How a Branded Photo Activation Helped Scotiabank Celebrate Employees at Their Year-End Gala
When an organization brings employees together to celebrate a year of achievement, the event needs to deliver. Not just as a party, but as a meaningful moment that reflects the culture, recognizes the people, and gives everyone something worth keeping.
That is exactly what Scotiabank set out to do at their November 2025 year-end Awards Gala at Grey Eagle Event Centre in Calgary. Flash Co. was brought in to design and operate the photo activation for the evening.
Event Overview
Client: Scotiabank
Event type: Annual Awards Gala
Venue: Grey Eagle Event Centre, Calgary
Date: November 26, 2025
Guest count: 500 employees
Activations: Two Print Photo Booths and a Selfie Station
This marked the fourth consecutive year Scotiabank partnered with Flash Co. for this event.
Scotiabank Celebrates 2025’s Wins In Style
Scotiabank’s annual awards gala is a chance for Calgary employees to celebrate their accomplishments and connect. 2025’s event offered custom backdrop installs, print photo booths and a media wall selfie-station as a way to remember an incredible year.
The Event Goal: Celebrate Achievement and Strengthen Connection
Scotiabank’s awards gala is designed to recognize top-performing branches and individual awardees across teams. Scotiabank employees are high achievers so the annual event is a great way to see which teams earned their place at the top.
The event needed to:
Celebrate accomplishments in a meaningful way
Encourage teams to connect beyond their immediate branch
Create an atmosphere that felt elevated and cohesive
Provide guests with something tangible to remember the evening
Awards ceremonies can sometimes become stage-focused. While recognition is central, engagement between program moments matters, especially with hundreds of guests in the room.
The Challenge:
With an audience of this size, creating intimate moments can be difficult. Guests are seated across a large ballroom. Programming is tight and needs to run on schedule, and the evening includes things like dinner service, stage entertainment and formal presentations from leadership.
The activation needed to feel thoughtful, intentional and leave a lasting impression with the event attendees.
Activation Requirements:
Fit seamlessly into a structured gala timeline
Handle high guest volume efficiently
Match the event’s theme and company branding while offering variety
Deliver an experience that delighted guests and a takeaway they would genuinely value
The Solution
A Variety of Activations
Flash Co. deployed two Print Photo Booths, each with a custom backdrop designed to match the event theme theme, alongside a Scotiabank-branded Selfie Station. Together, the three activations gave guests multiple ways to engage throughout the night.
Running two print booths simultaneously was the right call for a gala of this size. It distributed guest flow across the room, kept wait times down, and ensured the activation stayed active and visible throughout the entire service window. Each booth featured a unique custom backdrop built to reflect the event's aesthetic and encouraged guests to move between booths throughout the night.
The third activation was a Selfie Station. A large professionally lit backdrop in Scotiabank's brand colours, designed for personal device photography. There was no queue and no structured session, which encouraged guests to capture their own creative media. The selfie station was large enough to accommodate full teams for bigger group photos, giving departments a place to gather and capture something together. Award winners used it to photograph themselves with their awards. For guests who wanted a self-directed content creation moment, the selfie station offered professional lighting and the space to create.
Custom Backdrop Construction
To align with the evening’s theme, we designed and constructed custom backdrops that complemented the gala aesthetic. Rather than relying on a generic background, the photo booths became part of the event design.
This ensured the photos looked cohesive with the décor and elevated enough for a formal awards night.
Scotiabank-Branded Print Templates
Every photo printed on-site featured Scotiabank branding and event details. The result: a polished, professional print that doubled as both a keepsake and a subtle brand touchpoint.
Guests received a framed memory tied to a specific milestone moment.
High-Quality Capture and Instant Printing
Over the course of three hours, more than 800 prints were produced and handed directly to guests.
The instant prints kept energy high and ensured no one left without a branded photo. There was no post-event follow-up required. The memory went home with them that night.
Why the Print Booth & Selfie Station Worked
It created a natural gathering point
Colleagues stepped in together - branch teams, award winners with their leaders, cross-functional groups who rarely see one another in person. The booth became a hub for connection between program segments.
It extended recognition beyond the stage
Award winners posed for photos to capture happy memories. Teams commemorated their year together. The experience reinforced the purpose of the evening long after applause ended.
It delivered tangible value
A printed photo has permanence. Many guests keep these prints on their desks at work. It’s a daily reminder of their achievement and the team behind it.
It supported event flow
The print photo booth fit seamlessly into the evening. Without interrupting programming, guests visited during natural transitions maintaining momentum in the room.
It proved its impact over time
Scotiabank has booked this activation for four consecutive years. This is a strong indicator that the experience consistently enhances the event.
A Simple Framework for Recognition Event Activations
If you are planning a year-end gala or awards event and considering a photo activation, here are three things that consistently determine whether it works.
1. Design for the room, not just the format. A photo booth at a formal gala needs a different setup, aesthetic, and interaction style than one at a casual staff gathering. The backdrop, branding, and attendant approach should all reflect the tone of the event.
2. Plan for throughput. Know your guest count and your service window before the event. A 500-person gala with a sit-down dinner & awards ceremony requires a different configuration than a 100-person cocktail hour. For larger rooms, running two booths simultaneously and offering a self-directed option like a selfie station distributes flow and keeps the activation working across the entire evening.
3. Give guests something to take home. Printed photos that include company branding extend the value of the event beyond the room. Employees are proud of their accomplishments, and many display their team photos at their desks year after year.
The Results, at a Glance
The Print booths combined:
233 captures completed
3 to 5 guests per capture on average
703 branded prints produced and distributed on-site
230 digital shares recorded
Branded media delivered instantly via text to all participants
Selfie Station: self-directed and captures untracked by design. Used by award winners, full teams, and guests who wanted to create their own content on their own schedule.
This event hosted roughly 500 attendees. The above numbers reflect both engagement and operational efficiency.
The Bigger Takeaway
Corporate galas are a significant investment. The programming, venue, and production all carry costs and expectations. A well-executed photo activation does not add noise to that investment. It contributes by creating a moment guests participate in, a takeaway they keep, and media your organization can point to as evidence that the event delivered.
Planning an awards gala or year-end celebration for your team? Connect with Flash Co. to explore activation options for your event date.