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3D Scanning Booths at Events: Mitigating Risk

comic con.jpgOne of the most popular business models for 3D printed figurines is taking a 3D scanner to events. Events can provide many benefits over keeping your scanning business in a fixed location such as a mall or studio. In this post we are going to talk about what makes for a succesful events and how you can avoid situations where the event you attend ends up being unprofitable.

About 1/2 of all Twindom customers take their scanners to events on a regular basis. Customers tell us that events work well, because they draw large crowds, attract people that want to memorialize their time at the event and usually require less financial commitment than paying monthly rent for a fixed location. Our customers that are most sucessful with events:

Book 2-3 events per month: If you're only going to do events with your scanner and not have a fixed location, you need to calculate how many events you need to do per month to breakeven. For most customers this means having a consistent pipeline of 2-3 events booked per month. Many make the mistake of booking 1 event at a time and forgetting that event organizers and venues require event deposits 3-6 months in advance making it difficult to get to 2-3 events per month consistently. For months you're going to be active, always have multiple events booked.

Target +5,000 person events: If you are going to an event where you are paying to be there, you need to make sure there are enough people attending to make it worth it for you. If an event only has 1,500 people attending you likely won’t see enough foot traffic by your booth to make the event fee worth it. Event fees typically range from $500 to $1,500

Understand their event attendees: You need to make sure the people attending the event have the money to afford your retail prices. If attendees only come to an event with $30 and your prices start at $40, then it is unlikely you will sell very much product. For example, if your event is only attended by teenagers then you need to make sure that your retail pricing is something they can afford with the money their parents gave them for the show.

Want to read case studies about what specific types of events work best?

Request 3D Photography Event Guide