Re: Holiday Painting at the Mall

by Shannon Fennell on Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:02 am

I can't think that painting in a mall at Christmas would be profitable. I hope you manage to come out ahead and get some results from your marketing.

Just playing Devil's Advocate here...

1) people are on a mission - SHOPPING, not there for entertainment purposes. Crowded, stressed and wanting to get out as quick as they can.

2) if they bring the kids it is to see Santa, kids usually dressed for photos, don't want a) to be painted in the photo b) get make-up on the nice clothes

3) Cost - malls don't give away space. Would have to be extremely busy in order to make back your investment in the space.

4) Any marketing is good, but, I don't think that busy people trying to shop, see santa, etc. are the most receptive. It may be that there will be some good leads BUT, if as you are experiencing, you aren't getting any real interest then you don't have an opportunity to show off what you can do to the potential clients....

I had to stop at the mall a week ago last Saturday to mail a parcel on my home from a gig... it was horrible. Parking was a nightmare, the crush inside was smothering, you could only manouver along single file around the crowd, you couldn't even get in the food court...

by Miss Ronnie on Thu Dec 15, 2011 9:27 am

This spring I got an "in" at one of our local malls by doing a friend a favor. I sat with her and her daughter at her aunt's store in the mall all day with a very small paint set-up. My friend twisted balloons and her daughter played games with the kids that came in. That was a marketing opportunity and although there was no money involved, it paid off because the aunt is friends with some of the people who operate the mall. So I got to paint there this weekend by Santa Land... for practically next to nothing in booth fees. And they have already booked me for some other upcoming mall happenings. In this neck of the woods where professional face painting is still considered a novel idea and not as common as in other states or countries, one has to work hard to market themselves and convince people that they NEED face painting for their event or business. So sometimes you have to work for free or for peanuts to get something off the ground. I also had to paint for "tips only" for two months at a restaurant while the manager tried to get his corporate office to approve paying me a fee...
santa

by rosecanino on Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:32 am

Yes Sharon I agree with all of your points. I did not think about that initially but thought hey this is where the kids. I put a coupon on the back of my cards to get $5 or $10 off a party. I am going to hand these out to the people in the line and introduce myself. Even if I don't get many interested in getting their faces painted I might get a few people check out my site.

by rosecanino on Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:44 am

scgilland wrote:This is something I am considering too, I was offered a booth for $500 a month at my local mall, and am still milling around with it. I can set my own hours and my kiosk will be advertising when I am not there. $500 is alot for me in one month, but I am thinking I may want to try it for one, just to see how it does.

This is a tough decision. Initially when I first read your topic about this I thought that the price seemed really great (compared to what I am paying per day). But you have to consider how many hours you are willing to put into it and how many faces you need to paint per day to make a profit. I think the best advertising we can get is for people to see us in action and I am not so sure that malls are the best place for face painting. This is just based on my own experience so far but I think people are not in celebrate mode but in mission mode most times at the mall. If you could offer other products or services (like hair feathers). I think those are pretty popular right now, and adults and teenagers would like them as well. Henna is another option. I noticed that there are a lot of teenagers hanging out at the mall. If you do decide to do it I would figure out how to market to them as well... even with some pictures and examples of designs that they would like. I would approach it as a marketing move and not have too many expectations about making a big profit.

by Miss Ronnie on Thu Dec 15, 2011 11:38 am

Honestly, I don't think $500.00 a month is that bad and I would probably pay it if offered... especially since you can most likely include glitter tattoos and hair tinsel/feathers, too.
Might be worth it... unless your mall traffic is dead or they were going to stick you in the nether region of the mall.