Most event staffing agencies can agree that one of the things we look forward to the most is seeing all of the fun photos and videos after a promotional event. Since we can’t physically be at every event to take photos, it’s important brand ambassadors and boots-on-the-ground capture great, high-quality photos, not only for us, but for our clients too!
We have a motto here at InCast…photos or it didn’t happen. At the end of the day, stories can be told and claims can be made, but a picture is worth a thousand words. Truly—photos make a huge difference in the overall success of your event, in more ways than just one.
In this article, we will dive into the importance of capturing pictures of your activation. We’ll talk about how it elevates your customer’s experience, the tangible ROI you can collect from doing so, and how to share them once you’ve got them. So—let’s get to it. Here are a few main reasons why collecting photos of your activation is essential and an industry-standard best-practice.
Activations are fun, period.
When you host a killer event, you want those memories to last forever.
A good example of this would be a recent activation that we had the opportunity to staff. This major event was not only fun, but star studded too! At the activation, our brand ambassadors were able to meet, and take pictures with singer/songwriter Lizzo.
As you can imagine, this was an opportunity they didn’t want to miss. Because of the photos they captured they were not only able to show proof they met Lizzo, but they had a memory that they could keep forever too.
Photos are fun, and people love to make memories. As an experiential staffing agency that’s seen a lot of event success over the years, one thing we always love to see is when activations include fun, interactive ways for their event attendees to take photos. There are two key takeaways for this:
Your event should include fun, interactive ways for your guests to take photos because it is the most optimal way to collect shareable moments.
A great example of this would be Instagram’s activation to promote their new stories feature. At the activation, customers took their picture in front of an Instagram themed background, and posted it to their stories to promote the new feature. This not only elevated the event’s guest experience, but it also paved the perfect path for collecting valuable UGC.
Help guests tag the appropriate brand accounts when sharing their User Generated Content (UGC)
Event photography is incredibly important because it will provide solid event evidence.
As a professional experiential staffing agency that’s been in the business for a long time, we’ve learned this is key. Not only do photos show us how the event went, but it also gives us a good idea of what our brand ambassadors were doing to achieve success.
Visual evidence gives us a tangible way to reflect on what went right and what could be improved on next time. We recommend taking photos of your activation not only for the memories, but for a valuable learning experience for your staff as well.
Collecting fun photos for your feed and online profiles will establish you as a fun and credible BA. This will entice more staffing agencies to want to work with you, which will help you match with high quality events.
Photos can also be a great way for brands to collect consumer data for targeting in the future.
It is important for any event marketing activation to be-able to collect enough consumer data so that they can measure the campaign’s overall effectiveness and results. Some key stats to monitor would be:
These metrics can help the brand marketing team to gain deeper insights into how consumers felt about the overall success of the event.
The more impressive the event experience is for the consumers attending, the chances of creating a higher social reach and brand awareness are increased dramatically.
People like to buy from brands they feel a deep emotional connection to, and photos help brand activations establish that bond. The more fun you have with customers and the more you can provide social proof of that fun, the better your activation will be.
(light bulb) Best Brand Agency Tip: Use the photos of your activation to help your customers get a visual feel about who your brand is and what you’re all about.
There is a viral impact that can happen in the world of social media.
Having quality photos to post or display plays a vital role in that. The more opportunities that you have to showcase, the higher your chances are of reaching more people. Whether you’re a brand, event planner, or staffing agency, having quality documentation that you can share from the activation event is essential.
People utilize social media on a daily basis. Because of its value to businesses and the event planning industry, photo activation that integrates with social media is becoming a standard at festivals and events.
We live in the millennial era, where people want to brag and show their friends where they go and what they're doing. Event organizers should take advantage of this reality when marketing their events.
Here are a few key places we recommend sharing your activation photos:
The more social proof that you collect and display over time, the better credibility you build for your brand.
We hope that you enjoyed this article and found all of the information to be helpful. If there is one key takeaway we want you to get, it’s this: “Pictures or it didn’t happen”, period. Whether you’re looking to remember a memory, leverage your event ROI, enhance your customer’s experience or promote your business online, pictures will provide you an endless amount of value to do just that.
Eager to learn more? Get in touch with our team today to book the best brand ambassadors for your activation!
