Category: Brand Awareness

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Event Photographer Case Study: The Hippo Classic Golf Outing at Catawba Island Club

Capturing Moments That Matter – While Elevating Brand Visibility and Guest Engagement

Client: The Toledo Zoo
Event: The Hippo Classic Golf Outing
Location: Catawba Island Club, Port Clinton, Ohio
Photography Sponsor: BMW of Toledo, A Yark Automotive Dealership
Lunch & Dinner Sponsor: COFC Logistics
Photographer: Kurt Nielsen Photography, Inc., Sylvania, Ohio

Overview

As a professional event photographer serving Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, I had the opportunity to work with The Toledo Zoo during their annual charity golf outing — The Hippo Classic — held at the picturesque Catawba Island Club, an exclusive destination with stunning views of Lake Erie. This premium event, designed to support the Zoo’s mission to Enjoy. Inspire. Educate. Act., offered an ideal blend of business development and philanthropy.

My role: deliver a seamless, branded, and engaging photographic experience for guests and sponsors — before, during, and after the event.

golf foursome from Comfort Line posing for a photo at The Hippo Classic benefiting the Toledo Zoo

Photography Goals

  1. Team Photos branded with event and sponsor logos
  2. Instant photo delivery for social sharing and print takeaway
  3. Event documentation of the scramble, lunch, dinner, and awards
  4. Sponsor visibility with BMW of Toledo vehicle integration
  5. Action shots of golf play and candid moments throughout the day
Scott Moewe of BMW of Toledo teeing off at the 17th tee at the Catawba Island Golf course

Our Solution: The Paparazzi Event Photography Experience

To enhance the guest and sponsor experience, I deployed my unique Paparazzi Event Photography Experience, a hybrid of professional event photography and instant photo booth delivery.

Key Features:

  • Facial recognition tagging
  • Instant galleries sent to guests via text or email
  • Fully branded photos for maximum sponsor exposure
  • Fully edited and optimized photos for best social sharing
  • Live uploads to a custom microsite for real-time access
  • On-site printing for immediate photo takeaway in keepsake folders

✅ The Paparazzi Experience ensures no one leaves wondering if they’ll ever see their event photos — they receive them instantly and share them effortlessly.

Team from Comfort Line enjoying the specialty watermelon cocktail created for the Toledo Zoo Hippo Classic

Event Highlights

🏌️‍♂️ The Golf Scramble

  • 25 business-sponsored teams with 4 players each
  • Played “Par is Your Friend” format for faster play
  • Action and team photos captured on Tee 17 near the Pro Shop
  • Additional candid moments at the Tee 18 putting green

📷 Branded Team Photos

  • BMW of Toledo featured two luxury BMWs as a branded backdrop
  • Golfers were positioned between the vehicles for each team shot
  • Photos were printed onsite and ready by dinner under the beachside Pavilion

🍽️ Event Coverage

  • Lunch at the Side Door Bar pre-tournament
  • Full coverage of dinner and awards ceremony under the Pavilion tent
  • Documented interactions, sponsor recognition, and VIP moments
photo of some of the dinner options that were prepared for the golfers by the Catawba Island Club catering team

Measurable Results

  • 📸 564 total photos captured
  • 🧑 33 guests tagged using facial recognition
  • 📁 Average of 4.1 photos per tagged guest
  • 📤 Instant access to photos via text/email and microsite
  • 🖼️ 100+ printed 4×6 branded keepsakes distributed
Toledo Zoo and Aquarium CEO Jeff Sailer posing for a photo while standing at the podium

Why This Matters for Event Planners & Sponsors

Solving Key Pain Points:

  1. No More “Where Are The Photos?” – Guests received theirs within seconds.
  2. Built-In Brand Promotion – Branded, shareable content enhanced sponsor reach.
  3. Increased Engagement – Social sharing amplified visibility for The Toledo Zoo, BMW of Toledo, and COFC Logistics, along with all of the other event sponsors.
  4. Optional Data Capture – My software also supports GDPR compliant email/phone number collection for future outreach (available for future events).
Guests waiting for lunch to start while on the patio near the Side Door Bar at the Catawba Island Club

About the Venue: Catawba Island Club

Nestled in the Catawba Cliffs, CIC is a scenic Arthur Hills-designed course offering luxury and tradition. Its pristine greens and lakeside views provided a beautiful and relaxed atmosphere — ideal for both business networking and high-end event photography.

Two brand new BMWs provided the team photo backdrop at The Hippo Classic held at The Catawba Island Club

Final Thoughts

The Hippo Classic showcased how intentional photography can do more than document an event — it can enhance guest experience, support brand storytelling, and create lasting impressions.

As an event photographer serving Toledo, Ohio, Catawba Island, and beyond, I’m proud to bring innovation, emotion, and efficiency to every project — especially those that support great causes like The Toledo Zoo.

event planners from The Toledo Zoo posing for a photo at the check-in table on the patio near the pro shop at the Catawba Island Club golf course

Thank you Toledo Zoo, for allowing me to capture these memories

A special shout-out to Grace, Nicole, and the entire events team at The Toledo Zoo for creating an amazing and fun event. The behind-the-scenes work is endless but truly appreciated by all who participate! Thank you for entrusting me to capture the day.

Nicole Overhulse and Grace Burkett from the Toledo Zoo posing for a photo before the Hippo Classic

📞 Interested in elevating your next golf outing or corporate event?

Let’s talk about how Kurt Nielsen Photography and the Paparazzi Event Photography Experience can transform your fundraiser, brand activation, or charity event.

🌐 www.kurtnphoto.com
📍 Based in Sylvania, Ohio – Serving Northwest Ohio, Southeast Michigan, and Nationwide
📧 kurt@kurtnphoto.com | 📞 419-885-7153

📷 disclaimer …

All photos used in the case study post are from the actual branded photo gallery that was sent to the players and guests at the event. These photos are optimized for instant social media sharing and look best on a cell phone. The full-resolution photos are sent to the event host after being fully edited. 📷

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Toledo Zoo To Do

a couple showing their zoo fashion in matching zebra print outfits while posing for a photo in the VIP experience inside the Malawi Event center at the Toledo Zoo to Do

The Toledo Zoo to Do was definitely a night to remember. For the tenth straight year, we have been honored to be the official photo entertainment experience company for the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium annual PNC Zoo to Do Presented by Lexus Fundraiser. For this year’s Party with a Purpose, we had four separate photo and video experiences.

Peter Boyer and wife pose for a photo at the VIP photo experience inside the Malawi Center at the Toledo Zoo to Do

The first photo experience was with our Venture Booth using a green screen inside the Malawi Center for the Zoo to Do VIP Experience. The graphic arts team at the Toledo Zoo created all of our backgrounds and borders so that they would all match the graphics that were used for this year’s Sunset on the Savannah theme.

happy couple posing for their free photo from the Toledo Zoo to Do VIP Experience

With this 2-hour experience, 105 individual photos were taken, 282 4x6s were printed and 73 people requested that their photos also be texted to them. We also supplied them with some fun zoo animal inflatable props that everyone loved and many used in their photos.

couple holding inflatable tiger in a photo at the Toledo Zoo to Do
two friends holding an inflatable giraffe in a photo at the Toledo Zoo to Do
couple holding an inflatable elephant in a green screen photo at the Toledo Zoo to Do

Our second experience for the pre-party on the African Adventure side of the zoo was our stationary Selfie Kiosks in the Arctic Encounter near the polar bear exhibit. We had two green screen digital photo stations and guests could instantly text their images straight to their phones.

green screen digital photo booth experience for the Toledo Zoo to Do

For this 2-hour experience, 186 photos were taken. This experience was open to all and the guests could enjoy a few drinks and bites of food while watching the polar bears who were extremely active that day.

VIP couple stopping for a photo inside the arctic encounter at the Toledo Zoo to Do

Some guests had fun creating a GIF with this experience.

animated GIF created at the Toledo Zoo to Do using our Selfie Kiosk

After the main side of the zoo opened for the party, our staff headed over to that side. They transformed our Selfie Kiosks into our Walk-About Social Booths and continued capturing the fun.

DEI expert Derryl Glaze and his wife realtor Melissa Glaze enjoy the lights and pose for a photo using our Walk-About Social Booth

Our Walk-About Social Booths roamed the main part of the zoo for the rest of the evening. Our Team took an additional 140 photos while roaming for a total of 326 photos captured by our digital booths.

Scott Sands from WIOT and his date pose for a photo at the 2024 Toledo Zoo to Do

Of the 326 photos taken with our digital booths, 294 were downloaded, and 50 people copied the link for their photos. 47 people shared their images straight from their text to Facebook and Instagram. The images shared directly from the text link to Facebook were then shared another 87 times with over 3,000 views on those photos alone. We don’t know how many that downloaded their photos shared them, but we have seen many that have been posted on social media. The average number of people in each photo was four and their average age was 40.

Kori Kawczynski and her husband and another couple stop to pose for a photo with our Walk-About Social Booth at the Toledo Zoo to Do
mobile photo booth photo at the 2024 Toledo Zoo to Do

For our fourth experience at the 2024 Toledo Zoo to Do, our team from the VIP party moved to the Amphitheater and provided our 360 slow-motion video experience.

For this experience, we created 160 videos. Since videos are very large files, we text the videos to the guests. Most emails won’t accept files as large as the videos created by our 360. We also use royalty-free music so the videos won’t get taken down once shared on social media.

As with all of our photo booths for this event, the intro slide was also created by zoo staff.

Do you remember, Dancing in September to Venyx at the Toledo Zoo to Do?

Oh what a night! We were not only proud and honored but also humbled to be able to capture and create so many memories for the guests who supported our Toledo Zoo at the 2024 PNC Zoo to Do presented by Lexus. Thank you to the Toledo Zoo for choosing us to be your Photo Booth Experience provider for such an amazing event!

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Hello Toledo!

Coming Soon!  The Toledo Event Photography powered by Kurt Nielsen Photography Blog will be coming soon to introduce you to who we are and all that we do!  We will be showcasing recent events that we not only added fun experiences to but will also show you the power of how a quality photo or video experience can add value to your event and even your marketing campaign and brand awareness.  Please check back soon and subscribe to our blog to stay informed.

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