Why Gen Alpha Stuck Around Sticki Rolls’ Pop-up

The most digitally native generation to date, Gen Alpha is moving away from screens to real-world activities, but those experiences have to be dynamic, sensory-rich and designed for short attention spans—qualities picked up from always-on social media feeds and streaming. To kids 16 years old and younger, creative visuals and emotionally resonant content matter, as well as the perspectives of relatable influencers.

Understanding these elements, Sticki Rolls made sure to zero in on its sticker products’ signature bright colors, cutesy icon designs and beauty trends to create a bold activation that captured the attention of its Gen Alpha audience.

The result was the Sticki Salon, which offered sticker manicures and a themed café experience at Chillhouse Soho in New York City from Aug. 7-8. And according to Michelle Wong, svp-global marketing at Jazwares, “the vibrations were high.”

“A soft KPI I had going into this was my guess that we were going to get a lot of high-pitched squeals from girls, like are we going to hit that sort of emotional tenor with the audience?” she says. “I will tell you, every day, we certainly got some squeals and some tears of joy. The emotions were so high, and there’s something that is so powerful about that because you can actually see how much it means to people.”

Close to 1,000 attendees went through Sticki Rolls’ first-ever pop-up, and the brand provided more than 500 complimentary sticker manicures. Brand fans were lined up around the block to discover the brand’s new Sticki Rolls Series 3 and Sticki Mates collections, and since the event, Sticki Rolls’ YouTube channel has gained 20K followers.

“It was a huge responsibility because these fans love Sticki Rolls so much, and we knew we had to get it right,” Wong says. “The experience had to really deliver on all of the reasons why they love the brand: the colors, the cuteness, the creative expression… We wanted to create an experience that felt different and unexpected from Sticki Rolls, but aligned with the affinities that our audience has for fashion and beauty.”

Upon checking in, attendees received a purple branded tote bag filled with Sticki Rolls goodies, and then they stepped into the Sticki Café with a menu that fused popular beverages with fan-favorite characters, such as the BooBoo-Berry Lemonade, the Chillin’ Charlie Latte and the Stardust & BunBun Matcha. The café’s seating area was decorated with icon pillows, posters and larger-than-life Sticki Bands bracelets to accompany drink photos.

From there, participants headed into sticker mani appointments to get custom designs inspired by their favorite characters and themes from the Sticki Rolls universe. Of course, the footprint featured several photo op backdrops, and brand ambassadors and YouTube stars Anna, Erin and Dara made an appearance.

“You never know what to expect. We have to see how people enjoy and behave in the space. They were hanging out, meeting new friends, sipping on lemonade, comparing manis, and people ended up lounging more than we thought they were going to. They didn’t want to leave,” Wong says. “The other piece is how incredibly meaningful it was that Anna and Erin and Dara were there and the emotional connection they have with their fans. We know we can’t do an event without them.”

Thanks to teases and posts from its three Sticki Squad members, as well as enthusiastic participants, there was a lot of FOMO across social media, and the brand has its sights set on activating in more cities, especially as fans are already asking, “Where are you going next?”

“We were like, ‘How big can we go with this? Do we make this a national tour? Do we set up shop somewhere for six months of the year?’ We started really dreaming because the response was so great,” Wong says. “Sticki Rolls works because it’s a device for Gen Alpha to engage in their own self-expression, in identity, in community, in sharing, and seeing that on display really solidified that.” Agency: CNC Agency.

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