The idea behind the Home Alone x Prince St. Pizza collaboration was simple but powerful: bring one of film’s most iconic fictional foods, Little Nero’s Pizza, into the real world in a way fans could see, taste, and physically experience. Partnering with Disney+ for the film’s milestone anniversary, our goal was to transform nostalgia into a tangible, modern cultural moment that bridged entertainment, food, and immersive retail.
We set out to achieve three core objectives. First, drive cultural relevance and foot traffic by turning Prince St. Pizza’s Studio City location into a must-visit holiday destination through a fully themed in-store takeover, supported by holiday décor installations in Toronto and Chicago. Second, deepen emotional connection with both brands by allowing fans to step inside the Home Alone universe, creating highly shareable, memory-making moments. Third, translate buzz into business impact by tying the activation directly to product, reimagining Prince St.’s signature Original Prince pie as the film’s beloved “Lovely Cheese Pizza,” complete with custom packaging, uniforms, and visual storytelling across each activated location.
Ultimately, the goal was not just to celebrate a film anniversary, but to create a nationwide experiential moment that felt joyful, immersive, and culturally unavoidable during the holiday season, turning a beloved movie reference into an immersive experience fans could line up for.
To bring Little Nero’s to life, we developed a multi-layered experiential strategy that blended immersive set design, hero product integration, and cultural timing to create a seamless crossover between fiction and reality, anchored by reimagining Prince St.’s iconic Original Prince pie as the film’s beloved “Lovely Cheese Pizza.”
- Experiential Retail Takeover
- The Studio City location underwent a complete, floor-to-ceiling transformation into Little Nero’s, becoming entirely unrecognizable as Prince St. Pizza. This was not a light-touch décor moment; it was a full re-skin of the space. New walls were constructed, carpeting was installed, furniture was swapped out, and every visual surface was redesigned to match the aesthetic of the pizzeria from Home Alone. From the exterior storefront to the interior layout, menu boards, staff uniforms, lighting, and signage, the environment was rebuilt to feel like a cinematic set brought into the real world. Guests didn’t simply notice themed elements, they walked into a fully realized movie environment. The Toronto and Chicago locations featured elevated holiday décor moments, but Studio City served as the flagship, immersive transformation. Subtle storytelling details and photo-ready touchpoints were layered throughout, encouraging organic social sharing and extended dwell time.
- Product as the Hero
- Rather than treating the activation as purely environmental, we made the food central to the experience. Prince St.’s iconic Original Prince pie was reintroduced as the “Lovely Cheese Pizza,” directly referencing the film while staying true to the brand’s signature product. Custom Little Nero’s pizza boxes extended the fantasy beyond the store, turning every order into a piece of memorabilia and a social media prop. By anchoring the experience in an actual purchase, we ensured the moment translated into measurable business impact.
- Nationwide Cultural Rollout
- While Studio City served as the flagship experiential moment, drawing lines of up to two hours daily across 12 days, the campaign extended nationwide. All Prince St. locations participated through themed packaging and menu callouts, ensuring fans across multiple markets could engage with the collaboration. This hybrid model balanced spectacle with scale, allowing one fully immersive build to drive conversation while broader touchpoints drove revenue.
- Holiday & Anniversary Timing
- Launching around the film’s anniversary and peak holiday viewing season ensured built-in cultural relevance. As one of the most iconic holiday movies of all time, Home Alone naturally trends each year as audiences revisit seasonal favorites, and the activation stepped seamlessly into that moment, aligning with existing behavior in a way that felt organic rather than promotional.
- Challenges & Solutions
- One of the primary challenges was translating a fictional brand into a real retail environment while maintaining authenticity to both the film’s IP and Prince St.’s existing equity. We solved this by committing fully to the transformation in Studio City, while grounding the experience in the brand’s real product and operational energy.
- Operationally, high demand, particularly in Studio City, created crowd management and service flow challenges. Teams adapted quickly with line control, staff scaling, and streamlined ordering processes to maintain a positive guest experience despite extended wait times.
- What made this work unique was its ability to turn a single movie line into a fully realized, scalable, real-world brand moment, one that lived at the intersection of pop culture, food, and immersive fandom.
The campaign exceeded expectations across foot traffic, sales, social engagement, and media reach, directly supporting our objectives of cultural impact and business performance.
In-store demand demonstrated the power of the concept, with the Studio City flagship drawing lines up to two hours daily over 12 days. Across participating locations, the collaboration drove the sale of 5,312 full pies and 8,297 slices of the featured product, proving that the activation successfully converted nostalgia into measurable revenue.
Socially, the moment resonated far beyond existing audiences. Prince St. Pizza’s Instagram content tied to the activation generated 1.3M + organic views, with over 62% from non-followers, and resulted in 5,570 new followers, signaling strong discovery and cultural relevance.
Press coverage amplified the experience nationally, with placements across major broadcast, digital, and entertainment outlets including TODAY, NBC Los Angeles, CBS News, BuzzFeed, PEOPLE, Time Out, and more. The breadth of coverage positioned the pop-up as a must-see holiday experience and reinforced both brands as leaders in experiential storytelling.
We consider this effort a success because it transformed a beloved pop culture reference into a real-world destination that drove lines, sales, social growth, and national conversation, delivering both emotional resonance and measurable business impact.
Video for Home Alone x Prince St. Pizza Marketing Campaign
