Netflix and Toy Story: pop-up activations as a stage for event marketing

Two recent examples show how companies are turning to pop-up event marketing instead of classic advertising space: they created temporary, walk-through experience spaces built around already-familiar entertainment brands, tapping into a moment of media attention in hopes of high reach and broad media pickup.

Network operator and broadband provider EE partnered with Netflix to open a sensory experience booth at the EE Studio in London: visitors could choose between thriller, comedy, and sports-themed rooms, each with matching sound and scent design. After London, the activation continued in Birmingham and Merry Hill.

Almost in parallel, to mark the theatrical release of Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story 5," Papa Johns transformed several locations in Los Angeles, London, Seoul, and Madrid into retro pizza arcades modeled on "Pizza Planet," the fictional pizzeria and arcade from the Toy Story universe. Papa Johns also offered limited-edition menus and merchandise to go with it.

The key point: both brands borrowed experience worlds that are already familiar to a broad audience. "Pizza Planet" has been a fixture of the beloved Toy Story film franchise since 1995. Netflix's genres and top-performing titles are, likewise, deeply familiar to many after years of streaming. The red Netflix logo, for many, is synonymous with an evening of TV entertainment.

As a result, EE and Papa Johns didn't need to build an emotional connection from scratch – it already existed. Entertainment IP thus functions as a shortcut to emotional engagement: brands hitch themselves to an already-familiar story and to long-lived visuals.

Both activations were tied to concrete entertainment moments: the June 19 theatrical release of "Toy Story 5" and Netflix's summer programming lineup. This let the event marketing tap into an already-existing moment of media attention, boosting media and social media pickup without the need for additional media spend.

Such a partnership can pay off for both sides: the entertainment partner gains physical presence in retail, while the retail or restaurant brand borrows cultural relevance and fan reach.