Arcades, bowling alleys, and karaoke rooms have long been the strike-zone of people out for a good time. When you combine a group of mates, a little bit of friendly competition, a good looking interior and the right atmosphere, you’ve laid the framework for hours of fun and a memorable experience. When you’re Kingpin, all of that is easy.

Kingpin Chermside is the newest of eight venues across the country, opened in October last year and strategically located next to the cinema in the newly redeveloped and extended upper levels of Westfield Chermside. Escape rooms, laser tag, table tennis, bowling lanes, private karaoke rooms, pool tables and an extensive arcade are topped off with free Wi-Fi, a suite of engaging visuals and a great food and beverage offering.

Gamifying the music

To manage and enhance the atmosphere Kingpin uses four Nightlife systems and crowdDJ^® Kiosks across the venue. Kiosks allow customers in any part of the venue to choose the songs they want to hear, adding to the feeling of choice and abundance within Kingpin itself and further personalising the experience. The Karaoke rooms also use Kiosks as the discovery and playback platform for all your favourite singalongs.

With so much going on it’s no wonder Kingpin Chermside has one of the highest rates of crowdDJ^® engagement month on month – no mean feat when more than 1000 venues across the country use the service.

4,467 songs were chosen in the month of March, averaging 144 songs per day or just over nine hours of music picked by customers every single day. The extreme success of crowdDJ^® has surprised Joshua Bendall, Group Social Media and Content Lead.

“The product just fits in so well we haven’t needed to do much promotion, it’s simply an extension of our entertainment offering. Within the Chermside venue we have lots going on and our customers have so much choice in how they spend their time here. Great music and the ability to pick their favourite songs is a natural fit.”

“We feel comfortable giving our guests a range of choice when it comes to the type of atmosphere they can create and Nightlife’s offering ensures we are showcasing music that is on brand and suitable for all ages.”

There’s also an element of competition to the crowdDJ^® service – once someone starts to choose the music, everybody else wants to have their input, which feeds in to the gamification of the whole venue.

Supercharged screens

Alongside the range of activities, Kingpin Chermside has many screens placed throughout the venue that are used to great effect. Just like the music, Kingpin can manage its screen content through the Nightlife system.

With the scheduling tools available, this venue has been able to tailor all aspects of its visual program to suit the demographic at different times of the day. A mix of Digital Advertising, Ambient Visuals and Music Video keeps screen content interesting and engaging. Kingpin also makes great use of the adult content filters during the day and early evening when families and teenagers are in attendance. Music video content and lyrics can both be filtered in this manner.

Interior excellence as a drawcard

The Kingpin Chermside fit-out is a show-stopper made for the age of social media; the venue is filled with Instagram-able features that are too good to ignore. One of these is an ornate, oversized throne-like chair for friends to pile into or perch on solo, and of course a selection of crowns to go with it. This feature feeds in to its branding and use of the hashtag #WeAreRoyal on the website and social channels.

All this might seem like a bit of fun (and it is), but creating an experience in-venue through music, design and interaction is more important than ever for bricks and mortar businesses and entertainment destinations. The public has so much choice in where they go and where they spend their money, so you want to make sure they choose you and have a reason to leave their lounge room.

Kingpin nails the experience

Kingpin Chermside is a perfect demonstration of how one venue can appeal to a different audience at each point during the day – kids in the morning, adults at night and teens throughout. It combines a huge range of activities and experiences with a great fit-out and the right atmosphere, all of which keep people coming back for more.

Kingpin lives up to its promise of being the ultimate entertainment destination. Through thoughtful consideration of lighting, music, visuals and interior design the in-venue experience has been elevated to something truly special.

Nightlife