Project Overview

We have performed a right royal makeover of our Kingpin Crown venue, to move the perception and experience of our brand from bowling to multifaceted entertainment and create an experience to smash the Saturday night plans of our millennial target audience. We have created a visually spectacular venue where guests want to be seen and share their experience on social media, the proof of this can be seen on Instagram! #weareroyal

The social currency of our millennial target are experiences and our venue allows them to create their own different ones each time, with the multifaceted entertainment and different zones to suit multiple occasions and frequent visits.
Harnessing the Fear of missing out (FOMO) we have created areas, irresistible to selfies, thereby encouraging the recommendation of our venue by influential guests.

Organisation

AMF Bowling | Kingpin Bowling | Playtime

Project Brief

This right royal make-over included a complete re-brand and multi-million-dollar renovation. The refurbished Kingpin is a premium entertainment destination, architecturally designed with three licensed bars, three food zones, redesigned bowling lanes, high-end event spaces, state of the art laser tag arena and sensory-overload arcade games area.

We have taken place-making to the venue level, creating zones to suit different occasions and feed the quest of our target audience for no two experiences to be the same. We have visually stunning lighting effects to enhance the décor. Installation opportunity areas within the zones providing the ability to bring new news and constantly refresh the experience. We also have numerous initiatives in the works including the use of our bowling lanes as runways to launch new fashion collection with our brand partnerships and free Wi-Fi for guests.

Our creative zone names identify spaces and their uses. The Hub – the core of the experience where friends eat, drink and relax at the centre of the entertainment. Suspended from the ceiling are 3000 LED-lit bowling pins. Room 300, named after the perfect bowling score - a cocktail bar featuring live entertainment & private event space. Pins Royale -an exclusive VIP space with mahogany bowling lanes, designer shoes, private karaoke, pool table and butler service. The visually stunning space clad with over 30,000 hand-dipped gold dowels, tipped with light, gives the impression of being under the branches of a beautifully-lit tree.

Project Innovation/Need

We have integrated state of the art technology to enhance the guest experience and bring new outcomes to the market. BES-X Bowling provides a variety of game formats, social media sharing, inter-lane “chat” and on-line food and beverage self-ordering. New String-Pin (TMS) technology guarantees fewer break-downs. The latest LaserForce system provides international high-score tracking. We also have first-in-Australia arcade games such as: the world’s largest Pacman and premium prizes including apple products.

We innovated storage and services to maximise dwell-time space. The removal of counters and desks allowed the venue to become more spacious and is supported by mobile POS and on-lane food and beverage self-order tablets. Bowling shoe storage has become an art form, they are placed onto the wall back-lit with LED lights. This creates a decorative wall pattern and is a practical solution for lesser used sizes. Our ceiling-pin light feature creates a spectacle out of an unsightly bulkhead over the Hub bar. Use of full-length-lit drapes has divided two bowling areas and the individual lanes, creating privacy and luxe. A column in Pins Royale has become the trunk of our dowel tree effect, which enhances and hides this unsightly, but structurally necessary feature.

Geofenced social media venue feed identifies detractors and influencers which trigger team intervention to address or enhance experience. Integration with our booking engine and CRM means seamless end-to-end customer journey, which improved guest engagement with the venue and brand.

Design Challenge

Our biggest challenge was designing a venue that incorporated the ‘WOW’ factor and visual appeal to our target millennial audience, while incorporating functional use of the space. This was the first of our brand to receive the royal makeover and working closely with builders and designers to, not only understand, but incorporate that flawlessly was pertinent to the success of this venue. We also had to work within a pre-existing floorplan, which required us to creatively think outside of the box to utilise the space effectively. We wanted to show our transformation to change our brand perception of just bowling to a multifaceted entertainment company.

Lighting was also an issue, as we wanted to create that exclusivity and set the ambience for our three unique zones without clashing. In order to overcome this challenge, the lighting in each zone was carefully designed. Each zone offers a stunning light display incorporating drapes, bowling pins, and wooden dowels.

Sustainability

Sustainability was of great importance to us and have taken measures to ensure they were fulfilled to great standards.

Throughout the venue we have used, low volatile compound materials, re-constituted stone, energy-efficient lighting, water-based paints and a special vinyl floor only requiring water-based cleaning.

The new TMS pin-setting technology is proven to reduce energy consumption and improve team safety, due to the reduction in heavy machinery and moving parts. This technology is now being introduced across our other venues.

We have also celebrated sustainability in luxury; Pins Royale floors have reclaimed, native, sustainable timber featured in the hand-laid parquetry floor.