a picture tells 1,000 stories the value of great photo opportunities for attraction operators by Norman J. Kahn

ver since I first started in the theme park happily click away as many shots as they can Ebusiness I knew pictures were a big deal. Back to catch whatever they can. Savvy theme park in the 80’s when I worked part time at Universal operators are now providing photo opportunities Studios Hollywood as a merchandise cashier we as a form of enhanced entertainment, and it is all knew that pictures were BIG business. The top working to great success. Author Norman J. Kahn poses for a photo in a rickshaw at Ocean Park Kong. selling location for merchandise was the Kodak Photo courtesy of Norman J. Kahn. film booth at the main lobby entrance for the On a recent trip to see one of our clients, Backlot Tour. Back then, people would load up on Ocean Park , I saw one of the most as much film as they could, so when they came vivid examples of how creating superior photo various perspectives, including a replica of Star across Lucille Ball or Alfred Hitchcock walking on opportunities for your guest can not only Ferry Pier’s clock tower, a manually retrofitted the back lot as they rode by in their vehicle, they enhance core entertainment value, but can also heritage tramcar and rows of classic “”- were ready to snap that shot. allow you to take “ownership” of your location style apartment buildings. Guests can even and exploit not only its present, but also its sample more than 70 local street foods and Now, people have no need to buy film. An entire past. Ocean Park’s 40,000 square foot “Old Hong beverages to enjoy the flavor of old Hong Kong. line of revenue vanished and theme parks have Kong” area is filled with sentimental and vintage learned to adapt accordingly. As a result, the idea settings and offers an immersive experience of While taking a historic look at Hong Kong is of “monetizing” photos is a challenge for theme culture, history, and tasty delicacies. Old Hong a great idea for a tourist destination such as park operators all over the globe. The iPhone Kong showcases the streetscape and spirit of Ocean Park, the attraction’s pure genius lies in and Android have replaced Kodak, and people Hong Kong between the ’50s and ’70s from its ability to get those iPhones and Androids out and clicking. These photo ops not only provide great memories for the visitors, they allow these visitors to instantly share their experience with family and friends on their social networks. I experienced this first hand as my 10 year old son jumped at every opportunity to ham it up for the camera. From the Rickshaw ride, to the labor of carrying heavy baskets on a pole, to getting water from the communal tap, he enjoyed every minute of it, and our family members 6,000 miles away in Los Angeles also got to instantly share in our experience, as we were both texting and emailing our photos away!

We call this first step in the photo opportunity process, “socializing” the opportunity. When a guest texts or emails their photo to their friends and other contacts in their social network, they are “socializing” the experience. your 4D film library We are working on enhancing the guest experience for another one of our clients, and one of their main goals is to not only improve The author’s son poses for a photo at that was instantly sent to the guest experience but to find additional family and friends halfway around the world. Photo courtesy of Norman J. Kahn. sources of revenue. One of our solutions is to try [email protected] www.stereodome.com 37 Los Angeles: +1 323 576 4005 London: +44 20 3514 9167 Hong Kong: +852 5808 2647 are trackable and measurable for purposes of determining impact.

While these ideas are just being experimented with now, in the future the truly integrated photo opportunity will continue to evolve and provide much more than just a picture. In fact, they can provide so much more to sophisticated operators, the old adage “A picture is worth 1,000 words” may need to be updated to “A picture provides 1,000 opportunities.” • • •

Norman Kahn is an award-winning producer who has spent the last 25 years designing, producing and operating large-scale attractions for theme This promotional photo of Old Hong Kong Street at Ocean Park Hong Kong showcases the parks and special venues for clients around many different photo opportunities available in this section of the park.Photo courtesy of the globe including Universal Studios, Warner Ocean Park. Bros., Paramount Parks, and Six Flags. His most recent projects include “Symbio” a new nighttime and convert this “socialization” of the photos into email, or other social networks as appropriate, spectacular multi media attraction at Ocean Park “monetization.” We have begun to experiment 2) enter their photo to “win a contest” for their in Hong Kong, and events for the Olympics and with creating photo opportunities that also pic, 3) get a 10% off coupon or free dessert at Live Nation Entertainment. He is CEO of Utopia include a QR bar scan code. When the guest an in-park dining location, or 4) get a discount Entertainment located in Los Angeles, California. snaps their pic, they can also scan this code, or free item for purchasing merchandise today. which takes them to a custom designed interface These last two items are intended to monetize For more information visit: portal where they can do the following things: 1) the photo opportunity, and they provide not www.utopiaworldwide.com upload their photo to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, only additional revenue opportunities, but they