Selfie venues aren’t just for teens and social media influencers craving a perfect pic for Instagram. They’ve become a coveted branding tool for businesses, including Capitol Federal Savings Bank.
For the Topeka-based company, sponsoring a selfie venue exhibit in Leawood’s Park Place helped it tackle a challenge: effectively targeting Generation Z, said Julian Parreno, an interactive development specialist at Capitol Federal. After reading an article about The Selfie Boutique, the team pitched the idea during a brainstorming session. They wanted a campaign that would speak directly to younger consumers about taking control of their finances, and the sponsorship created an interactive experience, he said.
For three months, the selfie venue featured money-themed exhibits, from a life-size Monopoly game to a room covered in $1,000-worth of pennies. Other vignettes included a money tree, money guns that could spray fake money with the bank’s logo and a Super Mario theme with Mario hitting a coin block. It generated a plethora of social media posts and tags.
“They were way ahead of the curve in sponsoring these things,” The Selfie Boutique co-founder Alex Altomare said. “It worked phenomenally well.”
The social media posts not only garnered ample attention, they helped the bank achieve its goal while doing it in a “fun and unexpected way for a financial institution,” Parreno said.
Branding potential goes well beyond banking. Zona Rosa’s Fresh Factory KC, which opened May 29, features more than a dozen eye-catching scenes. Founder India Wells-Carter wanted a new outlet for her event planning hobby and wanted to offer a space that sparked joy.
“To my surprise, we’ve had a lot of professionals wanting to use our space,” she said of the selfie venue. “It’s just a fresh way to captivate your audience.”
Entrepreneurs have used the venue to record podcasts and take pictures to promote an upcoming show. An online boutique owner used Fresh Factory to showcase a variety of outfits in front of different backgrounds. A woman who sells nutritional supplements staged them within the scenes and also posed with the products.
“This gives another space for creatives, artists and other entrepreneurs to really amplify their brand however they see fit,” Wells-Carter said. “That’s why I tell people this is so much more than a selfie.”
For Zona Rosa, the selfie venue fits the shopping center’s focus on building an amenity-rich environment and appeals to a wide variety of customers, Zona Rosa General Manager Scott Zigler said.
“It gives customers more options, and therefore more reasons to come by the property,” he said.
That’s especially important with the rise in online shopping. Both retailers and retail real estate owners must find ways to differentiate themselves, Zigler said. And Fresh Factory is a unique tenant that can attract the younger shopper who’s looking for experiences, not things.
Selfie Wrld Kansas City, part of a growing franchise model, opened in June at Town Center Plaza in Leawood. The local franchisees, Allyson and Matt Cheney, initially considered the business because Matt Cheney’s job at Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. was in jeopardy due to looming layoffs as part of the Macquarie Asset Management acquisition. Allyson Cheney is a photographer by trade with an eye for building engaging scenes.
Although his job was spared, the Olathe couple decided to continue with the franchise.
“I want it to be a welcoming space for people to come in and create and tap into that playful, creative spirit,” she said.
Selfie Wrld has received inquiries about filming music videos in the space, and area photographers view it as a place to give clients another option, she said.
“As Selfie Wrld KC owner, my job is to educate people and help them see beyond the cliché idea that pops into your head when you first hear the word, ‘selfie,’ because I do think it goes way beyond that,” she said.
