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Where to Find the BKI Mark in 2011
HP Retailers
Look for POS units BKI designed for HP ePrint and HP Beats in retailers now Bankwest Ads Newest TVC's just released
more to come!
2011 Venice Biennale
May
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Put our talents
to the test!
Tell us your idea and we'll tell you how we can bring it to life. You imagine. We imagineer. BIG KAHUNA IMAGINEERING p: +61 2 9810 6299 a: 2/37 Crystal St. Rozelle, NSW Australia e: bki@bki.com.auw: www.bki.com.au |
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Keep up with our
latest, greatest projects & get an insight into the happenings of our workshop!
Big Kahuna Imagineering is on  Facebook,  Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube!
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YEAR ELEVEN
So, last year was the 10th anniversary of our establishing in Sydney as one of Australia's premier specialist fabricating companies servicing experiential marketing, advertising and art industries and personnel - BUT we were just too busy to acknowledge it. So now it's 2011 and BKI's 11th year and we figure it's just as good a reason to celebrate!
Here's a snapshot of some projects that have kept us busy over the past 10 years and what's coming down the tunnel in our 11th. We hope you have an engaging 2011 and stay tuned!
Have a great year!
Cheers, Will
Will Colhoun/Director Big Kahuna Imagineering |
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NEWSlog
Here's a brief look at our most recent projects:
Project: Design, Fabricate & Install the Grand Entry to the National Vodafone Conference
Client: Vodafone
Agency: Moon Communications Group
Notes: The brief was to create an impressive entry gate to the Vodafone Conference. BKI solved the client's original brief by offering a practical design that allowed for high-volume traffic to pass through the entrance easily. The conference was held on the 8th of February at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.
What Jeremy de Villiers, Head of Print Production at Moon, said:
"We went out to the convention centre yesterday and the install of the entry looks amazing. Our client was incredibly pleased with the result so thank you for your great work".
Project: Re-Design & Fabricate VW Pod
Client: VW
Agency: PLAY Communication
Notes:The client wanted the original concept of the VW Pod - a pedal-powered photo booth - re-designed for long-term, secure, outdoor use. BKI re-designed and fabricated the Pod with features like high-security lockout shutters, durable vinyl seating and sunlights. Recently the VW Pod was found in Belmore Park and Darling Harbour but if you missed it, it is meant to be circulating around the country throughout the next year. So, keep an eye out!
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A LITTLE JAUNT DOWN MEMORY LANE
TRULY OFF-THE-WALL BRAND PROMINENCE DEVICES
 Motorola's Good Charlotte Gig, Paddington Town Hall
The BKI team got the chance to flex our artistic muscles when Motorola gave us full creative license to come up with something that would wow guests at the Good Charlotte performance they sponsored in 2007. We answered their request with a one-of-a-kind, internally-lit, 1.2m disco ball decorated with Motorola phones and CDs. Hung from the ceiling of Paddington Town Hall with care, that glowing mirrorball was the shining centrepiece to the event. The value in this project was not so much in its commercial viability but its WOW factor and the contribution it made to the overall atmosphere of the event. Click here for a VIDEO CLIP of Good Charlotte & our mirrorball.
Cascade Propellor, Prop for TVC
This behemoth of a propellor is "off-the-wall" because it didn't scream, "CASCADE! CASCADE! CASCADE!" but still had everyone talking about, well, Cascade.
The Brief: To create a replica of an oversized propellor that would be used as the centrepiece of Cascade's next TVC. The commercial spun the tale of Tasmanians planning to propel their chunk of Australia away from the mainland to save their delicious beer from greedy mainlanders. When we took on this project with only five days to finish, an industry compatriot of 25 years experience told us we were... well, let's just say the word he used started with an "f" and ended with a "d".
Ignoring the doubters and in true BKI fashion, we rose to the challenge and pulled off the project to an impeccable standard. The best part? Being able to stand in front of this propellor with its artistically-rendered exterior and let the visual deception convince you that it has survived five decades of hard service on the seas instead of five days in the BKI workshop. Click here to see the Cascade TVC.
 STX Shipbuilding Company, TVC
This project was high-risk because so much had to be left to the last minute. The South Korean shipbuilding company STX asked BKI to create a scale model of an ice sheet that would realistically crush and break apart as a replica of an icebreaker ship forced its way through it.
With no opportunity for a trial run, the one-day shoot was pressure enough. But, of course, it kicked up a few thousand notches when on the day the motor propelling the ship wasn't powerful enough to trigger the separation of the faux-ice jigsaw we had created. We sourced and couriered motor after motor until we eventually found and installed the one that worked. When we finally got that perfect shot, the room full of 40 over-excited Koreans erupted in what we could only assume was a cacophony of delight.
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RIPE FOR THE NICKING 
If we've created something that is so cool some Joe off the street wants it bad enough to risk potential gaol time, we know we've done our job.
Optus "We Hear You" Characters
Fake microphones & accoutrements stolen
NRL Star Willie Mason's Leg Mould
BKI created a casting of Mason's leg as well as imprints of his hands that fans at the 2008 NRL Fan Day could use to see how their own anatomy measures up against this rugby superstar. The NRL loved our work so much that they let some eager fan run home with it.
Read more about moulding Mason's leg here...
ENGINEERING TALENT
 Duracell Water Tower
This 6-metre tall beauty debuted at the 2005 Big Day Out Music Festival. With its ingenious portable design, the branded tower with 10 water stations kept festival-goers hydrated throughout the day-long event in the scorching summer heat. Perfectly positioned near the main arena and standing high above the masses, thousands would have had "Duracell" on their thirsty lips that day. Besides hitting the demographic nail square on the head, the water tower was a functional dream because BKI designed it so that the huge unit could fold neatly down to sit on the back of a small truck for transportation. The client loved it so much, we re-branded it two years later for Bacardi Express. See more of BKI's promo devices here...
"$9.99"
 For this 2009 stop-motion animated feature film, BKI developed several miniature camera devices that were truly mini-groundbreakers. One of our such devices was an SLR digital still live video split that allowed the camera crew to see the movements of the stop-motion animation characters in real time as they were positioning before the next frame. This tiny little device averted the need for over-sized frame stores of digital, single-shot photos, making the filming process much smoother and economical for this adventurous, modern-day, Australian animation epic. See more of BKI's technical devices on our website here!
PURE CREATIVE, QUIRKY GENIUS
Sensodyne Chill Test We love this project because it reminds us of how lil 'ol us efficably collaborates with our clients on crazy ideas that work! For this project, the messaging had to be powerful to pull-in passersby while the 
mechanic had to be durable for a very tough schedule not to mention serviceable for later use. The Quirky, Creative Idea: An ice-water dispensing igloo serviced by Sensodyne toothfairies. The Result: The campaign won the Media Federation of Australia's 2009 Grand Prix Award and the top award in the Food and Grocery category - we were pretty chuffed. The unique promotion had people wanting to talk to the Sensodyne promoters instead of avoiding eye contact and speed walking past them like so many other campaigns. When the numbers came in, The Chill Test led to 225,000 interactions (145% more than expected), sales went up 20% during the weeks of the promotion, and average monthly sales went up 16% post-campaign. Yeah, we'd call that a success. ksubi Blood Fountain 
Officially titled "Sign Of The Times", the ksubi blood fountain is certainly waaay off the wall but we're putting this one in the creative, quirky category because it was more genius than high-risk. The premium jean label asked BKI to create an 8-foot tall hand coming out of a suit sleeve that would be making a peace sign except that the index fingers have been severed and blood is gushing from the wound. This sculptural statement questioning the ethos of modern politicians is right up the alley of ksubi's target market. So while the piece could be considered controversial, it resonated extremely well with their primary demographic and definitely got the media's attention. More recently with ksubi's in store brand collaboration at David Jones, dozens of jeans stands and shirt racks have been adorned by a miniature of the "Peaced Off" symbol as shop fittings created by BKI. (This one could also fall into the "stolen" category as a replica of the BKI fountain was stolen from the ksubi's flagship store in Melbourne in 2007). 
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TRICKED YA!
The BKI team gets a huge high when we create a replica that is so convincingly real that it gets people talking, touching and even attempting to use it. Like these with past projects...
Optus "We Hear You" Characters
Not only did people try to steal these fantastical spies, but they also tried to speak into the fake microphones and drink from the fake water
fountain! Read more about the Optus campaign here...
Bankwest Goldfish
This Happy Banking character had a lot of people debating its authenticity. Built from scratch at the BKI workshop, it had an
uncanny resemblance to a real goldfish.
The Age's "Climate" URL
We're especially proud of this deceptive result because the turn around time was tight and we were experimenting with a new technique, but it all came together beautifully. The final product was so convincing that it had passersby stopping to ask us, "Is that really ice??" When we can get the public's attention by tricking their eye while satiating the client's wallet at the same time, we chalk that up to a success.
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ON THE CARDS FOR 2011
A Better, Bigger Kahuna
IT'S YEAR ELEVEN!
Normally at Big Kahuna we love any excuse to party, but we were just too busy to celebrate our 10th anniversary last year so, as always, we're adapting... Happy YEAR ELEVEN everyone!
It's 2011 and BKI is 11. We're thrilled to have survived the GFC and all of the mini-GFCs over the last decade - it's a testament to the committment and talent of the BKI team, and our enduring clientele. In celebration, BKI is planning a YEAR ELEVEN birthday party and we'll be publishing another special edition of our BKI coffee-table book.
We are really proud of what we have achieved in the last decade and we're rigging up for the next 10 year chronicle in the BKI adventure.
 2011 A Brand New Look Over the last few months, you may have noticed that we're slowly transforming our brand styling.
Couturing engineering to ideas (the essence of imagineering) BKI's new brand device represents, in black and white, commercial production with art, power and precision.
Expanding Our Reach
With more and more international requests, BKI intends to take on more projects beyond Australia's borders. We've done so many great projects all over Australia that our name has reached international ears and piqued quite an interest.
While our online presence undergoes a "re-haul" so will our physical one. The BKI workshop and head office will be expanding to accommodate more staff, more meeting space and more equipment like our beloved rotomoulder (Click here for video of our rotomoulder in action).
Exciting Projects To Watch For...
- More from Bankwest
- Hany Armanious & the 2011 Venice Biennale
- Hany Armanious has become a BKI resident as he prepares for his exhibit at the 2011 Venice Biennale. A number of BKI staff will travel to Italy with the Australian contingency in May in order to assist Armanious with his show.
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About BKI
Big Kahuna Imagineering is where those in the know, know where to go when they need to inject some power and vivacity into their brand. The difficult, often time-poor engineering challenges that others dodge or slap together, BKI embraces with the verve and talent that top industry professionals rely on. We are point-purpose commercial artists and industrial designers who pride ourselves on having an eye for detail, intent and image. With over 20 years of designing and fabricating experience, we are one of Australia's premier custom-build manufacturers; so, we apply the vast array of materials of choice exactingly.
From your fleeting vision to the lasting impression of the finished campaign, BKI will help you impress your clients with panache and professionalism. Put our talents to the test. Tell us your idea and we'll tell you how we can bring it to life.
You imagine. We imagineer.
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