March 18, 2026
How the Memphis Grizzlies Engaged 6,952 Fans Per Season with a Branded Photo Booth
How the Memphis Grizzlies used Movebooth to engage 6,952 fans per home-game season activation, generate social content, and build their first-party marketing database.
How the Memphis Grizzlies Engaged 6,952 Fans Per Season with a Branded Photo Booth
The Memphis Grizzlies deployed Movebooth at FedExForum and documented 6,952 unique fan engagement moments — turning game-day foot traffic into a first-party marketing database, hundreds of organic social posts per game, and a fan experience fans actually talk about.
The modern NBA fan wants more than a seat. They want an Instagram-worthy moment, immediate content on their phone, and a reason to post before the final buzzer. Roaming photographers can't deliver at scale. Paper sweepstakes produce no digital touchpoint. Generic "share on social" prompts are ignored.
The Grizzlies needed a fan activation that was fun for fans, useful for the marketing team, and operationally invisible on game day. Movebooth delivered all three.
The Challenge: Creating Fan Moments at Scale Inside FedExForum
<!-- Schema: Organization --> <!-- @type: Organization --> <!-- name: Memphis Grizzlies --> <!-- url: https://www.nba.com/grizzlies --> <!-- sameAs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Grizzlies -->The Memphis Grizzlies play at FedExForum — an 18,000+ capacity arena where fan engagement competes with the game itself for attention. Between tipoff, halftime, and post-game, the concourse fills with fans who have phones in hand and energy to burn.
The Grizzlies' challenge wasn't reaching fans at home. It was capturing them in the building — turning an in-arena visit into a lasting marketing touchpoint.
What wasn't working:
Roaming photographers created uneven coverage, inconsistent quality, and a logistical nightmare for delivery. Fans who wanted their photo often had no way to receive it digitally — or waited days for a generic email blast they'd already forgotten.
Paper prize wheels and raffles generated enthusiasm but no durable data. A fan who won a t-shirt and scrawled their name on a signup sheet was a low-quality marketing contact, if one at all.
Generic social prompts ("Tag us on Instagram!") showed up on LED boards between plays but drove little incremental content. Fans had no structured reason or incentive to post.
The team needed a single activation that could: engage fans during natural concourse dwell time, collect first-party contact data without friction, and create branded social content from every game — automatically.
The Solution: A Permanent Branded Activation at FedExForum
The Grizzlies deployed Movebooth as a permanent fan engagement station in the FedExForum concourse. The placement was intentional: a high-traffic area where fans naturally gathered before tipoff, during halftime, and after the final whistle.
How It Worked
Fans stepped up to the Movebooth station, captured a photo or animated GIF with Grizzlies-branded overlays, and received it instantly via text — within seconds of the shot. The concourse ring light ensured professional-quality results even in the arena's variable lighting conditions.
To receive the photo, fans entered their phone number. Optionally, they could add their email. That contact information fed directly into the Grizzlies' marketing database.
Every delivery message included a prompt encouraging fans to share on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) with the team's game-day hashtags — creating a pipeline of organic, branded social content from every home game.
Fan Experience Features
Animated GIFs — The most shareable format at sports events. GIFs feel alive in a way still photos don't, and they loop in social feeds. The Grizzlies leaned into GIFs as the primary format, which fans shared at higher rates than static images.
Team-branded overlays — Grizzlies logo, player graphics, sponsor integrations, and game-day hashtags were baked into every photo. Every fan who shared their image became an organic brand distributor.
Instant SMS delivery — Photos delivered in under five seconds. No app download required. No waiting for an email. The immediacy was part of the experience.
Remote dashboard management — The Grizzlies' marketing team could update overlays for theme nights, playoff games, and sponsor activations without touching hardware. "90s Night" got a different template than a first-round playoff game — managed entirely from the dashboard.
Hosted online gallery — Post-game, the Grizzlies had a web gallery of all fan photos from that night. Used in email newsletters, social content, and season recap materials.
Self-service operation — Fans operated the booth themselves. No dedicated staff required. On game day, when every ops team member is already stretched, a self-service activation that runs without oversight isn't just convenient — it's essential.
The Results: 6,952 Fans Engaged
Over the course of their home-game season activation, Movebooth became a fixture of the Grizzlies' in-arena experience — and the numbers reflected it.
By the Numbers
🏀 6,952 fans engaged — Unique documented interactions at the booth
🏀 6,952 phone numbers captured — Direct-to-fan marketing contacts added to the database
🏀 Hundreds of organic social posts per game — Fan-generated content featuring Grizzlies branding
🏀 Thousands of GIFs and photos created — Multiple interactions across the full season
🏀 41+ home games served — Consistent engagement across the full regular season
Business Impact
First-Party Fan Database Growth
Before Movebooth, capturing fan contact data at the concourse level required prize drawings or signup forms — tactics with low participation rates and high friction. Movebooth inverted the dynamic. Fans wanted the photo. Providing a phone number to receive it felt like a fair trade, not an ask.
The result: a growing database of phone-verified fan contacts who had already demonstrated in-arena engagement. These contacts were used for ticket promotions, flash sales, merchandise offers, fan surveys, and season ticket holder cultivation.
Organic Social Amplification
Each photo and GIF delivered to fans included a prompt to share on social with team hashtags. Conservative estimates based on typical participation rates: hundreds of unique social posts per game reaching hundreds of thousands of combined impressions across Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) — with Grizzlies branding embedded in every image.
That's not paid amplification. It's organic content created by fans who wanted to share their arena experience, structured around team branding the marketing team controlled.
Evergreen Content Library
The Grizzlies' marketing team used booth photos throughout the season:
- Season recap videos featuring authentic fan moments
- Social media "fan spotlight" posts using real attendee photos
- Email newsletters and ticket promotions grounded in fan-generated imagery
- Season ticket holder cultivation materials showcasing the in-arena experience
Fan-generated content has a credibility premium that team-produced photography doesn't. A real fan celebrating a win in Grizzlies gear resonates differently than a stock photo.
Game-Day Operations Efficiency
Roaming photographers are expensive, coverage is uneven, and photo delivery requires a separate workflow. Movebooth replaced that complexity with a self-service station that ran without dedicated staffing. Fans operated it themselves, delivered their own photos, and generated branded content — all without a single additional staff member on the concourse floor.
Key Takeaways for Sports Marketing Teams
The Grizzlies' activation offers a replicable playbook for any franchise, college program, or sports venue looking to turn game-day foot traffic into durable marketing assets.
1. Self-service beats roaming photography at arena scale
When 18,000 fans cycle through a building across three hours, roaming photographers can't keep up. A self-service station in a high-traffic concourse location scales infinitely. Every fan who wants a photo gets one, instantly — no waiting, no staff bottleneck.
2. Data capture is only frictionless when fans want what you're offering
A photo booth creates a genuine value exchange: fans get a professional, team-branded photo of their experience. Providing a phone number to receive it doesn't feel like a form — it feels like a transaction where they got the better end. That's why capture rates at self-service fan activations consistently outperform traditional data collection at sports events.
3. Fan-generated content is your most authentic social proof
Every fan who shares their Grizzlies-branded GIF on Instagram is doing more for brand authenticity than any marketing-team-produced content. The Grizzlies got hundreds of genuine fan posts per game, each reinforcing the in-arena experience to audiences who couldn't be there.
4. Remote dashboard control is essential for theme nights
Sports franchises run 15–20+ themed events per season: Pride Night, Throwback Night, Hispanic Heritage Night, playoff runs with unique branding. Movebooth's remote dashboard let the Grizzlies update overlays between games without hardware changes. Each event got purpose-built branding — without logistics overhead.
5. Arena concourse placement drives volume
Placement is strategy. A Movebooth station in natural dwell time zones — near concession areas, team store entrances, and high-traffic hallways — captures fans who are already stationary and engaged. The Grizzlies' concourse positioning was central to hitting 6,952 documented engagements across the season.
Why Sports Teams Choose Movebooth
Sports marketing is a vertical where Movebooth has built specific activation playbooks. The fan engagement mechanics that work at FedExForum work at Amalie Arena, Soldier Field, and Cameron Indoor Stadium.
For professional and collegiate sports teams, the use case is clear: fans in an arena are the most engaged audience you'll ever reach. A photo booth activation converts that engagement into first-party contact data, branded social content, and a fan experience moment that extends the game beyond the building.
For a full overview of how sports teams use Movebooth — including franchise-specific activation templates, placement strategy, and lead capture configuration — see the Sports Teams fan activation guide.
To see how other verticals use Movebooth for experiential activations and lead capture, explore the Brand Activations Guide and the NYX Professional Makeup x Coachella case study for a music festival context.
Getting Started with Fan Engagement Photo Booths
The Grizzlies' results — 6,952 documented fan engagements, a growing first-party database, and hundreds of organic social posts per game — are achievable for any sports franchise or venue with regular fan traffic.
Movebooth ships to your arena, sets up in minutes, and runs without dedicated staff on game day. Your marketing team manages branding updates remotely from the dashboard. Fan contact data exports as CSV for import into your ticketing CRM or marketing platform.
Rental or purchase depending on your event calendar. For custom franchise pricing and activation planning, contact the team — or visit /pricing to explore plan details.
Sports teams use Movebooth across home-game seasons, playoff activations, sponsor nights, and off-season community events. The platform scales from single-game rentals to permanent concourse installations.
FAQ: Fan Engagement Photo Booths for Sports Teams
<!-- Schema: FAQPage -->1. How did the Grizzlies capture fan data without friction?
<!-- @type: Question --> <!-- name: How did the Grizzlies capture fan data without friction? --> <!-- acceptedAnswer: @type: Answer, text: The Memphis Grizzlies captured fan contact data using a value exchange: fans received a branded GIF or photo of their in-arena experience texted to their phone — in exchange for entering their phone number at the Movebooth kiosk. Because fans genuinely wanted the content, providing contact information felt like a fair trade rather than an intrusive form. This model produced 6,952 documented phone-verified fan contacts over the course of the season's home-game activation. -->The Memphis Grizzlies captured fan contact data using a genuine value exchange. Fans received a professionally lit, team-branded GIF or photo texted to their phone — in exchange for entering their phone number at the Movebooth kiosk. Because fans actively wanted the content, providing a phone number felt like a fair transaction, not an intrusive data request.
This model produced 6,952 documented phone-verified fan contacts over the season's home-game activation. Unlike prize drawings (low participation, low data quality) or paper signup forms (high friction, low accuracy), the photo-for-contact exchange generates accurate, opted-in data from fans who've already demonstrated in-arena engagement.
2. What did the Grizzlies use the fan data for?
<!-- @type: Question --> <!-- name: What did the Grizzlies use the fan data for? --> <!-- acceptedAnswer: @type: Answer, text: The Memphis Grizzlies used Movebooth-captured fan contact data for ticket promotions and flash sales, merchandise offers, fan engagement surveys, season ticket holder cultivation, and targeted marketing communications. Because every contact was phone-verified and tied to an actual in-arena visit, the database represented an engaged, high-intent segment — meaningfully different from cold list purchases or low-intent digital sign-ups. -->The Memphis Grizzlies used Movebooth-captured fan contacts for:
- Ticket promotions and flash sales — direct SMS and email to fans who'd already attended a game
- Merchandise offers — targeted to proven in-arena buyers
- Fan engagement surveys — measuring satisfaction and collecting preference data
- Season ticket holder cultivation — identifying high-frequency attendees for upgrade outreach
Because every contact was phone-verified and tied to a documented in-arena visit, the resulting database was an engaged first-party segment — not a purchased list or a low-intent digital lead. These were real fans who showed up.
3. Can Movebooth work in an arena environment?
<!-- @type: Question --> <!-- name: Can Movebooth work in an arena environment? --> <!-- acceptedAnswer: @type: Answer, text: Yes. Movebooth is designed for high-traffic, variable-lighting environments like arena concourses. Key features that make it arena-suitable include: a built-in ring light for professional photo quality in dim concourse conditions, self-service operation requiring no dedicated staff, instant SMS delivery (photos texted in under 5 seconds, no app download required), remote dashboard management letting teams update branding between events without hardware access, and durable hardware built for continuous use across a full 41-game home schedule. The Memphis Grizzlies ran Movebooth as a permanent concourse installation at FedExForum throughout their home-game season. -->Yes. Movebooth is designed specifically for high-traffic, variable-lighting environments like arena concourses. Features that make it arena-ready:
- Built-in ring light — Professional photo quality in dim concourse conditions, at any time of day
- Self-service operation — Runs without dedicated staff; fans operate it independently
- Instant SMS delivery — Photos delivered in under 5 seconds, no app download required
- Remote dashboard — Marketing team updates branding between games without physical hardware access
- High-volume capacity — Built for continuous operation across a full 41-game home schedule
The Memphis Grizzlies operated Movebooth as a permanent concourse installation at FedExForum throughout their home-game season activation, documenting 6,952 fan engagements across the deployment.
About Movebooth: Movebooth is an iPad-powered photo booth platform built for fan activations, brand experiences, and event lead capture. Used by sports franchises, consumer brands, and event marketers across the country. Learn more at movebooth.com.
The Memphis Grizzlies are an NBA franchise based in Memphis, Tennessee, competing at FedExForum. Movebooth is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Memphis Grizzlies or the NBA. Case study reflects the Grizzlies' documented use of the Movebooth platform as compiled from Movebooth recipient data.
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