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Let's Have a Ball / Ready Set Goal

Client
North Rocks Shopping Centre & Stanhope Village
strategy

Trend-led activation

Active participation

identity

Campaign branding

Centre customisation

experience

Interactive play

Competitive fun

activation

Custom arena build

Event management

Retail integration

Situation

With football fever building during the World Cup tournament, both North Rocks Shopping Centre and Stanhope Village wanted an activation that could tap into the excitement while appealing to a broad family audience. The challenge was creating something that felt active, social and engaging, while giving visitors a reason to stay longer and explore the centre. Although both centres shared the same campaign platform, the creative and rollout were adapted to suit each centre, giving both activations their own identity while maintaining a consistent concept.

Focus

Create a high-energy experience that encourages participation rather than observation. The objective was simple: get people moving, interacting and having fun together, while creating an atmosphere that felt busy, exciting and connected to the broader sporting moment happening around the world.

The Approach

Let's Have a Ball was designed around one simple idea.

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Everyone loves having a go.

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Rather than creating a traditional display or passive entertainment experience, we built an activation where visitors became part of the action.

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At North Rocks, the experience featured a mix of interactive sporting challenges designed to appeal to different ages and personalities.

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Visitors could challenge friends on foosball tables, test their reflexes in Subsoccer, or take on Snookball — a giant hybrid of soccer and pool where players kicked footballs into oversized pockets. The Snookball table itself was custom designed and built by our team specifically for the activation.

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These experiences encouraged friendly competition while naturally bringing strangers, siblings and families together.

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The Main Event

The hero attraction was our custom-built Virtual Soccer Arena.

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Designed and constructed by VCLA Media, the arena transformed a standard activation space into a sporting challenge zone.

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Participants stepped into the cage and had sixty seconds to score as many points as possible by kicking footballs at moving targets and quickly became a crowd favourite.

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Adding to the atmosphere, promotional staff dressed as referees kept energy levels high, managed participation and encouraged repeat attempts throughout the day.

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The activation was supported with instant-win giveaways, football-themed prizes and retailer promotions that connected directly back into the experience.

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Visitors could also earn rewards, discover retailer offers and engage with the centre both physically and digitally through social media participation.

The Execution

VCLA Media delivered the activation from concept through to completion.

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This included:

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  • Campaign development
  • Creative design and branding
  • Event planning
  • Custom arena design and construction
  • Snookball build and fabrication
  • Promotional mechanics
  • Retailer integration
  • Talent and staffing management
  • Social media campaign rollout
  • Digital advertising
  • Event management
  • Photography and videography
  • Post-event content creation

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Every element was designed to work together to create a cohesive experience that felt larger than a single activity.

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Outcome

Let's Have a Ball transformed centre space into a destination for play, competition and connection. The activations created a constant flow of participation throughout the school holidays, with families returning to challenge friends, improve scores and experience different activities.

For retailers, the increased activity created more opportunities for discovery and spending. For visitors, it provided a reason to stay longer and engage more deeply with the centre. For the centres themselves, it delivered the kind of atmosphere that's difficult to manufacture — one that felt genuinely active, social and full of energy. Because sometimes the best activations aren't the ones people watch. They're the ones people jump into.
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