Making Smyths the retail destination for Toy Story 5

Challenge

Toy Story has shaped childhoods for almost thirty years. Parents who grew up with Woody and Buzz are now introducing them to a new generation.

Ahead of Toy Story 5, Smyths wanted to become the retailer families thought of first. The challenge was creating a campaign that would capture the nostalgia surrounding the franchise while giving people a reason to engage with Smyths before the film reached cinemas.

Activation

We found the story in an unexpected place.

Using exclusive ONS data, we revealed how Toy Story characters had influenced the names parents chose for their children over the last three decades. Woody. Buzz. Jessie. Rex. A cultural insight became a national news story, earning widespread coverage ahead of the film's release.

Then we turned attention into action. Children named Woody, Buzz, Jessie or Rex were invited into Smyths stores to redeem a free Toy Story figure, connecting earned media with retail engagement and introducing families to the wider Toy Story range.

Impact

The campaign made Smyths part of the Toy Story conversation before audiences reached the cinema.

It generated 44 pieces of national and regional media coverage and 614,000 coverage views. Toy Story-related searches on the Smyths website increased by 55%, while Smyths ranked #1 and #2 on Google for key Toy Story search terms during launch.

Traffic to Toy Story category pages increased by 32% and 7,586 free Toy Story figures were redeemed in store, creating thousands of retail interactions during one of the year's biggest entertainment launches.