ELI Play supplies indoor trampoline park for television show Big Bounce
And then the great TV producer Endemol crossed our path, asking for the gentlemen of ELI Play to come to the office in Cologne as soon as possible. The reason remained a secret for a while. "When we drove back I thought: Wow man, we're going to make a television show!”
Stalled
Let’s go back to June 2017. Endemol Shine – which has been the name of this mega group for a few years now - is facing a problem. The company came up with a new TV format in the Netherlands: a challenge with equipment and trampolines called The Big Bounce. But Endelmol Shine runs into problems with a partner who has to deliver the equipment. A trailer of the programme was already shown at an international media fair in Cannes, but constructing the course turns out to be a huge investment.
Saviour
Endemol Germany, which works with larger budgets, sees the potential together with broadcaster RTL. The current supplier can't deliver the project within the expected time schedule. What to do? A new party that could meet the expectations had to be found as soon as possible. There was little time because in November the first recordings of this huge programme were planned. In their quest for their ‘saviour’ they stumbled upon Superfly, one of the most challenging German trampoline park operators. ELI Play supplies exclusive trampoline parks to this company and soon a telephone call was made.
Production Big Bounce trampoline parcours by ELI Play
Mission impossible
This was no small request. ELI Play had to come up with an attractive solution for the plans within a limited budget. ELI Design team jumped for joy and was eager to get to work. “Wow, we're going to make a television show.” Team ELI Play kept their heads cool, because: “Of course it was a great opportunity, but we did want equality at the negotiating table. Respect for both interests.
The pressure was intense immediately. Within three weeks, the concept and financial construction had to be ready, which was actually a mission impossible.
Nail on the head
With its own designers and production teams, ELI Play can move quickly. In no time 25 different items are created on paper, which can be used to create a great course. “We showed this as an example to Endemol who responded very enthusiastically”.
Construction in eight days
And then we encountered the second obstacle. Endemol wanted to test the course in October 2017. Everything had to be constructed in a few months, which we miraculously pulled off! “We had a few short nights and long days”. A new challenge followed soon. The gigantic course, similar to an adult amusement park, had to be constructed in eight days and transported in three days: madness! This involved so much logistics that ELI Play exceeded the budget. But that didn’t affect our team at all; the course was sold to Endemol for the duration of the shows and immediately repurchased. ELI Play is therefore the owner of the spectacular course that can be rented out for new television shows, anywhere in the world.
Never seen before
Finally, it became a completely new concept: leisure as never seen before. The traditional way of trampoline jumping is vertical. In this circus the participants jump from corners, and there are a lot of height differences, which resulted in a very dynamic course. ”It can really be a huge success, comparable to Ninja Warrior”.
Does it resemble that popular television show? “Certainly in terms of dynamics”. But Ninja Warrior is more for real athletes; this is a broader target group. Teenagers participate in the show but also people over sixty. It's not a question of specific athletic ability, Big Bounce is about being smart and handy”. And the winner takes home 100,000 euros, not bad!
Big Bounce has become a completely new concept. Leisure like no one has ever seen before.
Tested by free runners
It seemed like a mission impossible, but ELI Play made it happen. A project manager was hired and a team could be freed up internally for this huge job. Everything was constructed in Eindhoven, the former head office that was still empty. In eighteen (!) weeks the entire course was produced and then tested by phenomenal free runners, who like to jump up against walls in their spare time. In order to prevent the team from losing too much time with the assembly, everything was finally put on 53 low-loaders (!) and transported to the recording studio in Breda.
For sale soon
The question is: what can ‘regular’ customers with an ELI Play indoor trampoline park take from this concept? Big Bounce falls into the category of extreme sport courses. Is it safe for the normal trampoline jumper? The answer is yes. But for the regular customer a translation is made to a safe leisure environment. Customers will soon be able to add an original Big Bounce course to their park, with some adjustments.
We translate Big Bounce into a concept in a safe leisure environment. Customers will soon be able to add an original course to their park.
Noblesse oblige
Big Bounce's broadcasts will be shown on German television from 26th January. That will certainly give ELI Play a lot of exposure, and even more growth. “We are now a dominant player in the European market and we should use this position to help others”. Big Bounce has given an enormous dynamism to innovation within the company. The place is buzzing with ideas.”
Was Endemol satisfied? No, Endemol wasn’t satisfied. Endemol was overwhelmed. Mission accomplished !