Theming Your Crane

On many sites, theming a crane will generate more interest and revenue than using a Premium Mix.

This is particularly true in high foot-traffic locations such as supermarkets and shopping malls. In these environments, a clearly themed machine tends to attract attention and encourages customers to play.

By comparison, locations such as local dairies or smaller stores can sometimes perform better with a premium mix, where regular customers return and try to win their favourite prize.

It can be tempting to place a single toy type in a crane and treat it as a “set and forget” product. However, over time customers can become bored and the machine’s performance may decline.

Why not test it?

Try changing the theme or product in the crane and monitor whether this improves revenue.

Filler Balls

Filler balls are white 10 cm ball pit balls used as base fill in cranes.

They provide two key advantages:

• Lower cost theming – you only need to replace the toys on the top layer rather than the entire machine.

• Improved presentation – the theme toys sit cleanly on top rather than having unrelated toys visible underneath.

This creates a more professional presentation while also reducing stock costs.

How Many Filler Balls Do I Need?

Cranes can have shallow, standard, or deep bases, so the number of filler balls required will vary.

It will also depend on how busy the site is. On very busy sites it is often best not to use filler balls at all, as stock turns over quickly.

As a rough guide, in the cranes operated by the Support Office we typically use the following amounts:

Standard Machine

(Normal base, average site)

• 75 filler balls when using plush toys

• 50 filler balls when using S2 balls

In practice:

• 50 balls (2 bags) creates about one to one-and-a-half layers

• 75 balls (3 bags) creates approximately two layers

Jumbo Machine

Depending on the base depth:

• 50 filler balls

• 100 filler balls

• 150 filler balls

Giant Machine

• 250 filler balls (for deep-base machines)

Cost Consideration

Filler balls are a capital expense, but they can reduce stock purchasing in the short term.

When installing filler balls, you remove some plush from the crane. That plush can then be reused in other machines or future themes, meaning the cost is absorbed within your existing plush system.

Over time, this approach can provide both presentation and cost benefits.