In 2019, the Société des musées du Québec (SMQ) commissioned MySmartJourney to test a virtual photo booth in 11 museums across the province. It was used as part of the “Les musées du Québec: des émotions à partager” campaign, which received an Award of Excellence from the Canadian Museums Association.

Making the Visit More Fun with a Virtual Photo Booth in 11 Museums Across Quebec

At each of the 11 participating museums, a display invited visitors to take a photo booth picture. Visitors activated it with their cell phones using an NFC chip, a QR code, or a web address. The web address even lets you get started from a laptop, and the experience works on all platforms. The technology is hidden behind the display: there’s nothing to scratch off or install.

Visitors take a photo of themselves, and the museum’s logo is added to the image. They can add stickers and the campaign’s emojis—using multiple ones, moving them around, and choosing a format. The layout is customized for each museum. At the Marguerite-Bourgeois Museum, for example, the photo features the museum’s logo and the hashtag #museefamille. The result looks like a one-of-a-kind postcard, created by the visitor themselves.

A Family Contest Centered Around #museefamille

The campaign included a contest organized by Les musées du Québec: win a family weekend exploring Montreal’s museums. Visitors looked for the “Les musées du Québec” banner, followed the instructions, and shared photos of their visit with the hashtag #museefamille to enter.

For the occasion, MySmartJourney was used to create content on its platform for several museums, including the Cosmodome, the Musée maritime du Québec, the Musée Boréalis, the Jardins de Métis, the Musée de Charlevoix, the Musée du Fjord, the Musée POP, the Musée de l’ingéniosité J. Armand Bombardier, and the Musée régional de Rimouski.

From Memories to Sharing: A Landing Page and Statistics That Every Museum Controls

The photo can be downloaded to the visitor’s device to keep as a family keepsake, send via email, or post on Instagram. It can also be shared directly on Facebook—as a Story or in the News Feed—with a hashtag, a quote, and the photo already included. Every time the photo is shared, it raises the museum’s profile among the visitor’s network.

When a friend clicks on the post, they’re taken to a landing page that the museum controls at all times. The content can change in real time: it can link to the museum’s website, announce the week’s programming, or offer a discount. The photo continues to circulate, and the accompanying message stays up to date.

Each page is linked to the museum’s Facebook pixel and Google tag. This allows the teams to track shares and determine whether the person was already following their page. If a photo is viewed 150 times, for example, it means the person who posted it has a large network within the museum community.

The photo booth starts at a physical location—the museum. It spreads online through sharing, and it can bring other people to the museum to experience the same activity. MySmartJourney offers this module to museums that want to make the visit more engaging, with visuals and content tailored to their specific project.