BOUNCE-ing into the future

BOUNCE first opened in Melbourne, Australia, in 2012 and is now the home of freestyle with 32 venues across four continents. It is the biggest trampoline and entertainment park in the Middle East, with locations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Doha, and Riyadh. Recently, BOUNCE opened a new venue at Forsan Central Mall in Khalifa City, and we got a chance to interact with Doran Davies, CEO, BOUNCE Middle East to get more insights into the leisure & entertainment industry in the region and how the brand aims to look into growth in this region.

Let’s talk about the leisure & entertainment landscape of this region. How do you see it shaping up?

The leisure and entertainment sector is becoming more interesting and competitive. There is a high level of innovation in the region with new concepts constantly emerging. It’s great to see this happening, as ultimately variety provides families with more activities to enjoy and more options to discover. From a business perspective, these new concepts keep us on our toes, challenging us to innovate and ensure we continue to bring fresh ideas to the table.

The unique concept of BOUNCE establishes an entertainment hub for the full family. Tell us a little about the concept.

BOUNCE is dedicated to inspiring progression and building human connections through what we call our ’Tribe’ – our family. We offer activities for all ages, starting young from walking age and cater to all other skill levels. It’s a common sight to see parents jumping with their kids, enjoying the experience together. The idea of our ‘Tribe’ isn’t just about family weekend outings to BOUNCE, but it is also about the friendships that kids and even adults can forge while having a great time at the venue.

What were the initial challenges of building the concept, keeping the uniqueness of this region?

It’s always a challenge when we are setting foot in new markets and diverse regions such as the Middle East – where there is a variety of cultures and nationalities present and you are anticipating the response you’ll get. However, the concept of people desiring a place where they can truly be themselves is universal and this has resonated well with the region’s audience. Being part of BOUNCE’s ethos, this concept was quickly adopted and helped establish the brand in the region.

Let’s talk about the customers. How do you see the same evolving with time?

In the digital age, where kids gravitate towards technology and video games and even adults are constantly on their devices, we see a growing trend of parents wanting to spend more quality time ‘offline’ with their kids, showing them the joy of jumping and running around, reminiscent of their own childhoods. At BOUNCE, we want our customers to know that they will always find a place here as part of our ’Tribe’, where they can leave the gadgets behind and immerse themselves in exploring the exciting world of freestyle sports. 

Do you all do active customer listening? How does it help you all to change how you operate?

Yes, we believe that listening to our customers’ feedback is crucial to improving our offering. We ask every customer who walks through our doors for their feedback to know more about their experience and see how we could enhance it for their next visit. Our team reads through these comments daily to stay informed about the feedback we receive. We also take online reviews seriously and conduct bespoke surveys and pass these results to our team on the ground.

Focusing on marketing, how do you employ the right techniques to ensure that you create the right buzz?

We have a very skilled marketing team that is always looking for new ways to develop the best possible strategy and increase brand visibility and awareness. At BOUNCE, we use a mix of owned and paid media channels to reach new audiences, generate buzz, and maintain consistent communications about our projects. For instance, for new venue openings, we implemented targeted campaigns across our social platforms to reach new communities and to ensure we are constantly engaging in and communicating our latest activities.

What next? How are you planning to grow the concept over time?

We are committed to enhancing the guest experience and improving customer satisfaction by evolving our innovative concept at every new BOUNCE site that we launch and applying our learnings to our existing venues. With several new venues in the pipeline, we look forward to continuing to improve on our offering with each opening.

Anurima Das