Why Target and Walmart are Utilizing In Store Photo Marketing to Amplify Customer Experiences

Capture & Share Holiday Photos at Walmart

If you were one of the millions of customers to visit Walmart over the past holiday season, you may have seen a holiday themed setup encouraging you to snap and share photos.

At this particular location, a sign was propped up next to a bench and fireplace with stockings and candles.  It reads “Capture and Share the Perfect Photo.”  Additional instructions say to “show your Christmas spirit to the world” with the hashtags #Walmartholiday and #Santaphoto.

This photo studio type setup encouraged families and guests to take a quick break from their shopping to capture an in store moment using their own mobile devices. In addition, special appearances from Santa helped spruce up the excitement and engagement.

#KidsGotStyle Snap & Share Photo Activations at Target

As Target evolves their social media marketing presence, one focus for them was to bring the social engagement into their physical retail stores. To kick off a back to school campaign, their #KidsGotStyle hashtag was created and marketed.

As the hashtag grew in popularity, Target decided to create fun and social photo opportunities for their customers. To do so, they added a simple but effective backdrop sign and bench. Their mascot, Bullseye, was also on the bench as a fun prop to pose with.

The signage made it simple to follow the instructions of posing and posting photos with the #KidsGotStyle hashtag to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

As a result of this in store experience, the campaign hashtag received millions of social media impressions over the past year with tens of thousands of proud parents posting their kids style to social channels.

With each photo taken and shared, Target’s branding was seen on each. In addition, a message of fun was conveyed to all of those who saw the photos on their friends or families social pages.

Why are Target, Walmart, and other Retailers Utilizing Photo Activations and Social Media In Store?

1. Social Media Impressions– As photos get taken and shared digitally, the # of potential views on social (social impressions) exponentially grows. For example, customer #1 sends her photo to her 500 Facebook friends.  Customer #2 sends her to her 300 Instagram followers, customer #3 sends his to his 1000 Twitter followers… this creates amazing digital branding opportunities.

2. Experiential & Memorable– As customers participate in the photo activities, they talk about it, they post it online creating social proof, and they feel a deeper sense of engagement and connection with the brand. This type of memorable and fun activity are extremely valuable to creating and maintaining loyal customers.

3. Cost Effective– Because everyone now has cell phones in their pockets, the ability for them to take and share their own photos is an extremely cost effective marketing campaign. Basic signage, displays, and props to promote and encourage that participation are minimal costs and can be rolled out quickly across multiple locations.