Ten Years of Snappic With Photo Booth Marketing: “The Software Has Given Owners So Much More to Sell”

For Photo Booth Marketing’s Ursula McKinley and Sammy English, a new photo booth feature always leads to another question: how can an operator turn it into something a client wants to book?

It’s a perspective shaped by their own experience in the industry. Ursula brings a background in PR, branding, marketing and event management, alongside her work building Media Lab NI. Sammy’s background spans entertainment, photo booth businesses and creative production.

Through Photo Booth Marketing, they help operators work out what to offer, how to present it and how to reach the right customers.

Their relationship with Snappic brings those skills together. Through training, industry events and the Snappic Booth Mastermind Awards, PBM has helped operators explore new possibilities and celebrate what they achieve.

Snappic Success is a recent example of that work. In her announcement to the Snappic User Group, Ursula explained that she and George Bohunicky would cover two essentials for new operators: setting up a first event in Snappic and finding their first customers. Participants would also receive an event concept and marketing materials to help them put the training into practice.

That connection between learning the software and building a business runs throughout their answers.

As Snappic celebrates ten years, we spoke with Ursula and Sammy about how the industry has changed, which opportunities operators could be making more of, and what they hope the next decade will bring.

Ursula and Sammy answered these questions together on behalf of Photo Booth Marketing.

You’ve worked with a lot of photo booth businesses over the years. From your perspective, how has Snappic changed alongside the industry over the last decade?

The biggest thing for us is that Snappic has grown beyond being just photo booth software. The industry has changed massively. Operators aren’t just selling a photo booth for three or four hours anymore. They’re selling experiences, content creation, brand activations, data capture, AI, video, roaming photography and even permanent installations.

Snappic has evolved alongside that.

From our perspective at Photo Booth Marketing, that’s important because we’re always asking operators: what are you actually selling? The booth is just a tool. The software has given owners so much more to sell.

When you think about Snappic 10 years ago versus Snappic today, what feels like the biggest shift?

The shift from “photo booth software” to an experience platform. Ten years ago, the conversation was much more about taking a photo, adding branding, printing it and sharing it. Today’s photo booth operators can walk into a client meeting talking about AI experiences, VideoFX, 360, roaming photography, branded digital experiences, data capture, analytics, competitions, permanent installations and so much more.

That’s a completely different sales conversation, and that’s probably the biggest shift we’ve seen across the industry too.

From a marketing and business perspective, what do you think Snappic has helped make possible for operators that would have been much harder 10 years ago?

Diversification. That’s huge for us. One piece of hardware doesn’t necessarily have to mean one service anymore. Operators can create different experiences for weddings, corporate events, experiential campaigns, conferences, retail, venues and brands using the software, and sell them as new or multiple services.

From a marketing perspective, that gives you so much more to talk about. Instead of marketing “our photo booth”, you can build campaigns around the actual problems you’re solving and experiences you’re creating. That makes it much easier to go after different audiences and potentially much bigger opportunities.

Has the way operators sell a Snappic experience changed over the years? What are they able to offer or market to clients now that they weren’t before?

Completely. We spend a lot of time at Photo Booth Marketing trying to get people to stop selling the booth. The client doesn’t necessarily care about the iPad, camera or software. They care about what happens when their guests use it and what the experience delivers for their event or brand.

Operators can now have conversations around engagement, branded content, lead generation, data capture, analytics, instant content delivery, AI transformations, video and experiences that can extend beyond one physical booth. That’s a much stronger proposition than simply selling booth hire.

Is there a Snappic feature, launch or development that you think had a particularly big impact on the way operators market or grow their businesses?

For us, there are a lot. Surveys and analytics for client marketing campaigns are a must for 90% of our corporate clients.

AI has been a big one. Not simply because AI is exciting, but because of what it has done creatively. It gives operators the opportunity to approach a client with an idea that can be completely tailored around their brand, campaign, event or audience.

We’ve seen that through our own work and through the businesses we coach and mentor. The conversation becomes less about choosing a booth package and more about what the client needs to make their event better. That’s where we think the really interesting opportunities are.

What Snappic feature do you think operators should be making more noise about?

Roaming photography. We think there is a massive opportunity there. It allows operators to move beyond the traditional idea of guests having to come to a booth. You’re bringing the experience and content creation directly to the guests. For weddings, corporate events, conferences, brand activations and large events, that’s a service operators can package and market in its own right. We’d love to see more operators treating it as a completely separate service rather than just another feature inside their software that they sometimes offer as an upsell.

What Snappic capability today would have completely blown people’s minds in 2016?

AI, background removal, images and video. If you’d told operators in 2016 that a guest could stand in front of their booth, have their image transformed with AI and then turned into a generated video experience, all within the photo booth workflow, people would have had their minds blown.

And yet here we are. The speed at which the creative possibilities have changed is incredible.

Through working with Snappic users, what have you noticed about the community over the years? Has anything stayed surprisingly consistent even as the technology has changed?

The willingness to share. Technology has changed, booths have changed and the type of events people are doing has changed, but this is still an industry where people want to see other operators succeed.

We’ve seen that through PBM, through Snappic training and whenever we’re at industry events. Someone figures something out and very quickly they’re showing somebody else how they did it. We think that’s one of the reasons the industry has managed to evolve as quickly as it has.

Is there a particular Snappic project, event, collaboration or moment that stands out as a favourite for either of you?

For us, it isn’t necessarily one event. It’s probably the partnership, training and education we’ve been able to do together. What we’ve really enjoyed is taking a new Snappic capability and looking at it from two completely different angles. Showing operators what the technology can do, and then looking at the business side and saying, “Right, now how do we turn that into something somebody will actually pay for?”

That’s the part we love. Technology is brilliant, but turning it into a profitable product or experience is where it becomes a business.

If you had to describe Snappic in 2016 and Snappic in 2026 in three words each, what would they be?

2016: Simple. Creative. Innovative.

2026: Powerful. Versatile. Limitless.

One thing that has stayed consistent, though, is the amazing customer support. The technology has changed massively, but the level of support and the willingness to help customers has always been there.

If you could ask Snappic to build or introduce one thing next, what would be at the top of your list?

The technology is becoming incredibly powerful, so we’d love to see even more ways for operators to quickly turn those capabilities into experiences they can present to clients. Anything that makes personalisation easier, makes experiences more interactive and gives operators more opportunities to demonstrate measurable value to corporate and brand clients would be high on our list.

Looking ahead, what are you most excited to see from Snappic over the next 10 years?

We’re excited to see where the definition of a “photo booth” goes next. Because we don’t think it will really be about photo booths. It’s going to be content creation, AI, personalisation, interactive experiences, photography, video and technology all coming together. For operators, that creates a massive opportunity.

The businesses that continue to learn, adapt and rethink what they’re selling will have far more to offer clients than they did 10 years ago. We’re excited to see what Snappic gives them to sell next.

Giving operators more to sell

One theme keeps coming through in Ursula and Sammy’s answers: new features create opportunities, but operators need to know how to explain their value to a client. Their suggestion to market roaming photography as a service in its own right is a good example. So is their approach to corporate work, where the conversation starts with the client’s audience, goals and experience.

It’s also the thinking behind their work with Snappic Success. Bringing event setup, customer advice and marketing materials into the same training gives operators a practical next step once they understand what the software can do.

As we celebrate ten years of Snappic, we’re grateful to Ursula, Sammy and the PBM team for helping our community make that connection. Their contribution to this story is in the ideas they share, the businesses they support and the encouragement they give operators to try something new.

We’re looking forward to seeing what they help the community create next.

Keep learning with Photo Booth Marketing

Want help turning your next idea into an experience you can market?

Explore Photo Booth Marketing for training, marketing content and mentoring. If you’re building your wedding business, take a look at PBM’s 30 Bookings in 60 Days Training Camp to learn more about its marketing programme.

For guidance on getting started with Snappic and promoting your services, explore Snappic Success.

You can also visit Photo Booth Community on Facebook to connect with other operators, ask questions and share experience.