National Broadband Network (NBN) roadshow kit

Background

Bangers & Tash are a boutique creative agency in Crows Nest, NSW.

The Challenge

Our clients often come to us with unusual concepts for display elements, and one of our favourite agency clients - Bangers & Tash - did so in spades with a brief for an event switch for the National Broadband Network roll-out.

Bangers & Tash needed a portable plinth with a large dome switch on top that would illuminate when pressed (similar to a game-show type buzzer).   The plinth needed to be lightweight and portable - as it would be transported all over the country - but it also required steel panels on all four sides to which magnets would adhere. 

Coupled with these (somewhat contradictory) requirements, the plinth needed to be fully branded and to have a separate area on each side where printed location labels could be temporarily attached at each event and easily replaced by event staff.

The Solution(s)

We started with our battle-tested, 'off the shelf' portable plinth.  Constructed from strong yet lightweight fluted polypropylene, they are designed to support at least 70 kilograms and were therefore ideal for the structure of the plinth, especially as they fold flat for transportation and storage.

Since portability and ease of use were important, much thought went into providing the required magnetic properties without adding too much weight or hindering the simple, tool-less assembly that is characteristic of our portable plinths.  We decided to use ultra-thin steel sheet after much research and experimentation, which was cut to size and added to the sides in such a way that the plinth still folded flat and could be carried easily by one person.

Rounding out the base, the plinth was branded with a permanent graphic wrap that incorporated a gloss vinyl panel to accept repositionable printed media for the location labels.

If we thought the base posed an interesting challenge or two, the switch unit, dome and housing did not disappoint either.  Relatively thick acrylic was used to construct a rigid housing for the switch itself (a modified outdoor 'touch-on/touch-off' unit) incorporating a battery pack and isolation switch, and simply sits on the base when in use.  We built the housing its own custom, wheeled road case for protection and ease of transportation.

We also used acrylic to make the 'crown jewel' of the switch: the orange dome.  We had to experiment to find the perfect thickness as the dome needed to be sufficiently transparent to allow maximum light through from the LED lights underneath, but opaque enough to obscure the lighting units themselves.

The Result

Since the first 'event switch' (as our client calls it) was delivered to NBN, it has literally travelled the length and breadth of the country and has been the active centrepiece of many of the broadband activation public 'ceremonies' nationwide.  It has been wonderful to have both Bangers & Tash and the end customer singing its praises, but perhaps the most meaningful indicator of its success is that we have since supplied another four units to Bangers & Tash for the same customer.