Bringing Scoops Ahoy from screen to shelf

Near the end of 2022, Netflix Consumer Products was looking for ways to sustain Stranger Things cultural relevance while the next season was still years away. The opportunity was to bring Scoops Ahoy, the fictional ice cream brand from season 3, into the real world.

The broader Scoops Ahoy launch was a cross-functional Consumer Products effort across Netflix, Walmart, Golden West Food Group, agency partners, and retail and PR teams. My role was to lead the performance and growth marketing workstream, turning the campaign into measurable retail and digital demand through traffic strategy, paid social, paid search, influencer seeding, organic support, and performance-oriented channel execution.

Because the brand did not exist in real life yet, the campaign had to do two things at once: teach fans that Scoops Ahoy was real and drive traffic to buy pints at Walmart.

• Sustain Stranger Things relevance between seasons.
• Drive awareness that Scoops Ahoy was now a real product.
• Send qualified traffic to Walmart.com for delivery or in-store pickup.
• Support retail sell-through during a low-season fall and winter window.
• Create enough demand to prove the product deserved continued shelf space.

The campaign treated Scoops Ahoy as both an entertainment moment and a retail-commerce launch. My work helped connect Netflix fandom, Walmart availability, product creative, paid and organic channels, influencer seeding, and retail traffic strategy into a more accountable growth plan.

I led or directly supported the performance-oriented channels, including organic support across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok; paid social on Instagram and TikTok to drive video views and Walmart traffic; paid search through Google Ads and Shopping ads; and influencer seeding that helped connect awareness to commerce demand.

I led the performance and growth marketing side of the launch, managing the channels and execution that drove traffic, demand, and measurable digital performance.

I also advised cross-functionally on the broader campaign, helping connect the retail launch, product story, creator and influencer support, and paid and organic media into a more accountable growth plan.

That work included paid media execution, influencer support, traffic strategy, performance-oriented creative guidance, and coordination with Consumer Products, Title Marketing, Golden West Food Group, Walmart, and agency partners.

From September to December 2023, the performance and growth workstream helped the broader launch reach more than 93M consumers through digital channels and drive more than 2.1M visitors to Walmart.com to buy Scoops Ahoy pints through delivery or in-store pickup.

CTR exceeded product-marketing benchmarks, averaging 2.2% across assets compared with roughly 1% for comparable product marketing. CPV came in at $0.37 per person.

The campaign was featured in outlets including Variety, Elite Daily, Decider, People, and others. It also won two Webby awards for Best Social Commerce/Shopping Campaign.

Stores sold out of pints multiple times during the fall and winter period, Walmart buyers dedicated exclusive freezer shelf space after initial sales performance, and the sales contract was extended through the end of 2024.

Scoops Ahoy showed how consumer-products growth works when entertainment, retail, product, and performance marketing move together. The campaign did not only create awareness; it translated fandom into Walmart traffic, sell-through, retail confidence, and extended distribution.

It also became a strong example of how licensed IP can become a real commerce asset when the launch connects creative, paid media, organic reach, PR, influencer, activations, and retail operations.