A Front Page Wall Street Journal Article This Week About Photo Booths had Allen Weisberg’s phone ringing off the hook.
Allen is the Founder & CEO Of Apple Industries, The World’s Largest Photo Booth Manufacturer who’s been in the business 50 years. He was thrilled that photo booths landed on the WSJ front page. “To get some recognition on just how successful photo booths are and how much people love them is just great.” said, Allen.
I adore Allen, and have come to love the photo booth business. He’s an awesome entrepreneur and icon in the amusements industry. I started working with him to stir up and tee up new photo booth location opportunities. (Like these cool Motown Museum Photo Booths that debuted outdoors in Detroit this Summer)
So I was bummed WSJ writer Hannah Miao had not called Allen Weisberg to comment in the article, “Vintage Photo Booths Are Back, and Baffling Newbies. ‘It’s Not an iPad.’
Allen’s spent decades modernizing the photo booth while successfully keeping the tradition of them in tact. He and his company Apple Industries are experts in bringing new technology together with old technology and making it work.
I called Allen in his car live from my radio show, The Debbie Nigro Show, so he could share why the ‘Photo Booth Phenomena’ is still going strong in 2022.
Though you might find it incredible in this age of selfies and cell phone cameras that anybody would want to go into a photo booth and take a picture…they do. The experience is just as important as the actual photo strip!
The Experience.
Allen points out, “You can do stuff in a photo booth that is fun that you wouldn’t do if people were watching you. Have a little fun, kiss your boyfriend or girlfriend, make silly faces. When people close the curtain in a photo booth, they don’t feel uncomfortable doing something goofy. And sooo many people get engaged in photo booths. The first shot a smile, the second a kiss, the third shot “Will You Marry Me?, and the fourth shot… the ring and the big smile ear to ear.”
He added, “Just like the photo booths from the 1930’s, you can still get black & white photo strips, but now you can also have them in color. And true to keeping up with the times, we’ve added video so people can see what they look like in a video and upload their video right there to ‘Tik Tok’ and they’re a star! And hey maybe their video will go viral.”
Photo booths, Allen points out, are as old as American Pie. They’re part of our culture from when great grandparents brought their kids into photo booths, then their kids brought their kids, and the tradition got passed on and on.
But now? “Photo booths are drawing young generations that didn’t grow up with the machine. The younger generation did not grow up with these booths so they don’t know how they work.”
Here’s an interesting fact Allen shared. “If you’re 30 years old or younger you do not remember taking a 35mm camera to the drug store to have your pictures developed, so it’s almost magic that you go into a photo booth and your face is now printed out on a piece of paper.”
The photo booth is a true ‘experience’ and a lot more fun than taking a photo and having it get stuck in your phone. It’s a great souvenir. In fact in many places, it’s the least expensive souvenir with the most lasting impact, as photo strips stay around for years.
Case in point. This photo strip on my refrigerator is from ten years ago. It captured my fun annual gal pal trip to the Jersey Shore. Still makes me smile.
Photo booths make everybody smile, especially companies who are smart enough to brand them. The ‘no out of pocket’ revenue share is very appealing and besides being cash cows, the brands’ name lives on with the memory and the memorable experience that brought a smile. It’s’ a win / win for everyone.
Tens of thousand of photo booths are out there in the U.S. in all kinds of shapes and sizes, many with accessibility for the disabled, and with all kinds of custom branding.
Allen’s clients are Disney, Marvel, Regal Theaters, MLB, NHL, restaurant chains, hotels, airports, museums, malls, bowling alleys, small restaurants, bars and more. He just opened an office in London and said photo booths are exploding there too. They love them as much as we do he says. At one recent trade show Allen and his company Apple Industries, made deals to place over 200 photo booths in the UK.
Made In America too! Apple Industries manufactures their photo booths in Upstate New York.
Allen’s talented and creative employees will custom design a photo booth theme for any venue interested in jumping on board this nostalgia trend.
It’s a fabulous no-out-of-pocket-revenue share opportunity and a brilliant souvenir.
I’d love to personally introduce you to Allen and Apple Industries if you’d like to explore this photo booth idea for your location. Message me here or email me at debbie@debbienigro.com
