WEBVTT 00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:02.690 Welcome to the Live with Sondra podcast where 00:00:02.690 --> 00:00:05.290 we dive deep into business, tech, and entrepreneurship. 00:00:06.150 --> 00:00:09.349 Hosted by me, Sondra Shannon, CEO of GateMaster 00:00:09.349 --> 00:00:12.689 Technology. Each show, we explore the latest 00:00:12.689 --> 00:00:15.029 trends in ticketing attractions and guest experience, 00:00:15.369 --> 00:00:17.929 helping you stay ahead of the curve in this ever 00:00:17.929 --> 00:00:21.510 -evolving world of attractions and events. Whether 00:00:21.510 --> 00:00:24.010 you're an industry expert or just getting started, 00:00:24.269 --> 00:00:27.129 this show has insights to inspire and empower 00:00:27.129 --> 00:00:30.480 you. Today's episode is sponsored by GateMaster 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:32.799 Technology, your trusted partner for ticketing 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:36.039 and attraction management solutions. Let's get 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:49.039 started with the show. And we are live. Welcome 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:51.219 to the Live with Sondra show. I'm your host, 00:00:51.340 --> 00:00:53.960 Sondra Shannon. And this is where we share stories 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:56.579 of business leaders and the people who support 00:00:56.579 --> 00:01:39.620 them. All right, let's roll the video. All right. 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:41.219 Thanks for watching that intro video. I have 00:01:41.219 --> 00:01:43.879 to just thank my team. That's brand new. It's 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:45.540 the first day we're premiering that. I hope we 00:01:45.540 --> 00:01:47.560 did a good job. I know it looks good because 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:49.500 I'm very proud of them. I have the best team. 00:01:49.659 --> 00:01:52.019 And this show would not be possible without them. 00:01:52.180 --> 00:01:53.980 I know this is not the normal way to start the 00:01:53.980 --> 00:01:55.560 show, but I was super excited about sharing that 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:59.359 with all of you today. But let's jump into this 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:01.700 conversation. We're going to be talking today 00:02:01.700 --> 00:02:05.230 about community -powered economies. a new era 00:02:05.230 --> 00:02:07.870 for attractions, and in a world where technology 00:02:07.870 --> 00:02:11.789 and storytelling collide, today's guest is showing 00:02:11.789 --> 00:02:13.909 the industry how to move beyond transactions 00:02:13.909 --> 00:02:16.569 and into transformation. We're going to have 00:02:16.569 --> 00:02:21.669 a focus on music, gaming, and tech. And first... 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:25.979 I have to do my due diligence and give a special 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:29.080 thank you to our sponsor. Today's episode is 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:31.539 brought to you by GateMaster, the all -in -one 00:02:31.539 --> 00:02:33.539 ticketing and attraction management software 00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:37.300 trusted by industry leaders. From point of sale 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:40.759 to guest management and mobile ordering, GateMaster 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:45.039 helps attractions run smarter, not harder. So 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:47.340 whether you're looking to streamline operations 00:02:47.340 --> 00:02:51.240 or elevate your guest experience, GateMaster 00:02:51.240 --> 00:02:59.349 has... something for you. So you can learn more 00:02:59.349 --> 00:03:03.110 about GateMaster at gatemaster .com and tell 00:03:03.110 --> 00:03:07.909 them you were sent live with Sandra. Live with 00:03:07.909 --> 00:03:10.650 Sandra sent you. So let's talk about today's 00:03:10.650 --> 00:03:15.289 guest. Jay is not only the founder and CEO of 00:03:15.289 --> 00:03:18.889 Coexist, she's also a Grammy winning recording 00:03:18.889 --> 00:03:22.800 artist. an internationally recognized speaker 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:27.060 on AI ethics and representation in games. With 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:30.240 over a decade of experience, she's become a visionary 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:33.479 in building inclusive gamified economies that 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:37.159 drive loyalty, engagement, and impact. Whether 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:40.860 she's on stage, in the studio, or designing community 00:03:40.860 --> 00:03:44.620 -powered ecosystems, Jay brings unmatched creativity, 00:03:45.020 --> 00:03:50.280 strategy, and authenticity. And a fun fact, She 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:52.539 never goes anywhere without her water jug, which 00:03:52.539 --> 00:03:57.800 she credits to helping her be disciplined, optimized, 00:03:58.259 --> 00:04:01.599 and balanced. I love that. So get ready to rethink 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:03.960 what's possible in your attraction, theme park, 00:04:04.020 --> 00:04:06.639 or venue because Jay is about to break it down 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:09.479 on how gamification, tech, and community are 00:04:09.479 --> 00:04:12.620 shaping a new era of unforgettable experiences. 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:16.680 Please help me welcome Jay to this powerhouse, 00:04:16.699 --> 00:04:21.569 to this show. Jay, welcome to the show. Hi, how 00:04:21.569 --> 00:04:25.970 are you? Hey, everybody. I'm so glad you're here. 00:04:26.069 --> 00:04:27.689 And I'm curious, you know, is there anything 00:04:27.689 --> 00:04:32.870 else? I know I love bios, but I also love hearing 00:04:32.870 --> 00:04:37.170 directly from you. You know, what is what is 00:04:37.170 --> 00:04:39.069 that thing about you? I love the water. I love 00:04:39.069 --> 00:04:42.889 the water because that is like my fifth one. 00:04:42.930 --> 00:04:46.930 I should have the water next to me. Yes. So what 00:04:46.930 --> 00:04:49.060 was the question? just i you know tell us about 00:04:49.060 --> 00:04:51.600 you tell us i you know i love hearing stories 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:53.779 of how people get their start if you don't mind 00:04:53.779 --> 00:04:55.800 sharing a little bit of that i know that's outside 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.420 of what we're talking about but i think it's 00:04:58.420 --> 00:04:59.839 important for people to have reference on who 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:02.449 you are It's, you know, it's a journey. I have 00:05:02.449 --> 00:05:04.990 a lot, a lot of stuff across my socials that 00:05:04.990 --> 00:05:06.870 talk about this journey because it's a pretty 00:05:06.870 --> 00:05:10.569 inspiring one. But I mean, this short version 00:05:10.569 --> 00:05:13.569 is I moved to New York for music. I've been playing 00:05:13.569 --> 00:05:15.649 video games since I was four. I studied electrical 00:05:15.649 --> 00:05:19.069 engineering in college and I really just wanted 00:05:19.069 --> 00:05:22.629 my worlds to coexist. So, you know, music, gaming 00:05:22.629 --> 00:05:27.879 and tech were society kind of places boxes. And 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:31.160 the reality is, is I am not a monolith. And honestly, 00:05:31.300 --> 00:05:35.259 no one person is one thing. So building worlds 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:38.500 and infrastructure that highlight polymaths and 00:05:38.500 --> 00:05:41.279 multifaceted people allowed me to live in my 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:43.899 most authentic place. And so really, that's that's 00:05:43.899 --> 00:05:46.980 where I am just from grassroots movement and 00:05:46.980 --> 00:05:50.949 community building to now, you know. three story 00:05:50.949 --> 00:05:54.129 Times Square spaces and in a nationwide scale, 00:05:54.290 --> 00:05:56.449 the focus is really just growth and progress, 00:05:56.509 --> 00:05:58.550 but it's always incremental, you know, especially 00:05:58.550 --> 00:06:00.129 when you're being intentional and authentic. 00:06:00.750 --> 00:06:03.970 Yeah, I love that. I love that. And I and I resonate 00:06:03.970 --> 00:06:06.410 with that being multifaceted because I find myself 00:06:06.410 --> 00:06:10.399 to be actually one of my. One of my it was one 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:12.680 of my speaking, my speaking coaches, because 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:15.860 this did not come naturally to me. This was that 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:18.639 I had a vision for, but I knew I had the right 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:21.160 people to help me. And it was so funny because 00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:23.519 one of my speaking coaches always calls me the 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:25.220 Renaissance woman. She's like, you got everything. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:30.319 And, you know, I that's not necessarily by design, 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:33.500 but it is to your point that we are so many things. 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:36.740 Yeah, I really am excited to talk to you about 00:06:36.740 --> 00:06:40.920 all of this. Where should we get started with 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:43.939 your journey? Wherever you would like. I mean, 00:06:43.980 --> 00:06:46.779 I love that we're talking about community powered 00:06:46.779 --> 00:06:50.500 economies because one, I think it's really important 00:06:50.500 --> 00:06:54.699 for maybe people, businesses to understand the 00:06:54.699 --> 00:06:58.019 importance of what it means to have a community 00:06:58.019 --> 00:07:01.100 power economy in terms of their relevance, their 00:07:01.100 --> 00:07:03.620 significant, their collective demand and buying 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:07.290 power, just the circulation of value. So we can 00:07:07.290 --> 00:07:09.110 start anywhere. I think there are some things 00:07:09.110 --> 00:07:11.250 about gamification. It's always exciting as people 00:07:11.250 --> 00:07:13.170 are always like, what is that? So you've got 00:07:13.170 --> 00:07:15.589 to dive anywhere you want. You know what? Actually, 00:07:15.629 --> 00:07:17.430 I think what I'd love to hear from you is just 00:07:17.430 --> 00:07:19.790 kind of and just so our audience has clarity. 00:07:19.889 --> 00:07:22.129 You know, we talk about community powered economies. 00:07:22.889 --> 00:07:25.750 What is the gist of that that we're referring 00:07:25.750 --> 00:07:28.670 to? And I'm a big believer that in business we 00:07:28.670 --> 00:07:31.069 create our own economies. So I really love this. 00:07:31.930 --> 00:07:33.430 But would you mind just kind of breaking that 00:07:33.430 --> 00:07:36.910 down? Yeah, I mean, for from my perspective, 00:07:37.069 --> 00:07:40.430 I look at it as a circulation of value in a community. 00:07:40.529 --> 00:07:42.870 You know, there's resources, knowledge and opportunities. 00:07:42.910 --> 00:07:46.009 They circulate faster. And this kind of circulation, 00:07:46.069 --> 00:07:48.949 it builds resilience. Right. Because the community 00:07:48.949 --> 00:07:51.970 really supports itself, if you will. But it also 00:07:51.970 --> 00:07:55.459 accelerates wealth creation. And for us, that's 00:07:55.459 --> 00:07:58.240 a really big part of at Coexist, what our ecosystem 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:00.920 is built off of. It's creating this feedback 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:04.120 loop, right? Communities are built in focus. 00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:08.279 At the inception of whatever it is. So how this 00:08:08.279 --> 00:08:11.120 expresses itself, you know, there are different 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:13.240 organizations where when you see programming, 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:16.879 the company will be programming everything. Well, 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:19.060 for us, we never over program things because 00:08:19.060 --> 00:08:22.139 that's how we maintain the authenticity. We understand 00:08:22.139 --> 00:08:24.220 that we need to create spaces where the voices 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:27.920 of the people to hear and see and learn information 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:30.920 that they need to be visible here. So there's 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:34.370 this talent kind of ecosystem. And then like, 00:08:34.429 --> 00:08:37.309 you know, as a result, businesses that tap into 00:08:37.309 --> 00:08:40.250 the feedback loop, you know, they iterate faster, 00:08:40.450 --> 00:08:42.549 they test smarter, they reduce the risk of bringing 00:08:42.549 --> 00:08:45.769 new ideas to market. Yeah, I 100 % agree. You 00:08:45.769 --> 00:08:48.509 know, in technology myself for the last 25 years 00:08:48.509 --> 00:08:51.570 and working to build systems for attractions. 00:08:51.710 --> 00:08:53.909 Now, we're probably not on the, we're probably 00:08:53.909 --> 00:08:56.190 on the more boring side of the tech because we're 00:08:56.190 --> 00:09:00.779 not doing the gamification. And I know that I 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:02.820 want to get to that. But what we are building 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:07.679 is payment systems like unnecessary evil. But, 00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:10.559 you know, you know, according to some business 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:12.740 owners, in my opinion, like it's going to make 00:09:12.740 --> 00:09:15.450 a job easier. Right. You know, when you start 00:09:15.450 --> 00:09:17.470 looking at some of the payment tech that's out 00:09:17.470 --> 00:09:18.970 there or the FinTech that's out there, I mean, 00:09:18.990 --> 00:09:21.190 it's not the most exciting part of business, 00:09:21.509 --> 00:09:24.990 right? However, one of the things I love about 00:09:24.990 --> 00:09:28.570 what you said is we really looked at what is 00:09:28.570 --> 00:09:33.090 it that our partners or our customers needed? 00:09:34.129 --> 00:09:35.929 What are the challenges that they're bumping 00:09:35.929 --> 00:09:38.690 up against? We listened to them. I actually had 00:09:38.690 --> 00:09:40.889 somebody come to me and say, you know, we're 00:09:40.889 --> 00:09:43.299 going to. give you this much investment dollars 00:09:43.299 --> 00:09:45.820 but you're gonna have to do it this way and turned 00:09:45.820 --> 00:09:49.139 it down because i recognize that like i need 00:09:49.139 --> 00:09:51.919 the parks to tell me what they need yeah not 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:55.159 an investor not that not that there isn't it 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:57.860 that isn't a strategic move to some degree that's 00:09:57.860 --> 00:09:59.559 not what i'm saying here it's just that's where 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.600 we've remained as a company is really focused 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:04.720 on the community so this is such an important 00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:07.159 conversation for me especially with where you're 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:10.450 coming from and i'm really I'm curious how you, 00:10:10.590 --> 00:10:13.529 when we talk about ecosystems and gamification, 00:10:13.850 --> 00:10:16.470 you know, kind of what are some of the core principles 00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:20.429 that can directly be applied to attractions to 00:10:20.429 --> 00:10:23.809 boost either guests or maybe even employee engagement? 00:10:24.049 --> 00:10:27.059 That's a big one. Yeah. And you know what? It 00:10:27.059 --> 00:10:28.740 actually kind of goes back to when you're mentioning 00:10:28.740 --> 00:10:31.460 FinTech. Believe it or not, I always think about 00:10:31.460 --> 00:10:34.600 gamification. Anytime there's ever tech involved, 00:10:34.779 --> 00:10:37.860 whether it's FinTech, EdTech, all of it, AdTech, 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:41.460 because really gamification just has to do with 00:10:41.460 --> 00:10:44.240 reward and incentive and progression and achievement. 00:10:44.740 --> 00:10:47.960 That's like kind of it. It's like a cheat code. 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:51.110 Right. And so. when we're thinking about and 00:10:51.110 --> 00:10:53.809 when we you know we're very b2b as well so we 00:10:53.809 --> 00:10:56.269 partner with a lot of companies that they're 00:10:56.269 --> 00:10:59.450 just trying to increase the engagement or you 00:10:59.450 --> 00:11:02.889 know justify a return and so gamification really 00:11:02.889 --> 00:11:06.889 just unlocks the human psychology of what makes 00:11:06.889 --> 00:11:10.500 a person want to do something, i .e. what incentivizes 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:13.220 them. And then once they actually do it, we reward 00:11:13.220 --> 00:11:15.860 their engagement. And so we just do that digitally, 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:19.059 but we also do it in physical space. So the unique 00:11:19.059 --> 00:11:21.120 thing about like coexist, right, is we always 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:24.379 focus on the non -binary. So it's not just one 00:11:24.379 --> 00:11:26.340 or the other. It's not just physical or digital 00:11:26.340 --> 00:11:28.799 space. It's physical and digital space, how they 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:32.139 coexist and how we gamify it. So a lot of the, 00:11:32.139 --> 00:11:33.940 you know, businesses, when people are existing 00:11:33.940 --> 00:11:36.980 in a real world. So the gamification for us is 00:11:36.980 --> 00:11:39.480 what is that crossover integration? How do we 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:42.080 take what you've built, whether we're creating 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:44.559 an API and we're integrating something into it 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:46.740 that's going to reward their engagement, to then 00:11:46.740 --> 00:11:48.360 when they are existing in their life, how we 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:50.820 make it crossover so that they can feel that 00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:54.460 reward in real life as well. So it allows you 00:11:54.460 --> 00:11:57.299 to be wildly innovative and very creative. So 00:11:57.299 --> 00:11:59.320 we get to take things that might be boring, like 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:02.850 FinTech, that are necessary. give it a little 00:12:02.850 --> 00:12:05.009 extra, you know, oomph and make people feel really 00:12:05.009 --> 00:12:07.509 rewarded that they chose that particular, you 00:12:07.509 --> 00:12:09.909 know, business or experience or product. Yeah, 00:12:09.970 --> 00:12:11.889 I love that. And I think that it's, you know, 00:12:11.889 --> 00:12:16.389 even just for me, I've been going on these walks 00:12:16.389 --> 00:12:20.389 every day. I have a new puppy. So, you know, 00:12:20.389 --> 00:12:22.610 and actually it's good for me. I need to be walking 00:12:22.610 --> 00:12:24.809 every day, but I have this new puppy that's keeping 00:12:24.809 --> 00:12:27.769 me busy and got to walk like two miles a day 00:12:27.769 --> 00:12:32.269 or he destroys everything. As puppies do. But, 00:12:32.330 --> 00:12:33.789 you know, it was interesting. I started tracking 00:12:33.789 --> 00:12:37.309 my walks. And sure enough, I get these little 00:12:37.309 --> 00:12:41.330 basic badges. I mean, maybe they're not huge 00:12:41.330 --> 00:12:43.690 to other people. But to me, I'm like, I got this 00:12:43.690 --> 00:12:46.149 badge today. I got this badge today. So I totally 00:12:46.149 --> 00:12:48.230 recognize what you're saying in terms of incentives. 00:12:48.610 --> 00:12:49.950 Now, granted, I didn't even know I was going 00:12:49.950 --> 00:12:51.950 to get the first badge. Once I got the first 00:12:51.950 --> 00:12:56.139 badge, then I was. Right. Exactly. Yeah. It's 00:12:56.139 --> 00:12:58.100 true. And I love that you said that because I 00:12:58.100 --> 00:13:00.019 think it's important that we don't, like even 00:13:00.019 --> 00:13:02.620 all of this stuff ties in together, right? So 00:13:02.620 --> 00:13:04.639 when you think about the community powered economy, 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:07.559 what you should never do, no one, is diminish 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:10.899 what makes you feel good. Like no one knows that 00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:13.039 you needed that badge today. Sometimes we just 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:16.299 need to know that, you know what? I looked for 00:13:16.299 --> 00:13:18.440 it. I walked, I was tired. I did it. And then 00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:21.299 I got this celebration that I did it. That reward 00:13:21.299 --> 00:13:24.940 is what. It's what the whole gamification is 00:13:24.940 --> 00:13:27.299 built off of. And that's why when it's done the 00:13:27.299 --> 00:13:30.679 right way, it really helps businesses. It catapults 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:33.879 their innovation to next levels because they're 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:35.580 tapping into something that, quite honestly, 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:39.100 is hard to quantify. How good you feel, right? 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:44.580 Yeah. Oh, I do not disagree. I think that so 00:13:44.580 --> 00:13:46.820 many of us are not celebrating those small wins 00:13:46.820 --> 00:13:50.740 enough. Yeah, for sure. And especially when we 00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:54.120 look at. personal, professional, even financial 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:56.960 goals. We should be celebrating those things. 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:59.240 That's something, it's interesting. I never thought 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:01.580 of, it's something that we do in our company. 00:14:01.700 --> 00:14:04.360 We meet with every single team member and talk 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:06.120 about their personal, professional, financial 00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:08.460 goals. And we celebrate those things together. 00:14:08.600 --> 00:14:10.740 But I never thought about it until just this 00:14:10.740 --> 00:14:13.539 moment, how that is somewhat gamification, right? 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:16.460 To a degree. We celebrate each other. No, it 00:14:16.460 --> 00:14:19.340 definitely is. And it's been huge for our culture. 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:24.200 I agree. So I really I really love that feedback 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:27.220 there. You know, how does building a strong community 00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:32.259 around attractions lead to increase? You know, 00:14:32.259 --> 00:14:34.240 how could it lead to both an increase in revenue 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:38.620 and increase in loyalty? Yeah, I mean, it's literally 00:14:38.620 --> 00:14:42.259 what you said. So I think some of the healthier 00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:45.500 communities and even the cultures and the ethos 00:14:45.500 --> 00:14:48.419 is in certain workplaces. If you're gamifying 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:50.840 something, you're automatically considering the 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:53.080 need of someone. Or otherwise, how do you even 00:14:53.080 --> 00:14:55.580 know what's going to drive engagement, right? 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:57.679 You have to at least tap into that person on 00:14:57.679 --> 00:15:00.159 some level. So I think that directly corresponds 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:04.100 to what makes a person do it more. Like right 00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:07.960 now, you can mention that you went on this short 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:11.320 walk and you got this badge exponentially increased. 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:14.950 Well, now you have an incentive to do more. So 00:15:14.950 --> 00:15:17.850 as we continue creating partnerships, you're 00:15:17.850 --> 00:15:21.450 really kind of taking some level of maybe, you 00:15:21.450 --> 00:15:23.169 know, scarcity. There's a time limit for you 00:15:23.169 --> 00:15:27.289 to do it now and the exclusivity of what's going 00:15:27.289 --> 00:15:31.009 to be unlocked. Right. So I think one of the 00:15:31.009 --> 00:15:33.490 more fascinating things about gamification is 00:15:33.490 --> 00:15:37.070 we're taking something so infrastructural, like, 00:15:37.110 --> 00:15:40.870 you know, just take a game and it's like. There's 00:15:40.870 --> 00:15:42.210 so many different type of games. There's video 00:15:42.210 --> 00:15:44.210 games, board games, card games, tabletop games, 00:15:44.470 --> 00:15:47.250 right? Casual communal games. What makes one 00:15:47.250 --> 00:15:49.549 person gravitate to an experience over another? 00:15:49.789 --> 00:15:52.769 That psychology is paramount in understanding 00:15:52.769 --> 00:15:56.269 how you're going to structure the type of innovation 00:15:56.269 --> 00:15:59.330 a business focuses on. An example is, so in the 00:15:59.330 --> 00:16:01.909 gaming industry, 200 plus billion dollar industry, 00:16:02.049 --> 00:16:06.210 but mobile gaming is the largest generated over 00:16:06.210 --> 00:16:08.549 a hundred billion. Interestingly enough, for 00:16:08.549 --> 00:16:11.370 a lot of people, 65 % of mobile gamers are women. 00:16:12.649 --> 00:16:18.309 Exactly. And so it's like, one, from a representation 00:16:18.309 --> 00:16:21.350 standpoint, it should make businesses think. 00:16:21.629 --> 00:16:25.470 So if women are consistently. their phones and 00:16:25.470 --> 00:16:28.629 they're using these mobile devices and what is 00:16:28.629 --> 00:16:31.309 it that's driving their interest wherever they 00:16:31.309 --> 00:16:33.149 are if they're on the train like if you're in 00:16:33.149 --> 00:16:35.549 a city like New York or in San Francisco or you're 00:16:35.549 --> 00:16:38.090 waiting on something this is how you're spending 00:16:38.090 --> 00:16:40.690 your time it directly correlates to what your 00:16:40.690 --> 00:16:44.230 ad tech should really be considering what you're 00:16:44.230 --> 00:16:46.409 promoting and then so there are a lot of analytics 00:16:46.409 --> 00:16:49.440 and a lot of data that help the businesses better 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:52.700 serve the needs of their consumers. And even 00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:54.399 more importantly, like their targeted consumer, 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:58.559 just by understanding what's driving this type 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:00.759 of gamification. Is it the game in and of itself? 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:03.159 Is it how the game is rewarding the consumer, 00:17:03.299 --> 00:17:06.099 like the person that's engaged in it? What about 00:17:06.099 --> 00:17:08.019 this retention is making them come back to this 00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:10.720 game when there's so many different type of mobile 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:13.640 games? Mind you, they're being monetized. People 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:16.339 are spending money. on these games, you know? 00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:20.279 So I think, yeah, that perspective is interesting 00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:24.359 and directly correlates with the community that 00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:27.700 the consumer needs. Yeah, you know, it's interesting. 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:31.160 My mother is always playing a game when she's 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:36.440 hanging out. And I never considered her a gamer 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:38.950 until just now. I mean, she's like... almost 00:17:38.950 --> 00:17:42.089 70. Right. But it's to your point, you know, 00:17:42.089 --> 00:17:44.470 when I think about all the women that I know 00:17:44.470 --> 00:17:46.109 that are playing games, plus, you know, a lot 00:17:46.109 --> 00:17:48.390 of women are in these positions, maybe in their 00:17:48.390 --> 00:17:50.990 homes where they're the person who's taking kids 00:17:50.990 --> 00:17:53.309 to sports and all these things and doing a lot. 00:17:53.349 --> 00:17:56.569 I mean, I know myself, I'm doing a lot of waiting 00:17:56.569 --> 00:18:00.930 around and that is something that might pass 00:18:00.930 --> 00:18:05.450 that time. Right. But also, you know what? i'll 00:18:05.450 --> 00:18:07.470 tell you my daughter just told me today she was 00:18:07.470 --> 00:18:09.170 like yeah so -and -so asked me to play a game 00:18:09.170 --> 00:18:11.269 like that's also the way to win her heart right 00:18:11.269 --> 00:18:13.390 like you want to be her friend you got to play 00:18:13.390 --> 00:18:16.869 games with her and so you know it's it's that's 00:18:16.869 --> 00:18:24.450 the community part i agree so you know from your 00:18:24.450 --> 00:18:27.049 perspective you know and you mentioned a little 00:18:27.049 --> 00:18:31.339 bit about the the outer reality, the game reality, 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:34.599 and then what did you call it? The outside world. 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:38.680 oh the crossover integration crossover yeah you 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:41.460 know i'm curious because i i actually did a show 00:18:41.460 --> 00:18:44.660 on a company that was doing an augmented reality 00:18:44.660 --> 00:18:48.500 uh they basically do an augmented reality park 00:18:48.500 --> 00:18:52.380 in santa monica but i'm curious you know from 00:18:52.380 --> 00:18:55.220 your perspective what role do you see augmented 00:18:55.220 --> 00:18:58.539 reality playing into future of events and attractions 00:18:58.539 --> 00:19:01.960 like i i For me, I see a world and maybe it's 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:04.039 already there because I'm not that cool and going 00:19:04.039 --> 00:19:07.700 to festival music festivals as often as I would 00:19:07.700 --> 00:19:10.920 like to. I, you know, where there's going to 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:13.720 be huge crossover in these things. For sure. 00:19:13.819 --> 00:19:16.880 So one, there's an entire Netflix docuseries 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:19.819 called The Future Of. The entire fourth episode 00:19:19.819 --> 00:19:23.680 is gaming and it's highlighting us. and all of 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:28.779 the tech that we build using AR. So when I think 00:19:28.779 --> 00:19:30.759 about AR, there's so many things. First of all, 00:19:30.819 --> 00:19:34.200 you're layering digital storytelling in physical 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:37.809 spaces. So there are attractions that can embed 00:19:37.809 --> 00:19:40.950 interactive narratives into their existing environments. 00:19:41.349 --> 00:19:44.190 And so imagine like pointing your phone or your 00:19:44.190 --> 00:19:46.690 AR glasses at the landmark or the ride or the 00:19:46.690 --> 00:19:49.029 exhibit, and you see the characters, the animations, 00:19:49.109 --> 00:19:51.029 the hidden storylines that come to life. This 00:19:51.029 --> 00:19:53.529 turns a passive observation, like just looking 00:19:53.529 --> 00:19:56.609 at a mural or a statue into an active exploration. 00:19:56.990 --> 00:19:59.069 And so one that, I mean, that directly, that 00:19:59.069 --> 00:20:01.130 allows people to also personalize their guest 00:20:01.130 --> 00:20:04.910 journey. You can just, create really immersive 00:20:04.910 --> 00:20:07.970 live experiences. And this is, there are a lot 00:20:07.970 --> 00:20:09.710 of, you know, for businesses like revenue and 00:20:09.710 --> 00:20:11.289 sponsorship opportunities that can come from 00:20:11.289 --> 00:20:14.349 that. But it's also something that is, again, 00:20:14.509 --> 00:20:16.609 even when we think about just the consumer, the 00:20:16.609 --> 00:20:19.109 accessibility and the inclusivity of that. AR 00:20:19.109 --> 00:20:21.529 enhances accessibility because it provides this 00:20:21.529 --> 00:20:25.309 multilingual translation or like a sign language 00:20:25.309 --> 00:20:28.549 overlay, I like to call it, that makes the attractive 00:20:28.549 --> 00:20:31.069 more inclusive and it broadens the audience reach. 00:20:31.430 --> 00:20:34.230 So I think that... alone even that's not even 00:20:34.230 --> 00:20:36.470 involving the gamification part of how ar how 00:20:36.470 --> 00:20:39.150 we can see it in our real lives yeah well it's 00:20:39.150 --> 00:20:43.829 interesting when i had that show um and and he 00:20:43.829 --> 00:20:47.650 was he was telling a story about how this one 00:20:47.650 --> 00:20:51.970 dad came to him and said you know sure i mean 00:20:51.970 --> 00:20:55.549 we're still in ar you know virtual reality however 00:20:55.549 --> 00:20:58.450 it was the first time that he had actually played 00:20:58.450 --> 00:21:02.079 with his son Oh, he couldn't get him to do, you 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:04.240 know, because and in some ways, you know, there's 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:05.799 a lot of parents who don't want their kids on 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:07.740 technology all the time. But this is where we 00:21:07.740 --> 00:21:10.680 are today, in my opinion. I mean, this is where 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:13.259 we're going. And if you want to be with your 00:21:13.259 --> 00:21:15.200 children, sometimes you got to be with them where 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:18.799 they're at. And so it's such an empowerful, an 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:21.940 incredibly powerful story. And I think we are 00:21:21.940 --> 00:21:24.019 seeing some of what you're talking about, like 00:21:24.019 --> 00:21:27.930 with Disney. when before epic you you could hold 00:21:27.930 --> 00:21:30.589 your phone over and when they had the i don't 00:21:30.589 --> 00:21:35.190 know if you've ever been to um uh the downtown 00:21:35.190 --> 00:21:37.829 that they have at universal studios in orlando 00:21:37.829 --> 00:21:41.150 prior to epic opening you could hold your phone 00:21:41.150 --> 00:21:44.109 over and and i never considered what you're saying 00:21:44.109 --> 00:21:45.849 but you can hold your phone over and it would 00:21:45.849 --> 00:21:50.450 show you the rides moving and telling the stories 00:21:50.450 --> 00:21:53.740 of the different world And it just completely 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:58.039 changed the experience if you engaged with it. 00:21:58.099 --> 00:22:00.660 And it's really, really cool to see that this 00:22:00.660 --> 00:22:05.279 is where we're going. And that kind of brings 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:08.759 me to another question. How can technology -driven 00:22:08.759 --> 00:22:11.920 approaches help attractions better manage their 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:14.359 operations and staff? Because we're talking about 00:22:14.359 --> 00:22:16.819 these big parks that are doing incredible things 00:22:16.819 --> 00:22:20.640 from the... guest perspective but when we look 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:23.799 at like maybe in park management and operation 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:27.160 do you have any thoughts on that yeah i mean 00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:30.099 i i think there has to be like a mutual value 00:22:30.099 --> 00:22:34.700 creation yeah the best activations benefit everyone 00:22:34.700 --> 00:22:38.299 involved so the the attraction like the location 00:22:38.299 --> 00:22:40.839 whoever the company is the partner and then the 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:46.980 guest um and i think The gamification of something 00:22:46.980 --> 00:22:49.799 like this is just people want a personal experience. 00:22:50.099 --> 00:22:52.640 You know what I mean? And so people connect deeply. 00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:55.400 Again, that's that non quantifiable part that 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:57.539 we were talking about earlier. People connect 00:22:57.539 --> 00:22:59.519 deeply when the experience feels like it's for 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:02.920 them. And so I think like you can have a streaming 00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:05.579 service that partners with like a theme park 00:23:05.579 --> 00:23:09.069 and you let the guests choose between. different 00:23:09.069 --> 00:23:11.430 kind of content journeys. They can choose the 00:23:11.430 --> 00:23:12.650 environment they want, no matter where they're 00:23:12.650 --> 00:23:16.170 standing. They have this unique AR overlay that 00:23:16.170 --> 00:23:19.369 allows them to feel like they can interact with 00:23:19.369 --> 00:23:22.150 a partner's brand identity. And even if you're 00:23:22.150 --> 00:23:24.410 standing next to me, we have two different experiences. 00:23:24.849 --> 00:23:27.470 So I think, interestingly enough, I'm telling 00:23:27.470 --> 00:23:30.450 you, I think that psychology, and it's a really 00:23:30.450 --> 00:23:32.329 big part of gamification, and it's something 00:23:32.329 --> 00:23:36.000 that... It's probably too discounted, which is 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:39.539 why you never want gamification to feel like 00:23:39.539 --> 00:23:41.920 it's just, I don't want to say, I'm not like 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:44.259 saying negatively about a loyalty incentive program, 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:47.740 but gamification takes it to another level because 00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:49.759 you're acknowledging that there's a desire for 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:52.140 loyalty and that the incentive is necessary. 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:55.200 And so in understanding that dynamic, you have 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:59.420 to tap into the desire for this very personalization 00:23:59.420 --> 00:24:05.819 through partnership, right? Yeah. I think there's 00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:07.940 a social amplification, especially since we're 00:24:07.940 --> 00:24:10.339 in this age where social platforms are everywhere. 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:13.380 So the most memorable experiences are always 00:24:13.380 --> 00:24:17.240 shareable. So you take like a brand, like you 00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:19.119 can take a watch brand. Like we're working with 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:22.059 a lot of watch brands now. They're sponsoring 00:24:22.059 --> 00:24:24.700 like a interactive installation where the guests 00:24:24.700 --> 00:24:27.839 can actually pause time. And they're in a slow 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:30.619 motion, you know, experience like we always kind 00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:32.259 of wanted this. You're giving this matrix energy 00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:36.599 so that the social amplification actually continues 00:24:36.599 --> 00:24:39.460 to further disseminate whatever that personalization 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:41.619 was that was originally created in their content 00:24:41.619 --> 00:24:45.339 journey. That's really cool. And, you know, it's 00:24:45.339 --> 00:24:48.039 funny because have you written in one of those 00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:55.029 Waymos yet? I have. I like them. Now we're tying 00:24:55.029 --> 00:24:57.990 in the music and the tech with this thought. 00:24:58.630 --> 00:25:00.869 For some reason, this has popped up in my head. 00:25:01.109 --> 00:25:05.690 I love the Waymos. Probably the biggest thing 00:25:05.690 --> 00:25:09.190 is because when I get in, it's playing my jams. 00:25:09.509 --> 00:25:12.730 Oh, nice. I don't know if you've seen that part. 00:25:12.869 --> 00:25:15.529 You can program the app so that as soon as you 00:25:15.529 --> 00:25:19.450 get in, it's already playing your music. I like 00:25:19.450 --> 00:25:24.140 that. And yeah, I'll tell you my, uh, it's, it's, 00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:30.420 my favorite is artist. I don't know if you, I'm 00:25:30.420 --> 00:25:32.480 always afraid to share music with people because 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:34.640 you're like, everybody has a different taste, 00:25:34.700 --> 00:25:38.420 but Miguel, I love Miguel. Uh, wait, Miguel. 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:42.509 Oh, like, of course. Yeah. You know, uh, he's 00:25:42.509 --> 00:25:45.269 had a couple like uh instagram but i'm an old 00:25:45.269 --> 00:25:48.789 school fan he's amazing amazing r &b artist he's 00:25:48.789 --> 00:25:50.470 actually he's on the level with a really good 00:25:50.470 --> 00:25:53.130 friend of mine so he's incredible you should 00:25:53.130 --> 00:25:54.829 always share music with people if they don't 00:25:54.829 --> 00:25:56.609 like it that's fine but you still put them on 00:25:56.609 --> 00:25:58.609 yeah you're right you're right because music 00:25:58.609 --> 00:26:02.150 is like I really love music, but for some reason, 00:26:02.230 --> 00:26:05.089 like his music calms me down. It makes me happy. 00:26:05.529 --> 00:26:08.390 I love hearing it. I get in my Waymo and it's 00:26:08.390 --> 00:26:11.269 playing and it is just like, it's really like 00:26:11.269 --> 00:26:13.049 you said, the loyalty. Cause I could call an 00:26:13.049 --> 00:26:15.029 Uber, but if I know there's a way, I'm like, 00:26:15.170 --> 00:26:18.390 this thing's going to have my name ready to go. 00:26:18.490 --> 00:26:21.250 It's telling, talking to me. It's I get in and 00:26:21.250 --> 00:26:23.630 ask me if I like to keep this music. And I'm 00:26:23.630 --> 00:26:24.930 like, heck yeah, I like to keep it. That's why 00:26:24.930 --> 00:26:29.200 I put it there. Right. So, you know, you're opening 00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:31.779 my mind a little bit to how even that is somewhat 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:34.099 gamification, right? Because it's the personalization 00:26:34.099 --> 00:26:38.059 piece that you're mentioning that keeps people 00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:42.299 coming back. It sticks with you. Yeah. And you 00:26:42.299 --> 00:26:44.900 can count on it. Yeah. Right? You can count on 00:26:44.900 --> 00:26:47.279 it not to mess it up. You're not going to be 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:53.240 in a car with a chatty cat. Yeah. You know, cause 00:26:53.240 --> 00:26:55.039 there's the Uber, there's a feature that says 00:26:55.039 --> 00:26:58.059 you want like a quiet, quiet, warm, you know? 00:26:58.200 --> 00:27:00.660 So it's kind of nice to know that you can, you 00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:02.660 can, and that's the incentive, by the way, the 00:27:02.660 --> 00:27:05.160 reliability is the intensive. When you get in 00:27:05.160 --> 00:27:07.740 there and it happens, that's the reward. Yeah. 00:27:08.299 --> 00:27:12.500 Now, as far as the way most go, I felt very safe 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:15.720 in them. Okay. I don't know if you did what I 00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:19.099 did. I did. What was weird is the other drivers 00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:22.240 around. Oh, really? Yeah. When you pay attention 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:24.960 to them and how they're interacting. That was 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:26.980 that's the part you got to get used to, I think. 00:27:27.059 --> 00:27:30.299 Yeah. I thought one of the things I thought was 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:33.480 particularly interesting was how cautious they 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:38.130 are when parking. Right. So it's like they. And 00:27:38.130 --> 00:27:40.490 I think my friend, she was saying, they don't 00:27:40.490 --> 00:27:41.950 put you in front of the door. And I'm like, well, 00:27:42.190 --> 00:27:45.150 there's a car parked there. So it's mindful enough 00:27:45.150 --> 00:27:49.190 to know that it can't. Yeah. I mean, I saw, I 00:27:49.190 --> 00:27:51.369 saw one, I was in LA a couple of weeks ago and 00:27:51.369 --> 00:27:55.309 I saw one get stuck in a hotel, like lobby area 00:27:55.309 --> 00:27:57.849 where they were dropping off and it had taken 00:27:57.849 --> 00:27:59.869 kind of a wrong turn, but you know, it was pretty 00:27:59.869 --> 00:28:03.059 fast that the team popped in. gotcha sent it 00:28:03.059 --> 00:28:07.200 back on its way it was just a minor inconvenience 00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:09.720 but that was an interesting feature too because 00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:13.559 it it knew it was stuck and it had a weird like 00:28:13.559 --> 00:28:15.599 roundabout thing that it had gotten itself into 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:19.119 okay but it was inside of a inside of a hotel 00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:22.779 parking or the in the hotel i have a question 00:28:22.779 --> 00:28:26.859 for you yeah did you get on a waymo plane or 00:28:26.859 --> 00:28:31.559 a boat you know i I don't know. I was actually, 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:32.940 it's funny that you asked that because I was 00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:37.740 in Cambridge for a symposium and they're bringing 00:28:37.740 --> 00:28:42.220 together all these innovative thinkers because 00:28:42.220 --> 00:28:46.640 you mentioned like accessibility. So there's 00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:51.279 some, I'm on a team that is, one of the co -founders 00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:54.960 is Chris Martin from Coldplay and we're working 00:28:54.960 --> 00:28:59.750 on, you know, an ultra accessible. project that 00:28:59.750 --> 00:29:02.650 is his one of his passions and his partner emmanuel 00:29:02.650 --> 00:29:06.049 and and we did a symposium and it's interesting 00:29:06.049 --> 00:29:07.849 that you brought it up because one of the guys 00:29:07.849 --> 00:29:11.109 that was there was somebody who was working on 00:29:11.109 --> 00:29:16.569 a uber plane over for planes and the next phase 00:29:16.569 --> 00:29:19.130 is something like that i definitely don't want 00:29:19.130 --> 00:29:22.950 to be the first person on it right right that's 00:29:22.950 --> 00:29:26.569 kind of like I was not the first person on a 00:29:26.569 --> 00:29:28.329 Waymo. They had been around for quite a while 00:29:28.329 --> 00:29:32.309 by the time I got in one. But, you know, I'm 00:29:32.309 --> 00:29:34.930 not opposed to it because, like you said, I feel 00:29:34.930 --> 00:29:37.190 like they're very cautious. I felt like it was 00:29:37.190 --> 00:29:40.289 very precise, which was interesting. The Uber 00:29:40.289 --> 00:29:42.250 for planes is interesting because does that mean 00:29:42.250 --> 00:29:43.869 that they're basically just shifting pilots? 00:29:44.990 --> 00:29:48.789 Well, it's basically, you know, you go on and 00:29:48.789 --> 00:29:52.150 you your phone and you say, hey, I need a. plane 00:29:52.150 --> 00:29:56.990 flight today and a pilot yeah it was wild it's 00:29:56.990 --> 00:30:00.829 wild but you know as as you probably know tech 00:30:00.829 --> 00:30:02.829 and with tech and gaming i mean where we're going 00:30:02.829 --> 00:30:07.670 in i think a short amount of time is is pretty 00:30:07.670 --> 00:30:11.829 pretty crazy interesting i'm gonna be thinking 00:30:11.829 --> 00:30:15.970 about that some more yeah just tell me about 00:30:15.970 --> 00:30:18.430 this and i'm like yeah actually someday i hope 00:30:18.430 --> 00:30:22.220 to need an uber For a private plane. I'm not 00:30:22.220 --> 00:30:25.400 there yet. I still fly commercial, but that's 00:30:25.400 --> 00:30:28.019 actually, you know, we talked about goals. Right. 00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:31.059 That's going to be one of my, that's one of my. 00:30:31.460 --> 00:30:34.200 The PJ. Yeah. One of the things I got to celebrate 00:30:34.200 --> 00:30:38.319 someday. I love it. Just because I fly a lot. 00:30:38.380 --> 00:30:41.640 You know, I. Yeah. I'll tell you, I spent last 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:46.980 year, I spent three months. in a Marriott. So 00:30:46.980 --> 00:30:48.799 that doesn't count all the times I wasn't in 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:51.759 a Marriott or an Airbnb. I'm just off of what 00:30:51.759 --> 00:30:54.519 Marriott said. And so you travel that much and 00:30:54.519 --> 00:30:57.839 I'm sure you probably do. You know, these comforts 00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:01.759 mean a lot, right? Right. Speaking of Marriott, 00:31:01.819 --> 00:31:03.619 Annie, you were talking about gamification. I 00:31:03.619 --> 00:31:06.380 was just going to say that. Exactly. Bonvoy does 00:31:06.380 --> 00:31:10.619 a really great job at gamifying within their 00:31:10.619 --> 00:31:14.680 own, their closed ecosystem for sure. Yeah. I 00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:17.660 hit my lifetime this year. Yeah. Oh, wow. Look 00:31:17.660 --> 00:31:23.220 at you. Okay. Yeah. Anyways, we could talk about 00:31:23.220 --> 00:31:25.079 all these things forever, but you really have 00:31:25.079 --> 00:31:28.700 opened my eyes to how those things that Marriott 00:31:28.700 --> 00:31:31.539 is doing. Right. Waymo is doing are not only 00:31:31.539 --> 00:31:34.579 personal as personalizing the experience, but 00:31:34.579 --> 00:31:39.180 also bringing in. the technology that allows 00:31:39.180 --> 00:31:42.259 them to gamify the experience or allow people 00:31:42.259 --> 00:31:45.039 to earn things and get recognition for earning 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:47.680 those things. It's true. Believe me, I love saying 00:31:47.680 --> 00:31:50.619 I'm a lifetime. I think I'm a lifetime. You know, 00:31:50.740 --> 00:31:53.680 I mean, so nice to walk in there and know that 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:56.380 you have that and you earned it. It's true. And 00:31:56.380 --> 00:32:00.279 other hotel conglomerates like are actually following 00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:03.079 suit because they want that. They want the same 00:32:03.079 --> 00:32:06.319 kind of continuity that. that because that's 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:07.980 a memorable experience when you go there right 00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:09.660 and they upgrade you to the suite or they say 00:32:09.660 --> 00:32:12.500 oh you have a free spa or whatever like that's 00:32:12.500 --> 00:32:16.299 creating a invaluable experience like you just 00:32:16.299 --> 00:32:18.000 leave the guests with something to continue and 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:20.200 making them want to stay partnered with that 00:32:20.200 --> 00:32:22.559 ongoing that is really invaluable it's enough 00:32:22.559 --> 00:32:25.799 to make you pay more for a hotel because you 00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:27.559 know you're going to be rewarded for it right 00:32:27.559 --> 00:32:29.980 and sometimes it's worth it because i'll tell 00:32:29.980 --> 00:32:32.700 you when i was in london last month i was staying 00:32:32.700 --> 00:32:36.609 uh I was staying in a Marriott in Canary Wharf 00:32:36.609 --> 00:32:41.369 every night. If you were a certain level and 00:32:41.369 --> 00:32:45.470 above and drinks, and it was just so nice and 00:32:45.470 --> 00:32:47.970 convenient because by that all day, I want to 00:32:47.970 --> 00:32:51.009 be back, relax, and it's just there and ready 00:32:51.009 --> 00:32:53.289 for you. So it's almost like the comfort of home 00:32:53.289 --> 00:32:59.589 because you're not, dinner's ready, right? Well, 00:33:00.289 --> 00:33:03.450 so, Jay, you know, I think you're really honing 00:33:03.450 --> 00:33:05.930 in for for the audience, especially those in 00:33:05.930 --> 00:33:08.009 attractions that this personalization is super 00:33:08.009 --> 00:33:13.450 important. Having a gamified experience, not 00:33:13.450 --> 00:33:16.589 only for their customers, their guests, but also 00:33:16.589 --> 00:33:21.420 for their team is an important part of. creating 00:33:21.420 --> 00:33:24.039 community. And I really love that. I've not I've 00:33:24.039 --> 00:33:26.200 not had anybody express that the way that you 00:33:26.200 --> 00:33:30.160 did on the show today. And so when just if I 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:32.740 may just ask a couple of more questions, you 00:33:32.740 --> 00:33:35.799 know, how can we use the principles of partnered 00:33:35.799 --> 00:33:37.660 activation that we might have to explain to the 00:33:37.660 --> 00:33:40.140 audience what you mean by that to create memorable 00:33:40.140 --> 00:33:45.460 experiences for guests? Well, so, you know, interestingly 00:33:45.460 --> 00:33:47.019 enough, I know everybody's talking about it, 00:33:47.079 --> 00:33:50.900 but there is an opportunity to integrate some 00:33:50.900 --> 00:33:56.059 AI tools in the personalization, using them to 00:33:56.059 --> 00:33:58.619 analyze the user behavior, which is really, really 00:33:58.619 --> 00:34:00.859 important. So like the locations that they visited, 00:34:01.019 --> 00:34:03.480 the offers that they've redeemed, the time of 00:34:03.480 --> 00:34:06.339 day, the frequency, and then tailoring those 00:34:06.339 --> 00:34:09.639 offers and promotions that individualized users 00:34:09.639 --> 00:34:12.719 are more likely to engage with is a great way. 00:34:13.269 --> 00:34:16.150 for, one, you to use an existing tool instead 00:34:16.150 --> 00:34:18.269 of building one, which is usually of value to 00:34:18.269 --> 00:34:21.030 companies, but also suggesting things that are 00:34:21.030 --> 00:34:23.090 relevant. We know this is really like some targeted 00:34:23.090 --> 00:34:26.710 marketing, but if a user often redeems a certain 00:34:26.710 --> 00:34:29.250 kind of food discount or like surface food -oriented 00:34:29.250 --> 00:34:31.619 offers. that they never see, you know, these 00:34:31.619 --> 00:34:34.719 are personalization things that allow them to 00:34:34.719 --> 00:34:37.760 be focused. There's also smart triggers, right? 00:34:37.840 --> 00:34:40.380 So rather than like, so a lot of this is in some 00:34:40.380 --> 00:34:43.099 of the tech that we build rather than static 00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:46.000 geofences, which understand where you are on 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:48.400 the map and then direct you to kind of like hot 00:34:48.400 --> 00:34:51.440 spots. There are tools that can actually help 00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:53.840 you decide when and where to trigger your notifications 00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:56.719 or offers. But it's like this predictive modeling 00:34:56.719 --> 00:35:00.320 moment, which is very, very common in gaming. 00:35:01.239 --> 00:35:04.219 Ways to just be super efficient. I think a lot 00:35:04.219 --> 00:35:07.019 of companies can sort of model some of what we're 00:35:07.019 --> 00:35:10.219 doing in gaming after their own experiences of 00:35:10.219 --> 00:35:13.139 personalization. In gaming, there's tech where 00:35:13.139 --> 00:35:16.739 you know you need to build a forest. And you 00:35:16.739 --> 00:35:20.199 have four different type of trees. Well, you're 00:35:20.199 --> 00:35:22.239 going to use predictive modeling to replicate 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:25.340 all of those trees, right? And then you're not 00:35:25.340 --> 00:35:28.320 using now AI as a replacement for the artist. 00:35:28.719 --> 00:35:30.780 You're actually using it to enhance the artist 00:35:30.780 --> 00:35:32.539 because the truth is the artist doesn't want 00:35:32.539 --> 00:35:36.500 to create four or 5 ,000 of the same trees. So 00:35:36.500 --> 00:35:39.360 they're now leveraging this tool, right? So I 00:35:39.360 --> 00:35:42.760 think these are things that... our opportunities, 00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:45.380 and especially since I talked to so many companies 00:35:45.380 --> 00:35:49.000 about how to use AI in order to gamify their 00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:52.099 economy, it doesn't take away from the personalization, 00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:54.840 which I think is very important. Yeah, I love 00:35:54.840 --> 00:35:57.920 that. And I totally see what you're saying. The 00:35:57.920 --> 00:36:00.320 artist creates, but like you said, who's going 00:36:00.320 --> 00:36:03.019 to want to do that 5 ,000 times? Right. Probably 00:36:03.019 --> 00:36:05.760 even more. Yeah, the artist wants to be creative. 00:36:05.960 --> 00:36:07.960 So if you give them a leveraging tool that's 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:09.800 more efficient, then now they can focus their 00:36:09.800 --> 00:36:11.920 attention on something else. But the companies 00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:14.639 can use that same type of personalization to 00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:17.539 understand the user behavior and better know 00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:20.039 how to suggest things that are relevant to augment 00:36:20.039 --> 00:36:22.739 their experience. Yeah, and you know, it's interesting. 00:36:22.820 --> 00:36:25.079 We've had people from marketing companies kind 00:36:25.079 --> 00:36:26.900 of talk about that personalization, but I think 00:36:26.900 --> 00:36:29.000 people don't understand how do I get that? And 00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:33.900 how do I get the data? that allows me to do it. 00:36:33.960 --> 00:36:35.860 And it's interesting predictive modeling that 00:36:35.860 --> 00:36:38.400 you mentioned, you know, what a, what a great 00:36:38.400 --> 00:36:43.320 tool to use to do that. So that, yeah, go ahead, 00:36:43.400 --> 00:36:46.059 please. No, no, no. I'm just saying that's, that's, 00:36:46.059 --> 00:36:47.679 that's a lot of the tech that we build because 00:36:47.679 --> 00:36:50.679 that data is really important to controlled behavior 00:36:50.679 --> 00:36:54.239 and rewarding engagement. Yeah. And, and I, I 00:36:54.239 --> 00:36:56.539 wonder, you know, based on your expertise, you 00:36:56.539 --> 00:37:00.659 know, what is. What is one piece of advice you 00:37:00.659 --> 00:37:04.599 have for attractions looking to build this kind 00:37:04.599 --> 00:37:07.500 of innovative infrastructure? I mean, and so, 00:37:07.599 --> 00:37:09.139 you know, you talked about predictive modeling. 00:37:09.260 --> 00:37:11.280 You talked about getting the data. You know, 00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:13.019 what would be maybe some advice that you would 00:37:13.019 --> 00:37:16.840 give the audience today? Partner with us at Coexist 00:37:16.840 --> 00:37:20.300 because we're doing it. We're doing it every 00:37:20.300 --> 00:37:25.519 day. Like we literally we use. So, you know, 00:37:25.539 --> 00:37:28.480 interestingly enough, AI is not new in gaming. 00:37:28.619 --> 00:37:31.739 It's just it's the idea of it being so consumer 00:37:31.739 --> 00:37:35.519 facing. But reward economy design is something 00:37:35.519 --> 00:37:39.260 that we focus on in any type of virtual currency, 00:37:39.340 --> 00:37:44.019 which is in every single game. So we understand 00:37:44.019 --> 00:37:49.039 just this value of. and need for people to not 00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:52.579 lose sight of their human experience but there 00:37:52.579 --> 00:37:55.960 is one a way to use ai to leverage it so that 00:37:55.960 --> 00:37:58.139 you can augment it and make it even more efficient 00:37:58.139 --> 00:38:02.320 but then also the gamification for us and like 00:38:02.320 --> 00:38:05.039 what we specialize in is really creating the 00:38:05.039 --> 00:38:06.900 type of experiences that make people want to 00:38:06.900 --> 00:38:10.639 engage and the acquisition of data as they are 00:38:10.639 --> 00:38:14.250 engaging and that is so valuable to these businesses 00:38:14.250 --> 00:38:17.789 but you have to partner i do i implore companies 00:38:17.789 --> 00:38:20.869 actually to partner with companies and agencies 00:38:20.869 --> 00:38:24.510 like ours because our focus is authenticity so 00:38:24.510 --> 00:38:27.269 we want to be able to one have our customers 00:38:27.269 --> 00:38:30.349 like trust us and confiscate information that 00:38:30.349 --> 00:38:33.409 matters not just a bunch of randomized stuff 00:38:33.409 --> 00:38:35.889 right because it's not as usable and it doesn't 00:38:35.889 --> 00:38:38.710 help you curate a more optimized experience for 00:38:38.710 --> 00:38:42.019 them the next time Right. And I'm sure like the 00:38:42.019 --> 00:38:44.360 data that you're helping these businesses get 00:38:44.360 --> 00:38:47.960 also helps them make much better decisions about 00:38:47.960 --> 00:38:51.500 where they're going and what they need to do. 00:38:51.639 --> 00:38:54.579 So I think that, you know, one, I want to thank 00:38:54.579 --> 00:38:57.940 you for having and starting a company that helps 00:38:57.940 --> 00:39:02.599 companies bring this into their purview and make 00:39:02.599 --> 00:39:05.820 it a reality for them because. Being in technology, 00:39:05.940 --> 00:39:08.860 I can tell you data is a very tough subject for 00:39:08.860 --> 00:39:10.440 people because they don't know how to get it 00:39:10.440 --> 00:39:13.179 or what to do with it and whether or not they've 00:39:13.179 --> 00:39:16.940 got the right data. Correct. Correct. One of 00:39:16.940 --> 00:39:19.960 my mentors who I met with just probably about 00:39:19.960 --> 00:39:23.539 a month ago, he was on a stage and he was saying, 00:39:23.719 --> 00:39:25.960 you know, do you think that people make the wrong 00:39:25.960 --> 00:39:29.940 decisions because they are bad people or they 00:39:29.940 --> 00:39:32.000 want to do something wrong? No. And he was primarily 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:34.920 talking about businesses. They're making the 00:39:34.920 --> 00:39:36.659 wrong decisions because they don't have the right 00:39:36.659 --> 00:39:42.360 data. Yeah. And so I think this is so huge. And 00:39:42.360 --> 00:39:44.940 I really appreciate you bringing data into it 00:39:44.940 --> 00:39:47.880 because it's such a big topic of conversation, 00:39:48.079 --> 00:39:49.900 especially in the attractions right now. How 00:39:49.900 --> 00:39:55.500 do we leverage this data to make the guest experience 00:39:55.500 --> 00:39:58.940 better? Correct. And then the part that I think 00:39:58.940 --> 00:40:01.659 is really distinctive of what we focus on is 00:40:01.659 --> 00:40:04.460 after we've done that. how do we make the consumers 00:40:04.460 --> 00:40:08.139 feel rewarded for providing the information we 00:40:08.139 --> 00:40:10.320 needed to cultivate a better experience for them 00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:14.079 so it works cyclically yeah i love that it's 00:40:14.079 --> 00:40:17.300 it's interesting the transfer it's a you said 00:40:17.300 --> 00:40:21.380 in your you said it was a rather than being transactional 00:40:21.380 --> 00:40:24.619 it's transformational data absolutely yep love 00:40:24.619 --> 00:40:28.670 that Well, hey, we're wrapping up here because 00:40:28.670 --> 00:40:30.710 of time, and I really appreciate you giving me 00:40:30.710 --> 00:40:33.329 time. Of course. I'm much into the music part, 00:40:33.429 --> 00:40:36.130 and I just wanted to maybe just hear from you 00:40:36.130 --> 00:40:40.269 a little bit about Journey with Music, and it's 00:40:40.269 --> 00:40:44.550 just hearing that you are a Grammy award -winning 00:40:44.550 --> 00:40:51.829 artist is... Right there, yeah. You're the first 00:40:51.829 --> 00:40:53.909 person I've ever met with one of those, so I'm 00:40:53.909 --> 00:40:56.639 so excited. I have a few friends with those. 00:40:56.820 --> 00:40:58.760 You know what? I just actually met someone and 00:40:58.760 --> 00:41:01.139 I held my first Oscar for the first time. So 00:41:01.139 --> 00:41:02.960 that was cool. I was like, this thing is heavy. 00:41:04.820 --> 00:41:07.679 You know, I just, I feel like once you're an 00:41:07.679 --> 00:41:11.500 artist, you're always an artist because it's 00:41:11.500 --> 00:41:13.719 just, it's who you are and it's how you navigate 00:41:13.719 --> 00:41:16.860 the world. It's how you express yourself. And 00:41:16.860 --> 00:41:19.619 I think anything that stifles the creativity 00:41:19.619 --> 00:41:23.039 makes you feel like less of an artist. So for 00:41:23.039 --> 00:41:27.630 me. I just wanted to really be a part of a world 00:41:27.630 --> 00:41:31.309 that allowed innovation to go wild, but at the 00:41:31.309 --> 00:41:34.090 same time create impact. And I think we live 00:41:34.090 --> 00:41:36.409 societally in a place where oftentimes they're 00:41:36.409 --> 00:41:38.469 so binary. You're either doing this, it's like, 00:41:38.530 --> 00:41:40.170 oh, you're working for a nonprofit and you're 00:41:40.170 --> 00:41:41.909 going to create impact. Oh, you're an artist, 00:41:41.949 --> 00:41:43.949 though you're not technical. And I just really 00:41:43.949 --> 00:41:46.849 wanted to disrupt all of those preconceived notions 00:41:46.849 --> 00:41:49.210 because we have a left and a right hemisphere. 00:41:49.630 --> 00:41:52.019 They're not severed. Shout out to Severance. 00:41:52.019 --> 00:41:53.940 We love it. But we didn't choose the procedure, 00:41:54.199 --> 00:41:58.460 right? So it's really, for me, my artistic perspective. 00:41:58.639 --> 00:42:00.840 Mind you, I studied electrical engineering in 00:42:00.840 --> 00:42:05.860 undergrad. So I've always needed them to coexist. 00:42:06.199 --> 00:42:10.440 But I think approaching even tech as an artist 00:42:10.440 --> 00:42:14.449 allows. myself and a lot of my team members, 00:42:14.570 --> 00:42:17.250 because we do talk about, we're non -neurotypical, 00:42:17.349 --> 00:42:20.829 are neurodivergent people. We talk a lot about 00:42:20.829 --> 00:42:23.170 neurodivergence in gaming. And so these industries, 00:42:23.190 --> 00:42:26.849 they deserve conversations from non -neurotypical 00:42:26.849 --> 00:42:30.420 minds because the perspectives are... analyzing 00:42:30.420 --> 00:42:32.820 and processing information differently. We're 00:42:32.820 --> 00:42:35.639 viewing it from a different perspective, never 00:42:35.639 --> 00:42:38.139 compromising the human experience. And I think 00:42:38.139 --> 00:42:40.079 as an artist, there's always this vulnerability 00:42:40.079 --> 00:42:43.780 that you're living through because I'm creating 00:42:43.780 --> 00:42:47.300 music for me, but I'm lending it to you. I'm 00:42:47.300 --> 00:42:49.219 basically telling you all my business and every 00:42:49.219 --> 00:42:51.500 song that I'm writing in hopes that at some point 00:42:51.500 --> 00:42:54.320 in your life, it resonates and can do something 00:42:54.320 --> 00:42:57.380 that empowers you or makes you feel included, 00:42:57.460 --> 00:43:00.079 like you're not alone. And I think... having 00:43:00.079 --> 00:43:03.119 that just very human approach makes you empathetic, 00:43:03.159 --> 00:43:06.760 even in business, even in tech fields. And I 00:43:06.760 --> 00:43:09.159 think it's just a very valuable quality to possess. 00:43:09.460 --> 00:43:11.940 And I like how I see it resonate in different 00:43:11.940 --> 00:43:14.400 aspects of my life, even professionally as a 00:43:14.400 --> 00:43:17.619 non -artist. Yeah, I love that. And I love that 00:43:17.619 --> 00:43:19.960 you are so many things that really resonate. 00:43:20.519 --> 00:43:23.219 And look, hey, if you'll let me hold yours, I'll 00:43:23.219 --> 00:43:27.989 let you hold mine. Oh, yes. Wait. I did get, 00:43:27.989 --> 00:43:33.050 this is a, this is a brass ring for best new 00:43:33.050 --> 00:43:35.030 concept, which actually was for gamification. 00:43:35.489 --> 00:43:42.250 Oh, I like it. I love that. Which that one, you 00:43:42.250 --> 00:43:45.170 know, I'm just going to, I haven't told very 00:43:45.170 --> 00:43:47.610 many people this, but this thing went with me 00:43:47.610 --> 00:43:49.389 everywhere. I don't know about you when you got 00:43:49.389 --> 00:43:53.280 yours. No, I mean, for attractions. Right. But 00:43:53.280 --> 00:43:55.800 I love that. Well -deserved because you were 00:43:55.800 --> 00:43:59.840 you were that girl. Oh, well, same. I just appreciate 00:43:59.840 --> 00:44:02.639 you sharing your brilliance with us today and 00:44:02.639 --> 00:44:05.960 really good information. I hope that the people 00:44:05.960 --> 00:44:07.719 listening really take to heart what you're saying 00:44:07.719 --> 00:44:10.400 about how to build community gamification. I 00:44:10.400 --> 00:44:12.559 think this is where we're going. I think this 00:44:12.559 --> 00:44:15.380 is. so innovative what you're doing. And I do 00:44:15.380 --> 00:44:17.579 hope they connect with you. In fact, I want to 00:44:17.579 --> 00:44:21.159 connect with you about how we can do that for 00:44:21.159 --> 00:44:24.019 Game Master because you've certainly convinced 00:44:24.019 --> 00:44:27.000 me. So thank you for being on the show. And if 00:44:27.000 --> 00:44:28.579 somebody does want to connect with you, what 00:44:28.579 --> 00:44:30.739 would be the best way to get a hold of you? Yeah, 00:44:30.739 --> 00:44:34.179 so I'm Letta J Music on everything, L -E -T -T 00:44:34.179 --> 00:44:37.440 -A J Music on like every platform. But you can 00:44:37.440 --> 00:44:41.659 also find me on LinkedIn. I'm J -A -Y -E, Letta 00:44:41.659 --> 00:44:45.719 J Watts. And so hit me up. Let's have some amazing 00:44:45.719 --> 00:44:47.559 conversations and discuss how we can coexist. 00:44:48.300 --> 00:44:50.739 J, thank you for being here today. I look forward 00:44:50.739 --> 00:44:57.219 to seeing you. All right, guys. Well, that was 00:44:57.219 --> 00:45:02.320 a great conversation. I love the idea of using 00:45:02.320 --> 00:45:05.079 gamification to create community, to create loyalty 00:45:05.079 --> 00:45:07.639 with our guests, to personalize the experiences. 00:45:07.920 --> 00:45:11.760 We're seeing that in some of the bigger and like 00:45:11.760 --> 00:45:14.619 big brand attractions. But I do believe that 00:45:14.619 --> 00:45:17.659 somebody like Jay can help many of you who don't 00:45:17.659 --> 00:45:21.519 see yourself as a Disney or Universal, but are 00:45:21.519 --> 00:45:24.480 still creating these amazing experiences, leveraging. 00:45:25.679 --> 00:45:28.739 you know, organizations like Jay's that can help 00:45:28.739 --> 00:45:34.500 you do this, create your own ecosystem and create 00:45:34.500 --> 00:45:36.659 this type of engagement with your guests and 00:45:36.659 --> 00:45:38.840 maybe even your team, whatever, wherever you 00:45:38.840 --> 00:45:42.219 need this type of loyalty and engagement. So 00:45:42.219 --> 00:45:44.159 I just really want to thank you for watching 00:45:44.159 --> 00:45:46.320 today. Thank you for being a part of our conversations. 00:45:46.519 --> 00:45:51.539 Love the chat. And last, before, lastly, before 00:45:51.539 --> 00:45:54.559 we go, I do have to again. thank our sponsors 00:45:54.559 --> 00:45:57.079 gate master the all -in -one ticketing and attractions 00:45:57.079 --> 00:46:00.219 management software trusted by attraction leaders 00:46:00.219 --> 00:46:05.400 for nearly 35 years it's crazy to say that it's 00:46:05.400 --> 00:46:09.039 been a very long time but as jay was saying you 00:46:09.039 --> 00:46:11.639 know this thing was built by a community of people 00:46:11.639 --> 00:46:16.519 like you who are running attractions and trying 00:46:16.519 --> 00:46:19.420 to move your businesses forward so you know i 00:46:19.420 --> 00:46:24.670 do hope that uh You will give GateMaster a shout 00:46:24.670 --> 00:46:27.269 out or at least a connection. You can reach them 00:46:27.269 --> 00:46:30.630 at GateMaster .com. And again, thank you for 00:46:30.630 --> 00:46:33.210 listening to today's show. If you're watching 00:46:33.210 --> 00:46:38.030 live, leave us a comment. Hashtag repeat if you 00:46:38.030 --> 00:46:40.369 are watching us on repeat. And if you are listening 00:46:40.369 --> 00:46:43.920 on the podcast networks. Thank you for listening 00:46:43.920 --> 00:46:46.860 today. We appreciate your support. And I appreciate 00:46:46.860 --> 00:46:49.119 the team behind the show. It takes a lot of people 00:46:49.119 --> 00:46:52.179 to make something like this happen. And I do 00:46:52.179 --> 00:46:55.159 want to thank them. I think I'm each and every 00:46:55.159 --> 00:46:57.039 day, but especially here, want to give them a 00:46:57.039 --> 00:46:59.440 big shout out for all that they do. We'll see 00:46:59.440 --> 00:47:02.119 you guys on the next Live with Sondra show.