30 years of Magic Memories: John Wikstrom

Magic Memories has more than overcome the grim experience of losing 1850 staff in Covid. The Queenstown-based business has emerged as the leading global player in the personalised digital experience market, operating in 17 countries with a high tech “catch me if you can” business model.  

Co-founder, and Icehouse alumni John Wikstrom is one of the keynote speakers at the upcoming Ignite ‘25 Growth Summit on May 6th at the Auckland Viaduct Events Centre.  

John shared a snapshot from 30 years of Magic Memories with Kate de Lautour – don’t miss the chance to hear the full story on May 6th!  

In 1995, John Wikstrom had finished a marketing degree and was working at Queenstown newspaper Mountain Scene when a friend suggested an idea to sell visitor photos at Skyline Gondola. The concept wasn’t new. A company called Smile Click used professional photographers and a model where customers could view, select and pay for their photos and return later to collect them, packaged into a brown paper bag. 

In a nod to his curious nature, John and his business partner checked out other Queenstown attractions, picking up on the value proposition in the hearts and minds of holiday-goers. 

“There’s an emotional reason why people wanted to capture these moments, right? They’re on holiday with their loved ones and there was a real desire for them to capture the moment and showcase the value with the people they love. I thought, what if we told a beautiful story in full colour and placed the finished product in the customer’s hands right then and there. If they wanted re-prints we could deliver to their hotel.” 

Making people smile

The concept ticked a lot of boxes – channel development, brand-building, storytelling, customer service, to name a few. 

 “Businesses and tour operators loved it because suddenly their brand and business were being promoted in full colour brochure style with people enjoying the attraction. Plus, it gave visitors the time back in their day with no waiting around for photos to be printed.” 

The demand from attractions ramped up fast as Magic Memories resonated with everyone from the customers to the brands, although John notes there was no business plan in those days. 

“The thing just took off. We started obsessing about how we could evolve the product. We figured we didn’t need to use professionals, given it was simple photography. What if we hired actors or backpackers that love people and could make them smile! More smiles created more transactions, so everyone won and that is still our purpose today – making people smile.” 

In 2004 an opportunity came up to partner with the Sydney Water Park - the largest of its kind in the world at the time. The partnership was the beginning of international expansion and a change to the model that would see the business flipped upside down for the first time, but not the last. 

“Every ticket sold at the Park included the digital experience of the rides and slides. Instead of the customer paying Magic Memories, the brand partner paid us. It was hugely successful for everyone. The managing director of the Park at the time was Chris Warhurst. He supported us into that strategic partnership and in 2016, became our CEO.” 

The lure of not only creating a successful global business but also learning how to be a better leader saw John sign up for the Owner Manager Programme. 

“It was timely because it forced me to look closely at what further international growth may look like for us and to be ready for it. The Icehouse gave me the chance to take advantage of so many opportunities and connect with a group that remains supportive.” 

Aiming to build on the success of Sydney and in-roads being developed in China, a license was formed in South Africa followed by the chance to trial the model in London. John moved with his family to London for a year, building a team and then eyeing the US with a different lens. 

“Rather than trying to replicate the model in the US, we raised capital and bought the largest competitor including their contracts. We spent five years embedding the Magic Memories culture in the US and now it’s our biggest market.” 

Covid hibernation

When the first news of the Pandemic started filtering in, John was skiing in Japan. He heard from a worried fellow traveller that her parents were doctors in Wuhan. With people around them dying, they had left everything and jumped on a plane. 

“We acted on the early information and pulled the ripcord – all our sites were closing around the world. We were at about $170 million revenue, and racing towards zero faster every day.” 

The team was downsized from 1850 to 15 with only developers and relationship managers kept on, at reduced salaries. 

“It was a harsh reality, but we had to act in a way that kept the lights on for six months to keep the business alive and buy us time to rethink the model.” 

Raising capital

Mapping a contactless way forward and building the unique software required capital. The funding was raised with the help of Roger Sharp who had recently recapitalized Webjet. 

“We developed the software and ordered 400 kiosks from China to satisfy demand from attractions eager to re-open their doors. Our largest global partner offered us 80 new sites as soon as they knew what we could do for them. We managed to get the new model to market with no air travel or testing – but we did it!” 

John says the future is exciting with new tech’ continually adding value to the business and, what would appear to be, boundary-less opportunities. 

“The capital allowed us to kickstart a model that is direct to mobile. We now work with marketing teams, we can focus on any branded experience, connecting customers to those brands in a fresh way, using fun, personalised content experiences. We might see 70 million people to our attractions this year and if we’re successful with new product extension technology, that number could rise to over 200 million over the next three years.”