Fan Activation

TBKD designed and fabricated two custom bells for the Ottawa Senators, transforming an iconic Ottawa reference into a physical fan activation built for game day participation. Inspired by the bell associated with Ottawa’s Peace Tower, each oversized bell was reinterpreted specifically for the Senators with the team’s logo incorporated directly into the sculpted surface.

But these weren’t simply display props. The bells were built with functional clappers so they could actually ring, turning the sculpture into an interactive fan experience involving movement, sound and team identity.

The concept started with a recognizable piece of Ottawa’s visual identity: the historic bell associated with the Peace Tower. Rather than reproducing the original as a replica, TBKD used the familiar form as inspiration for a new sculptural element created specifically for the Ottawa Senators.

The proportions, raised details and traditional bronze appearance established the recognizable bell aesthetic, while the Senators identity was incorporated directly into the sculpture. This transformed the reference into something unique to the team and gave fans a physical object they could interact with as part of the game-day experience / fan activation.

Two matching bells were produced for the fan activation. The large-scale bell forms were sculpted with the contours, raised details and traditional characteristics required to give them the visual presence of substantial cast-metal bells.

Producing the bells as dimensional scenic elements allowed TBKD to achieve that scale and appearance while using fabrication methods more appropriate for an experiential installation.

Scale was particularly important. Inside a busy arena environment filled with people, screens, signage and lighting, the finished bell needed to remain immediately recognizable from a distance while still providing enough detail to be convincing when fans approached it.

A functional bell also needed a striking mallet. TBKD created a custom retro-style mallet that visually complemented the traditional character of the bell while solving an important practical problem. A conventional rigid mallet repeatedly striking a fabricated scenic surface could eventually damage the finish or the bell itself.

The striking portion therefore needed to look substantial without behaving like a solid object when it made contact. The solution was a custom fabricated prop with a soft cast striking component.

TBKD first produced an original mallet prototype, establishing the shape, proportions and dimensional details of the striking head. Once the prototype was complete, a silicone production mould was created from the original.

This allowed the final striking component to be reproduced through casting while preserving the shape and dimensional details established in the prototype. Creating a mould also allowed TBKD to change the material used for the finished component without changing its visual form.

The striking component of the mallet was cast in soft pillow foam. This provided the appearance and volume of a substantial traditional mallet while creating a much more forgiving surface where it contacts the fabricated bell. When a fan swings the mallet, the soft foam absorbs the impact rather than repeatedly striking the finished surface with a rigid object.

The material choice was therefore driven by the way people would actually interact with the activation. It’s a small detail visually, but an important example of how experiential fabrication needs to consider human interaction, durability and repeated use—not simply how the finished object looks.