The Original Bowling Company sings along to the music with karaoke booths from PlayNetwork

The Original Bowling Company, the largest tenpin bowling operator in the UK, has selected PlayNetwork, a leading global provider of creative and customised media solutions, to trial karaoke booths across several sites over the next 12 months to enhance the customer experience and boost revenue. The karaoke booths will enable The Original Bowling Company to offer more fun for families as well as private parties.

Mark Root, Commercial Director at The Original Bowling Company, said, “We have been working with PlayNetwork for several years now. In the Bowling industry the most valuable areas of our business are the bar, dining and amusement area. We are always looking at ways to enhance the customer experience to make it a fun day out for all the family and encourage them to visit again.”

Root continued, “Karaoke is fun for all ages, and we realised we should look to introduce this to our business. We approached PlayNetwork and they showed us what options were available and worked closely with us to ensure we got the best solution for our business. Between the two companies we developed ‘My Tune Studio’. The booth is a fantastic design based on the back seat of a limousine with leather seats, mirrored walls and LED lighting to fit in with the music. There is also a call button inside you can press to get a member of the team’s attention to come and take a drinks order. You have a vast selection of 10,000 songs to choose from as well as props including wigs, glasses and pom-poms to complete the experience.”

With the recently installed karaoke booth at its site in Crawley, the feedback so far has been very positive. “The idea is to provide a fun and entertaining experience that will provide a great night out but also appeal to children for parties as well” added Root. “People like the booth so much that they have said they plan to return with their friends.”

The Original Bowling Company has been a customer of PlayNetwork for over eight years. As well as introducing the karaoke booth, PlayNetwork manages all the music and lighting streamed into the bowling alleys.

PlayNetwork has also created an ‘Xtreme’ lighting solution for the business. This was created to drive late night foot fall. Over the lanes UV lights have been installed, and these are switched on after 8pm to create a glow in the dark bowling effect. The music is changed to more upbeat sounds and the volume is turned up. The lighting goes in time with the beats of the music, providing a nightclub feel.

Root added, “Traditionally bowling centres are for families that visit during the day. We wanted to broaden our evening audience and since we recently introduced the Xtreme lighting at our Hollywood Bowl site in Stevenage we have seen an increase in turnover which is fantastic.”

Dharmendra Patel, Managing Director EMEA at PlayNetwork, said, “Like our other customers, The Original Bowling Company recognises that there is money to be made by using media and entertainment more strategically to attract customers.”