Getting invited to an event is one thing.
Getting invited back is different.
Of course the pictures need to look good. The equipment needs to work. The border needs to fit the event. Guests need to have fun.
But after doing this for a while, one thing has become pretty clear: those things aren't the whole answer.
Sometimes you learn more from the little things people say when they don't realize they're answering the question for you.
Sometimes They Remember You First
Sometimes guests recognize Lotsa Laffs almost as soon as an event gets going.
“We remember you from last year.”
Or even better:
“Glad you're back.”
Those comments stick because these aren't necessarily the people who did the hiring.
They remembered taking pictures. They remembered having fun. And when they saw Lotsa Laffs again, they made the connection.
That's a pretty good way to start an event.
The Person Who Hires Us Isn't the Only Person Paying Attention
Something interesting can happen away from the event where a relationship originally started.
Someone sees the Lotsa Laffs name at a completely different event and realizes we've already been working together somewhere else.
There's that moment of recognition.
Wait. That's you?
Sometimes there's already been plenty of communication without ever actually meeting face-to-face. Then suddenly we're standing there together at another event.
It's a reminder that when we're working an event, the person who booked us isn't the only person experiencing Lotsa Laffs.
People notice.
Sometimes the Client Tells You Why
We don't have to guess every time.
After several years with one organization, an event organizer left a review describing the Lotsa Laffs team as professional, friendly, easy to coordinate with and flexible when their planning ran into some bumps.
The review also pointed to something that matters even more than any single event: the organization had continued choosing to work with Lotsa Laffs year after year.
That meant a lot.
Not simply because they wanted us back, but because they explained why.
The experience guests see at the event matters. So does everything that happens before we ever take the first picture.
Sometimes the Little Things Aren't Little
Events don't always go exactly according to plan.
Spaces can be tighter than expected. Timelines move. Plans change. Something that sounded simple beforehand turns out to need a little more thought once we're actually there.
That's part of events.
Our job isn't to make every little adjustment feel like a crisis. It's to figure out what needs to happen and keep moving.
Most guests will never know about those little things.
And that's kind of the point.
Coming Back Doesn't Mean Standing Still
There's another side to being invited back that matters to us.
We don't want to show up and think, Well, we did this before. Just do exactly the same thing again.
We're still watching.
Could something work better? Could the pictures look better? Is there something we learned at another event that would help here? Is there a small change that would make the experience easier or more fun?
Sometimes the answer is yes.
We can come back to the same event and still find something we can do better the next time.
We're still learning.
And Then There Are the Moments You Can't Plan
Some of the things we remember most aren't part of the photo booth at all.
At the end of an event, we had started packing everything away.
While we were cleaning up, we got to talking with one of the people we'd spent the event working with. We asked about his trip home, the conversation turned into a little joking back and forth, and then he looked at both of us and said:
“You are family.”
That's the part we remember.
It wasn't a testimonial. It wasn't something we asked him to say. It was just a comment that came out of a conversation after spending time together.
And maybe that's part of the answer too.
So, What Makes an Organization Want You Back?
There isn't one magic thing.
It's the pictures.
It's whether the guests had fun.
It's how easy everything was to coordinate.
It's what happens when something needs to change.
It's paying attention.
It's remembering that we're there to be part of somebody else's event, not make the event about us.
And sometimes you don't know you've made an impression until you come back and somebody looks at you and says:
“We remember you.”
Being invited back is great.
Being remembered when you get there is even better.
Why call it Lotsa Laffs if you can't have fun?