The Creels have moved from Hawkins, Indiana, to New York City.

Or rather, Creel House from the fictional Stranger Things universe has been erected in the lobby of the Marquis Theatre in Times Square. It’s an activation created by sister agencies Salt and Pinch (which are handling production and creative, respectively) that’s aimed at extending the beloved Netflix IP into a Broadway setting for theater and streaming fans alike.

The two-story house is made of wooden slats wrapped around the theater’s facade to create a Victorian-style structure recognizable to fans of the show. The structure, which leans into the red-and-black show aesthetic that fans have come to expect, features luxe and spooky details that tell the story of a Creel House in all its original splendor, like gilded picture frames, a stained-glass door, striking shadows, and lots of candlelight.

It’s not the first time Netflix has dived into experiential marketing with Stranger Things; the streaming giant, which has also hosted events tied to titles like Bridgerton and Squid Game, has held activations for the Duffer Brothers’ series in cities around the world, and later this year, the show will come to life at Netflix House experiences around the country. This time, the Creel House lobby is the first thing theatergoers see as they head into Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a Tony Award-winning prequel play that critics have lauded for its production value.

While the lobby is designed for fans headed to see the show, it’s not limited to ticketholders, since anyone passing by or staying in the Marriott Marquis hotel can also venture into the Upside Down. It’s an aspect that its creators, Don Strom, co-founder and managing partner at Salt and Pinch, and Michael Brown, executive creative director at Pinch, kept in mind while putting it all together.

“We’re really designing it as part of that larger piece [of theater],” Brown said. “But the great, intentional side effect of it is that we are creating great backdrops for social share, whether I’m attending or not, that aren’t just a logoed backdrop.”

Continue reading here.—JN

Happy Friday, and long time, no see! It’s the last day of the festival, and we’ve still got a lot of ground to cover—much like anyone who had back-to-back engagements on opposite sides of the Croisette.

On Thursday, I left my Mercedes hat at home and headed back to Sport Beach to see McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, and CMO Louise McEwen speak about building the McLaren brand on and off the track. It was an interesting discussion, especially given that McLaren is among the oldest and most historic teams on the grid, but went 26 years without winning a Constructors’ Championship before ending the streak last year.

Of course, I couldn’t end the week without talking about women’s sports, so I had lunch with Stagwell brand consultancy Redscout’s CEO Ivan Kayser and CMO Ashley Shaffer to talk about their work with teams including Seattle Reign FC. I also sat down with Stephanie Martin, the chief marketing and communications officer of League One Volleyball (LOVB), and Rosie Spaulding, president of LOVB’s pro division.

LOVB announced a new ownership group for its Austin team this week that includes Spurs Sports & Entertainment, and Spaulding told me sponsorship interest has been strong. The pro league had 30 brands on board before it even played its first season this year, she said, with more to be announced—and, ideally, even more to come as a result of conversations in Cannes.

“Our fan base is female-forward, very digitally oriented,” Martin said, adding that “people really want to connect with” that kind of consumer.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t put off talking about AI any longer, and I discussed some of its potential use cases for gathering and implementing consumer data for personalization with Mark Abraham, North American leader for Boston Consulting Group’s marketing, sales, and pricing practice. Unsurprisingly, he noted that AI was a topic CEOs were expecting to learn more about throughout the week.

Read more from Alyssa’s final Cannes Lions dispatch here.—AM

Albertsons is piloting digital ad displays in stores this summer, the grocer announced this week at Cannes Lions in France.

Its retail media arm, Albertsons Media Collective, is partnering with digital solution company Stratacache for the pilot, which will see digital screens deployed at stores in two regions, its Northern California and Jewel-Osco divisions, this summer. The screens will be placed in “high-traffic areas with impactful touchpoints in the customer journey” throughout the store, the company said, including the store entry and produce department. The company is showcasing the new advertising features at a mock grocery store set up at Cannes this week.

Liz Roche, Albertsons Media Collective’s VP of media and measurement, said in a statement the grocer partnered with Stratacache as its technology enables “closed-loop measurement,” noting that “understand[ing] performance helps us fully realize the potential of the in-store channel.” Albertsons said brand partners will be able to measure their ads’ impact including direct sales attribution and sales lift. Standardization of data reporting across retail media networks continues to be a major concern of CPG advertisers.

Oreo maker Mondelez will be the retailer’s first CPG partner, Albertsons said. Mondelez previously partnered with Albertsons and Fetch on a new retail media integration last year.

Continue reading on Retail Brew.—EC

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Your inbox isn’t the only place for Marketing Brew. The Refill serves up the week’s sharpest marketing stories, narrated by AI and brewed for your earbuds. This week it’s all about Cannes. Find out what creator marketing trends you should watch out for at this year’s festival, how Netflix and Yahoo are teaming up for a programmatic partnership, and what to expect for WhatsApp’s first foray into ads.

Catch the latest newest episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your audio media.

Stories we’re jealous of.

• The Wall Street Journal wrote about the success of the Breaking and Entering ad industry podcast.
• Business Insider wrote about why some TV anchors are turning to side hustles like newsletters and podcasts.
• The New York Times wrote about The Wing co-founder Audrey Gelman’s pivot to hotelier.