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How United Airlines Turned a Leadership Recognition Dinner into an Interactive Game Experience
A Training Arcade–powered JEOPARDY!® game created an energetic, competitive, and highly engaging live event experience.
“The reception was amazing. People were laughing and having a really good time. Everyone appreciated getting to know the leaders on a personal level while having fun. Whenever we host an event now, we almost always include a game, as it consistently gets great feedback.”
Chris Reiman
Sales Training & Development Leader
United Airlines
Awards
Client
United Airlines is one of the world’s largest airlines, connecting millions of travelers each year through a global network. Founded in 1926 and headquartered in Chicago, it operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and to destinations on six continents.
Challenge
Each year, United Airlines hosts an annual leadership recognition dinner with over 175 attendees to celebrate achievements across the organization. The event brings together leaders and top performers for an evening of awards and recognition.
Within the sales organization, ELB’s game builder and gamification platform, The Training Arcade, is already used to support sales training initiatives and knowledge checks, helping teams stay engaged and reinforce learning. When planning this year’s leadership dinner, the team saw an opportunity to use the same game-based approach to make the event more interactive.
While the ceremony celebrates important accomplishments, the evening’s traditional format can become repetitive. Organizers wanted to create a more dynamic experience that would energize the room and encourage participation. To break up the award segments, they decided to transform the event intermissions into live, interactive game experiences.
Strategy & Solution
To bring energy and interaction to the event, the team created a custom JEOPARDY! game using The Training Arcade®, which has the only official JEOPARDY! training game in the world, in partnership with Jeopardy! Productions. The game focused on fun questions about the organization’s leadership team. Leaders were invited to submit personal facts and photos, which were then incorporated into the game’s clues.
Categories included guessing leaders from baby photos, leaders’ first jobs, hobbies and interests outside of work, and favorite foods, bands, and travel destinations. The content gave participants an entertaining way to learn more about the people they work with every day. To further boost participation, the team introduced a competitive incentive. The winner would receive a pair of United Airlines’ limited-edition 100th anniversary sneakers, tying the game to the airline’s centennial celebration.
Implementation
The game was integrated seamlessly into the event schedule. Over 175 participants joined the game directly from their mobile phones, allowing everyone in the room to compete simultaneously.
The game was split into two intermissions during the evening:
- Round One: Traditional JEOPARDY! gameplay
- Round Two: Double JEOPARDY! and Final JEOPARDY!
The total gameplay time was approximately 20–25 minutes, creating an energetic break between award presentations. The Training Arcade’s leaderboard feature made it competitive and engaging, and the game quickly became one of the most memorable moments of the evening. The activity created a shared experience that energized the room and helped attendees connect on a more personal level.
Results
While the JEOPARDY! game brought energy to the leadership dinner, United Airlines also uses The Training Arcade to enhance training programs across its sales organization.
The team runs a comprehensive new hire program with more than 30 learning modules, including videos and activities. Games such as JEOPARDY! and Trivia (two of the 12 game templates available in The Training Arcade) are used as knowledge checks throughout the program to reinforce learning and keep participants engaged.
“We have so many virtual meetings every day that we have to find ways to keep people engaged and excited to learn. The fun aspect of the games has really brought our training to the next level.”
— Chris Reiman, Sales Training & Development Leader
By incorporating game-based elements into both live events and training programs, the organization has made learning more interactive and impactful. Through mobile participation, friendly competition, and personalized quizzes about company leaders, the event created an atmosphere where attendees could relax, connect, and celebrate together.
