rates can indicate engagement, they shouldn’t be your primary success metric. Instead, use them to optimize timing and messaging, then focus on conversions and repeat visits to determine true marketing ROI. Services like Gleantap, Hownd, Book More, and Shop Window can also help you send and track offer purchases and redemption.

Best practices:

• A/B test subject lines (“Kids half‑price!” vs. “Don’t miss this offer!”)
• Track redemptions via barcodes or personalized URLs sent via public or hidden links.

No. 7: Don’t be Afraid to Try New Things!

Don’t be afraid to try new things with your FEC marketing—sticking to the same playbook can stall growth in a fast-moving industry. Whether it’s testing a new email format, launching a last-minute text campaign, or trying out a referral incentive, small experiments can lead to big wins. Even if a campaign doesn’t perform perfectly, you gain valuable insights that help you fine-tune future efforts. Marketing is as much about learning as it is about promoting—so take the risk, track the results, and keep evolving. Your next great idea might come from the tactic you almost didn’t try.

With the strategies above, you can transform everyday messages into personalized experiences that foster loyalty, drive revenue, and keep your facility at the forefront of your customers’ minds. To learn how CenterEdge’s powerful toolset can help you manage nearly every aspect of your business and data, schedule a personalized demo today.