Starting In 2016, Users of Face Place Photo Booths Will Be Able to Order Coffee Mugs, Keychains & More With Their Favorite Face Place Photos; Upsell Opportunity Creates Yet Another Ancillary Revenue Stream
To Enable Distributors to Support Growing Line of Apple Face Place Products and Services, Company Will Launch Distributor Certification Program
Greenvale, NY, Dec. 16, 2015 – Apple Industries has so many new products, new programs and new ideas pouring out of its factory doors these days that it’s starting to become a challenge to keep up with them all.
To help the company’s global distributor network stay up to speed, Apple hosted nearly 100 enthusiastic distribution professionals from dozens of distributorships around the world to an exclusive working breakfast on Wednesday, Nov. 18 in a ballroom in the Orange County Convention Center during the 2015 IAAPA Show.
Topping the busy agenda were three items:
- Introduction of the company’s blockbuster new product, the Face Place Photo Studio Deluxe.
- A preview of a new Product Fulfillment Program that will launch in 2016.
- Announcement of Apple’s first-ever Distributor Certification Program beginning in January of next year.
“We are taking Apple Industries to a whole new level — and we’re taking our distributors with us every step of the way!” said CEO Allen Weisberg.
Here are the details:
Photo Studio Deluxe
Photo Studio Deluxe stands 90 x 70 x 66 inches and is designed to accommodate large groups of customers at one time.
Since there is no curtain to conceal customer from passers-by, the antics of the users (led by video prompts) and the unique interior “light show” create a compelling attraction that not only grabs the public’s attention, but compels people to try the experience for themselves.
At IAAPA, Apple officials noted that distributors from the Middle East were especially enthusiastic about the Photo Studio Deluxe.
“The Mediterranean and North African market is especially family oriented and they love physically large attractions that can the whole family can enjoy together,” said Allen Weisberg. “Our Mideast distributors made it very clear that Photo Studio Deluxe is especially perfect for their part of the world.”
Additional information about the Photo Studio Deluxe is available in a separate news release.
Product Fulfillment Program
A new upgrade – free to operators, as usual – is coming early next year to all Apple Face Place Photo Booths that run on Smile 2.0 operating system. This upgrade will enable operators to generate yet another ancillary stream of revenue when customers take their photos, then order customized (photo- emblazoned) coffee mugs, keychains, thermoses, tote bags, iPhone cases, picture frames and more directly from the booth.
Customers will pay the standard vend price for their print photos, and then they may decide on any or all of several upsells including larger prints or additional prints; instant electronic posting to social media such as Facebook, Twitter and now Instagram; and – with the addition of this new upgrade – products customized with their own photos, taken right in the booth and ordered immediately from the booth.
Suggested vend prices for photo-customized products are in the $20 and up range, giving operators a significant profit margin on $5-7 wholesale cost per item.
“If just 10% of Face Place customers order a photo-customized product, it can double the profitability of that photo booth,” said Mel LaForce, Apple vice-president of U.S. sales and marketing. “This is one more exciting way that Apple is working to ensure that every Face Place Photo Booth is an asset whose value continues to appreciate year after year, because its earnings continue to climb year after year.”
Apple said its Product Fulfillment Service will be right in step with today’s “gotta-have-it- now” culture. All Apple photo-customized products will be created and shipped on the same day they are ordered. Customers will be able to select their desired shipping speed, paying a premium for overnight service or spending a little less for standard two- day or three-day shipping.
By the way, the Product Fulfillment Service will be supported by an email marketing program. On key dates such as Christmas season and other holidays, Face Place customers will receive reminders that photo-customized products make great gifts for the upcoming occasion.
Distributor Certification Program
Anyone who has been paying attention to Apple Industries for the past several years has witnessed the transformation of the company’s products from a “traditional photo booth” to a networked, multi-function, “digital media hub” that can do everything from Facebook postings to (soon) product customization and ordering.
With additional forward-looking features and services due to be unveiled early next year, Apple has recognized that operators could use some hands-on education to take full advantage of their Face Place units…and, in the same spirit, distributors could use some hands-on support to enable them to provide that education to their operator customers.
Accordingly, Apple will offer its first-ever Distributor Certification Program beginning in January of next year, said Kristen Link, Director of Distributor Relations.
Apple distributors will fly to New York City for one-at-a-time, one-on-one, face- to-face training from Apple’s marketing and technology teams. To earn a certification, each distributor will become intimately familiar with the options and functionality of the Smile 2.0 operating system that powers Face Place photo booths, as well as the growing menu of features, services, upsells, upgrades and other money-making capabilities that make Face Place a versatile generator of multiple revenue streams.
“The object of our Distributor Certification Program is to help our distributors better serve their operator customers with the in-depth knowledge they need to take full advantage of this sophisticated, 21st century product,” said Link. “Distributors have been asking for this kind of training and Apple is delighted to provide it. Our distributor will do whatever it takes to help operators maximize their income and so will we!”
