Specialty Lighting: How operators can entice customers in the new era of the FEC

As the tight grip of the pandemic slowly loosens and restrictions are lifted, attention turns to the likes of FECs and bowling facilities, and how they can provide a fun yet safe environment for new and returning customers in a post-pandemic world.  

While health and welfare are paramount and should be considered as a top priority in re-opening strategies, businesses should also consider how they can offer something new, entertaining, and exciting to entice customers into their facilities and provide a comprehensive experience.

Mick Ventola, founder of Ventola Projects, a global LED solutions provider, explains how businesses can incorporate different solutions into their business, and how steps can be taken to innovate the traditional bowling experience into an all-round entertainment proposition.

How can businesses attract a wider audience now that competition is fierce?

As we emerge out of the pandemic, I’ve seen the transformation of the bowling experience first-hand. No longer in this climate, can you be seen to be a ‘one-trick pony’. Getting people out of their homes and into a leisure entertainment venue now needs a wider appeal. You need to give them something which a) puts health and welfare top priority, but also b) puts several entertainment propositions into one all-encompassing venue i.e., the FEC, or BEC as it is increasingly being dubbed in the industry.

The key is to incorporate new additions into your facility, wherever possible, to demonstrate your ability to adapt and innovate, appealing to the modern consumer.

For example, bars, over the years, have widened their bases to incorporate other entertainment areas into their facilities such as pool tables, karaoke, and bowling. Its growing ever more sophisticated, with the night out no longer confined to drinks round the table at a bar, a meal at a nearby restaurant and the traditional late-night club.

As a bowling facility, you may have carved out a particular specialism or niche as one of the best in the area. And that’s completely fine. But to future proof your business in this uber competitive post-pandemic environment, you must consider the potential of expanding out into a fully-fledged FEC facility, one which incorporates food and drink areas, arcade machines, virtual reality and even mini golf. 

The idea is to provide customers with an entire experience, and not just one singular activity. By combining multiple entertainment choices under one roof, customers can feel as though they can spend an entire evening in just one venue, reducing the need to visit various other establishments in the space of one evening.

Additionally, introducing specialty lighting into your venue can attract the attention of customers by providing them with an entirely unique, engaging, and interactive experience as they traverse the multiple entertainment propositions on offer.

Making changes: Innovative lighting solutions

While lighting is of course a necessity for any venue, to ensure the establishment is sufficiently lit, it can also be used to upgrade an FEC and prepare it for the arrival of customers who are looking for much-needed entertainment after a long period of lockdowns and restrictions.

At Ventola Projects, our VAvR LED lighting system works to this effect. It is an LED system which combines general white lighting with mood and color changing effects. With over 30 years of experience behind us, we’ve long been incorporating our system into bowling facilities, casinos, FEC venues, hotels and more, to visually entice, provide custom effects, save energy costs and increase reliability.

The VAvR LED product is up to 80% more efficient than traditional lighting products, and we continually upgrade and inspect our system to ensure it meets the needs and trends of the industries in which we operate. Just recently, we further engineered our products with more global environmental consideration, reducing our use of plastic, meaning operators can now reduce their carbon footprint further as well as cutting down energy costs.

Many facilities are now also expanding their visual remit with our VAvR experiential system, which delivers overlays and projections onto bowling lanes, presenting mini game options that upgrade the bowling experience into the 21^stcentury. The system also enables brand logos and messaging, delivering advertising opportunities that can both support local business as well generate further revenue in your facility.

Venues that have already taken this into practice include the Thunder Road FEC in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who approached us for the installation of our brand new lighting products.

The 30,000 square foot facility now features our advanced lens technology, which allows the VAvR LED system to be hung much higher than previous generations and still illuminate adequately two lanes at any one time.

The change allows operators to switch to this technology, providing not only adequate day and night visual appeal, but also further purchase & installation cost savings in a tough economic climate.

Panel displays

As businesses begin to reopen, it’s becoming more common to see LED Masking panels and displays make their reappearance, advertising new events and offers to draw in the crowds and entice people out of their homes. These kinds of display product can be easily incorporated into Bowling FECs to deliver on multiple fronts.

For example, the Ventola VAvR LED Masking Panel range features a high-performance black lens, with black contrast and scan rates, as well as high black contrast in direct sunlight, and can easily connect to LAN, WAN and 3G/4G for intelligent cloud-based control.

This type of screen is ideal for advertising special offers, updating customers on news in real-time, displaying bowling score cards or functioning as a classic welcome sign as customers enter the building. It is also the perfect combination of visual appeal and function, ticking multiple boxes for both business owner and consumer. 

Changing consumer habits

Naturally, as a result of the pandemic, people’s habits have changed significantly, which will make it even harder for businesses to entice custom in such a tough climate. 

Customers are realizing that there is no going back to how things were before, which means they’re looking for new and different experiences. This means that FECs and bowling facilities alike must carve out a unique set of USPs to ensure they stand out from the local competition. 

By incorporating specialist LED solutions into your facility, you can capitalize on the increasing demand for new experiences, while working towards achieving a venue that is more efficient, both financially and for the environment. 

For more information on VAvR lighting solutions and/or VAvR LED Panel Displays, see https://ventolainc.com/ or call (USA) : (804) 791-8721 or (UK) +44(7770) 227537.