Client

The Walt Disney Company and one of the largest supermarket chains in CEE with over 13,000 retail locations.

Problem

The retail chain wanted a nationwide promotion built around Marvel IP, but several structural issues had to be solved:

1. Incentives tied too narrowly to specific products
   Disney needed a way to push franchise engagement, while retail chain needed to stimulate general basket spending, not just sales of Marvel-branded items.
2. Complex multi-step reward flows
   The campaign involved physical collectibles (16 superhero erasers) and digital rewards (access to Marvel films), plus a prize drawing. Traditional retail systems are not built to manage multi-tiered incentives tied to spend thresholds.
3. Digital content licensing required strict rights control
   Disney could not expose source video files or delegate licensing logic to retailers. They needed per-user visibility, activation tracking, and full policy enforcement.
4. Scalability
   The campaign spanned thousands of stores. Manual code distribution or SKU-specific activation workflows were not viable.

Disney and the retail chain needed a unified pipeline that could connect spend-based triggers, collectible tracking, and digital content access at national scale.

Solution

The team built a promotional infrastructure that linked retail spend data, collectible logic, and controlled digital content provisioning.

1. Spend-triggered collectible distribution

At every retail store:

• A certain sum spent made the customer eligible for a collectible reward (one of 16 Marvel erasers).
• The system did not depend on Marvel product purchases; the goal was broad shopping-cart growth.
• Collectibles functioned as physical progress markers driving repeat purchases.

2. Completion-based digital reward access

Once a customer collected all 16 erasers:

• They unlocked participation in the prize drawing (including a Disneyland trip).
• They also gained access to an online collection of Marvel films delivered through a dedicated landing page.
• Activation and licensing were fully handled by the backend, with per-user entitlements issued automatically.

3. Controlled video content distribution

The digital component was powered by Aggregion’s rights infrastructure:

• No raw video files were stored by the retail chain.
• Disney defined licensing windows, access conditions, and reporting formats.
• Each customer activation generated a verifiable record, improving transparency in the partnership.

4. Cross-channel franchise scalability

This was the second Marvel deployment using the same content infrastructure (previous one in telecom).
 It demonstrated:

• the ability to roll out franchise-based digital rewards across completely different industries
• minimal integration effort for each new channel
• a repeatable template for future large-scale campaigns

Outcome

The campaign delivered benefits for all participants:

• Significant uplift in total retail spending triggered by collectible progression mechanics
• Expanded Marvel franchise visibility during the back-to-school season
• Customer acquisition for Disney, as each activation produced direct customer data
• Full rights visibility and control for Disney, strengthening trust in the retail partnership
• Proof of cross-channel flexibility, with Marvel IP deployed quickly across telecom and retail environments