Project Overview

In 2008 we set out to create a fully commercial, portable, single operator, Photo Booth aimed at others wanting to emulate our rental business model and to bridge the gap between photos, social media and big brands. The product was designed to provide a better way for people to operate a Photo Booth hire business with less hassle, in less time while also reducing their costs and increasing their profit margins. It was also designed to be customisable and up-gradable while we continually develop more add-ons, upgrades and features, new software and apps and new concepts to help our customers achieve more differentiation and to stand out as leaders in the industry.

Organisation

Red Robot Pty Ltd

Team

Duncan Amos (Product Designer)
Phil Preston (Photographic & Software)

Project Brief

The winner of the ACT Innovations Grant, our Photo Booth product is amazingly unique in Australia and the world. So much so that manufacturers in Australia and other countries are now emulating our platform to access our unique selling points.

We were the first to manufacture commercially in Australia and we are now the largest Photo Booth supplier with more than double the amount of customers/members than any of our nearest competitors.

In terms of social media effectiveness of our solutions, our Photo Booths significantly contributed to a 30,000 Facebook follower increase for the Lipton brand over a 3 month period. At the other end of the scale we also achieved over 2,000 followers in 6 months for a small boutique pub/café using another photo sharing solution. In addition there were over 500,000 branded online impressions for the same client.

Project Innovation/Need

First and foremost the market needed something portable and durable. Durability was a huge requirement as most often the Photo Booth is used at large events with large volumes of foot traffic. Portability was also key for business to reduce the cost of set up and removal labour for each activation or event. Our concept is unique in that it strikes a perfect balance between both durability and portability and can be set up by a single person in a simple process that takes less than 5 minutes.

The customisable and upgrade-able platform of the product has also allowed our customers to build and reflect their brand (or a customers brand) in a variety of different ways and to separate themselves from competition.

Clever software to allow our Photo Booths to harness the opportunity between photo sharing and social media has also been key allowing us to play a major part in some very significant marketing campaigns.

Design Challenge

The market is continually in need of portability and durability. Striking a balance between the two has been a major design challenge. Durability is required as the Photo Booth is used most often subject to large throughput of foot traffic. The Photo Booth is essentially a small scale building that needs to be safe and durable enough for large volumes. We also needed something portable that could be operated by a single person without compromising structural integrity. For business needs, sending out multiple people to set up and operate a Photo Booth is not ideal. With a combination of materials and design inspired by earthquake proof building concepts the Photo Booth has achieved the durability required while also being portable enough for a single person operation.

Large brands and marketers have also been searching for a way to harness the massive potential of photos sharing via social media effectively. In terms of social media and branding ability, a clever use of software has allowed marketers to use our Photo Booths in public spaces and events to gain followers and allow users to connect directly with brands through a unique and fun experience.

Sustainability

We are very proud to be a completely Australian and a local designer and manufacturer providing employment to Australians. It has been hard to maintain but it is integral to our business culture and our future aims to remain an Australian manufacturer. We employ local Australians and work with Australian supplier and manufacturers as much as possible. All of our design and programming work is done in house along with our product manufacture.

Our design has been continually revised to reduce weight and components for both durability and to lower freight and handling impacts. In place of traditional studio flash strobes, we now use energy efficient LED lighting which requires fewer components and less power draw to operate. In addition the LED lighting is safer and again reduces weight and space.