The Revival of the Green Screen Photo Booth for Experiential Marketing

Green screen event photography is a well-known method for engaging customers at event activations. It is a consumer lead generation tactic that has long been used to entice event attendees to provide their personal information in exchange for a memorable photo. Green screen event photography involves taking photos of people against a solid green background and then digitally replacing the green screen background or backdrop with an alternate image.

Green screen event photography with photo effects and photo filters transform standard photos into fun, quirky images that customers are likely to hold onto long after the brand activation or sponsorship activation is over. Green screen photos are digitally customized with unique backgrounds that tie in with the theme of your event and include your company’s logo and branding. Every time people see the photos, they immediately associate them with your brand.

When combined with social media, green screen photo booths can also help you expand your online reach. In fact, using green screen photography with photo effects is one of the easiest ways to integrate social media with your event marketing campaigns because people love to share interesting photos of themselves on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr.

Create Positive Brand Associations in the Minds of Customers

Event attendees typically have a blast posing for green screen photos and go on to associate the experience with your brand, so it’s a win-win scenario. Moreover, green screen photo booths create a second brand interaction because photo retrieval can take place on your lead generation website (or microsite) when consumers return home. This helps you drive additional traffic to your brand’s website, and capture additional consumer data that may assist you in your future event marketing endeavors.

Why Big Brands Use Green screen Photography for Experiential Event Marketing

Green screen photography is nothing new in the experience marketing world, but this form of photo marketing is far from being outdated. Major brands are constantly looking for creative ways to implement green screen photography at sponsorship activations for one simple reason: it generates an untold amount of leads. McDonald’s, Chevrolet, and AT&T are just a handful of the big corporations that have used custom-branded green screen photography to engage event attendees. Green screen photography is an ideal way to capture people’s attention and create a positive impression because photos are personal, tangible, and long-lasting. Furthermore, green screen photo booths are easy to set up and take up little space.

"Tried and True" Doesn’t Mean "Ineffective"

In an era when new technologies are constantly fighting for the mind space of experiential marketers, longstanding technologies like green screen photography are often overlooked in favor of something new. Sure, we’ve been there and done that, but “tried and true” doesn’t mean “ineffective.” Event planners often suffer from shiny thing syndrome, chasing after the next big thing rather than making an effort to enhance existing technologies that are proven to work. For example, you could bring new life to green screen photo activations by using innovative photo effects and photo filters like 3D, retro photo effects, a pencil sketch effect (remember the video for “Take On Me” by A-Ha) or a "picture in picture" photo effect. You could also enhance the viral impact of green screen event photography and make posing for green screen photos a more interactive experience by creating video flipbooks, which enable attendees to act out in front of a green screen background. Video flip books can be emailed directly to attendees or posted online for them to retrieve and share with their social media connections. Or you can use creative data capturing tools like RFID bracelets in a green screen photo activation as one of the event activity components (registration required to view case study video).

Green screen photography has been around for a long time because it’s proven to work. And while the majority of experiential event marketers are familiar with green screen photography, there are still plenty of consumers who have never taken a green screen photo in their lives. For many event attendees, green screen photo booths remain a fresh, innovative photo activation experience. To put it simply, green screen photo booths offer the best of both worlds: it is a trusted event marketing method that has helped thousands of companies strengthen their brands and to data capturing, yet it is still perceived as new and different by the masses because few have had the opportunity to take green screen photos.

Multiply Viewings and Exposure via Social Media

Today, green screen photography is fueled by the power of the social web. The marriage of social media and green screen photography offers an unmatched opportunity to extend your brand’s reach in cyberspace. Custom-branded event photos that are uploaded to social networks in real-time following consumer engagement marketing appeal to people’s desire to stand out and attract attention while helping you spread buzz about your events as they happen, build your brand’s reputation, and encourage attendance at future events.

Social media has completely changed the face of green screen photo retrieval by enabling event attendees to access and share their photos online. Event participants can email their photos to friends or post them on their social media profiles or blogs, which multiplies viewings and exposure. Every time attendees share their photos, your logo is included, providing your brand with increased visibility.

Today’s consumers are bombarded with ads and tune out most marketing messages, so creating promotional campaigns that stand out has become more important than ever before. Green screen photo booths never fail because they enable brands to forge face-to-face marketing connections with current and potential customers one-on-one at events while reinforcing relationship marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, direct marketing, brand marketing, and promotional marketing. Forget the usual giveaway items, like pens or tote bags – green screen photos generate laughs and smiles, creating great memories that stay in the minds of attendees for years to come.