Citizen Systems Blog

Emotional Advertising Works

Schneider, the writing instrument manufacturer, is delighting visitors and employees with a new gift: the printed photo from the click-it Fotobox. The highlight: After a few seconds, the user holds a finished picture in his or her hands. The integrated Citizen printer, from the CX series, prints photos reliably and quickly – as a personal reminder or souvenir to keep.

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Promotional products are an indispensable part of marketing. Companies use them to win new customers or maintain relationships with regular customers. A specialist in advertising writing instruments, such as Schneider, knows best from its own experience how promotional products work. The well-known manufacturer of writing instruments, which meet the highest standards of quality, writing comfort and longevity, also attaches great importance to ensuring that a giveaway is really useful. At the same time, the company prides itself on its pioneering spirit and open-mindedness towards that which is new, not only in the continuous development and adaptation of its product range, but also in the selection of its own advertising material or promotional products.

Since September 2017, Schneider has been using a new giveaway for internal and external communication; printed photos from the click-it Fotobox. The high-quality instant prints of the photographs surprise and delight visitors and employees and make for a gift with a personal touch.

The decision to buy the click-it Fotobox was made thanks to a positive test with a rented Fotobox at an event. As Schneider wanted to use the booth at several events, it quickly became clear that buying one would be more worthwhile than just renting one. An important decision criterion when purchasing the new box was the quality, which is why the choice fell on the purchase of a professional click-it Fotobox. Another benefit was the collaboration with the manufacturer from Reutlingen which was excellent, right from the start.

When it is not being mobilised at events, the Fotobox stands in the reception area at Schneider, right next to the showcases in which the products are exhibited. “At the end of a company tour with customers, partners or even students, we often take a photo of our visitors, together with our employees, and report about it on the intranet. In the past, our internal photographer had to be called every time and this was very time-consuming. So, there were several reasons which encouraged us to make the decision to buy the Fotobox”, explains Martina Schneider, spokeswoman for Schneider.


A mobile photo-booth which offers studio quality

The click-it Fotobox is a mobile photo-booth which has been especially developed for events and fairs. Inspired by the classic photo-booth, it uses state-of-the-art technology to produce studio-quality images. The photographs are triggered by the visitors themselves by means of a stylish buzzer and are immediately printed out or further processed in the direct upload at the terminal. The operation of the terminal is very simple and takes place via the touchscreen in a modern user-interface.

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For fast and reliable printing, the compact Citizen printers from the CX series are built into the Fotobox. After just a few seconds, the visitors hold a finished picture in their hands. “We've been working with Citizen for three years and the printers run smoothly. There have never been any complaints”, says click-it CEO, Ronny Buck. “As we developed our own software for our photo-booth systems, it was very helpful that Citizen made an SDK easily available to us”, he says, satisfied with the collaboration.

The Fotobox is very well-received by visitors. “Above all, the handling is very simple. You just have to turn it on and everything happens by itself”, explains Martina Schneider.

“Every employee can operate the device without training and, since it is permanently installed in one place, the camera settings are always the same. This makes it relatively easy for everyone”. Continues Martina Schneider

High print-quality thanks to the Citizen CX-02

The built-in Citizen CX-02 photo printer impresses with its quality and mobility. It fits into small and narrow spaces, is easy to transport due to its low weight, and is therefore ideal for event photography. Another big advantage is its high-quality printing: It prints photos in laboratory quality, in 300 or 600 dpi, in just eight seconds! Depending on your requirements, it produces photographs in glossy or matt, measuring 10 x 15 cm or 15 x 20 cm, whereby the same media is used without any waste of materials. Energy-saving in use, it reduces stand-by power consumption by up to 98%. The user-friendly printer is easy to put into operation and enables uncomplicated, fast media changes.

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Event photography at Schneider

In September 2017, the Fotobox was used for the first time at the opening party for a new building. The next day, it was there for the second time, this time at the charity run, an annual sports event. Here, the runners took group photos, which were then distributed. Whereas, in the past, a photographer barely had the time to take photos of all the participants, these participants can now print their photos themselves, with the result that many more runners are able to be seen in the photos.

Another advantage is the data processing of the photos, Martina Schneider says happily: “If we use the data later on our intranet, we have the raw data and can use the images – naturally subject to the approval that we have been given”.

The smooth and secure network operation required a professional integration of the Fotobox into Schneider’s infrastructure. “In order to make it into a ‘Company Fotobox’, we had to fulfil substantial requirements for integration into the company’s processes and the local network”, explains Ronny Buck, Managing Director of click-it image systems. “In collaboration with the IT department, we were able to integrate the Fotobox into the network and to conform to Schneider’s high security standards”.

Emotional Marketing Element

Schneider is delighted with the photographic medium. “Especially in this age of selfies, people take photos with their mobile phones all over the place. Nowadays, one tends not to print them out though – however, if one does get such a photo in print form, one tends to display it as a souvenir. If one has taken the photograph with someone who one really likes, e.g. one’s favourite colleague, then the whole thing is given an emotional touch – it is because of this emotionality that it is such a good marketing element for us”, Martina Schneider explains.

The Fotobox fits perfectly into Schneider‘s marketing concept: “At events, one often needs a give-away and we place great value on function and useability. The budget is, of course, often limited and, even in this respect, the Fotobox is excellent”, explains Martina Schneider. “One has a reasonably-priced, individual give-away, yet it is still personal”.

In addition, Schneider is using the Fotobox for internal employee communication. When new employees start at the company, they are included in the intranet with a photograph. The photographs are quickly and practically taken with the click-it Fotobox and, in this way, new employees are introduced to their new colleagues. “What I also really appreciate is the emotional aspect. One is reminded of an event or has photographs of one’s favourite colleagues”, Martina Schreiber explains when describing the variety of uses of the photographs for internal and external communication at Schneider.

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“We are pleased about this successful project with our partner, click-it, which is enabling the versatile use of the Fotobox with our CX-02 photo-printer at Schneider”, says Jörk Schüßler, Marketing Director EMEA of Citizen Systems Europe. “We are convinced that Citizen’s brand quality, combined with the technical reliability and the creative possibilities of the Fotobox, is what our customers appreciate. With the CX-02, we are giving our partners and customers a very reliable device; they can trust that they will purchase this printer from us, a global, reliable partner, at attractive prices and that these will work reliably on a permanent basis”.