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What a Corporate Events Insider Sees at Every Activation

Somewhere right now there’s a photo booth sitting in the corner of a trade show with a logo on the print and nobody in line, and the brand that paid for it is wondering where the money went.

I recorded this one live at Illuminate in Miami, the day before Julius Solaris took the stage as our keynote. Julius consults for Fortune 500 companies on their event strategy, everything from sponsorship and registration to overall event design. He’s the founder of Boldpush, he writes a newsletter that goes out to 40,000 event planners, and he’s covered the events industry from a media seat for 20 years (his previous business was acquired by Skift). He’s at CES, Cannes Lions, Dreamforce and South by Southwest, and he walks all of them as what he calls an event Karen, so trust me, he notices the booth.

Our industry has a habit of listening to the same speakers over and over again, and I wanted someone who sees photo booths from the planner’s side of the table and has zero reason to tell us what we want to hear.

So we get into why marketing money is moving into in-person events right now, what separates the activation people line up for from the one they walk past to get the free coffee, and a setup at one of the biggest tech conferences in the world that started with some very basic iPads. Then Julius gives his one piece of advice for photo booth founders, and if your corporate pitch leans on the logo, it’s going to sting a little.

What You’ll Learn:

  • Why Julius says this moment is unlike anything he’s seen in 20 years of covering events
  • The research on B2B buying decisions that explains why brands keep spending on events
  • What a gladiator costume at South by Southwest has to do with your next activation
  • Why “we don’t have the budget” usually isn’t the real problem How photo booths ended up as the last line item, and the cost pressure planners are under
  • The simple Dreamforce activation that turned a not-so-great photo into two moments of connection
  • Why the analog side of your booth is pulling more weight with Gen Z right now The three things
  • Julius says your offer should be built around What not to say when you pitch a marketing team, and what to bring them instead

Resources Mentioned:

Know a photo booth owner who’s been trying to crack corporate? Send them this episode.

Your Next Steps:

  • Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Thrive:
  • https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social:
  • https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery