Launching a venue through community creativity

To celebrate the launch of Tenpin Blackpool, we wanted to do more than simply announce its opening. As an entertainment venue designed for families and children to enjoy quality time together, we needed a campaign that reflected those values while giving local people a genuine reason to get involved. 

That’s why Tenpin launched The Big Pin Design Challenge.

We invited Year 5 and 6 pupils from schools across Blackpool to put their creativity to the test by designing their own bowling pin. The creative competition had no rules - each design was inspired entirely by the children’s imagination and personality, resulting in more than 400 unique entries.

To make the campaign even more meaningful, we partnered with local street artist Christian Fenn, also known as Seca One. Known for his bold and colourful murals across the UK, Christian was the perfect partner to encourage the children to be expressive and have fun with their designs. 

Christian selected the winning design, which was transformed into a real display piece that now takes pride of place inside Tenpin Blackpool. To celebrate the winner, he also hosted an exclusive art workshop for the winning pupil’s class. The session introduced students to the world of street art, the children learnt about the different techniques and tools before creating their own large-scale artwork together.

By putting the community at the heart of the launch, the campaign successfully built excitement around the venue's open date, strengthened relationships with schools and families and celebrated the creativity within Blackpool.