Turning screams into social currency.
Teens were increasingly bored with the traditional mall experience, so we created a surprising campaign that transformed adrenaline-fueled screams into shareable social moments, revitalizing Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America and reversing a declining attendance trend.
Record Passes Sold in 2 Months
#NickelodeonUniverse Posts to Instagram
Increase in Overall Reach Goal
The Challenge
Despite being housed in North America's largest mall with 40 million annual visitors, Nickelodeon Universe was experiencing declining attendance from the valuable teen and tween demographic and their mall-shopping parent "chauffeurs." The challenge was to overcome teen indifference while providing compelling, shareable experiences to draw them back to Nick.
The Enemy—Teen Boredom
Teens had a "been there, done that" attitude toward both the theme park and Mall of America. Their environment felt repetitive and unstimulating, failing to align with their developmental need for novel experiences, autonomy, and identity exploration. For teens, cool places are defined not just by the experience but by its shareability—if you can't post about it, is it even worth doing?
Amplify the forbidden pleasure of your scream
We discovered a powerful insight: the adrenaline rush of controlled chaos serves as a coping mechanism for teen stress. Rather than fighting teen behavior, we celebrated it by turning their natural screams into social currency. This approach validated their experiences while providing the novelty and shareability they craved.
