# Transcript: Mall Rats Reborn: How Hot Topic is Using Entertainment to Revitalise Retail **Date:** March 12, 2026 · 10:30 PM **Session:** [Mall Rats Reborn: How Hot Topic is Using Entertainment to Revitalise Retail](/sessions/2026-03-12/pp1150592-mall-rats-reborn-how-hot-topic-is-using-entertainment-to-revitalise-retail) ## Summary This panel featuring Hot Topic's Katherine Miller, creator Duncan Joseph, and Small World agency founder Dan Salkey explored how Hot Topic is embracing entertainment-first marketing through 'Mall Rats,' a social-first sitcom series shot entirely in malls with creators from emo, gamer, and cosplay communities. The discussion covered how brands must compete not just with category rivals but with Netflix, MrBeast, and TikTok for attention, and how Hot Topic's two seasons of creator-driven content drove measurable increases in brand awareness, preference, and store visits. ## Topics `entertainment marketing` · `creator economy` · `mall culture` · `gen z retail` · `social-first content` · `brand awareness` · `hot topic` · `creator partnerships` ## Key Takeaways 1. Brands no longer compete only within their category — they compete with creators and streaming platforms for attention, making entertainment the essential strategy for cutting through. 2. Letting creators maintain their authentic voice rather than scripting them tightly leads to better performance — 93% of marketers know this works but only 7% actually give creators that freedom. 3. Mall culture is experiencing a revival among Gen Z, with 62% of 18-24 year olds purchasing in-store, creating opportunities for brands with physical retail presence to use stores as content settings. 4. Brand attribution in entertainment content requires intentional effort — Hot Topic learned between seasons that without visible branding elements, audiences enjoyed the content but didn't connect it to the brand. 5. Creator collaborations across different niches (cosplay, comedy, gaming) generate outsized engagement because audiences are surprised and delighted to see their favorite creators together in unexpected combinations. ## Full Transcript We've got equal representation amongst the panel — brand, creator, and agency. I'm Dan from Small World. Let me introduce Duncan Joseph from our campaign, and Catherine, associate media director at Hot Topic. The reason Catherine and I connected is mainly because of this idea of being entertaining and obsessed. We met last year at South by Southwest. The thing that brought us together was this desire for brands to be more entertaining. We now live in a world where you're not competing with just other brands in the category. Mars is competing with MrBeast. Netflix is competing with Cafe Nero. TikTok is competing with every brand out there. In that landscape, it's so much harder for brands to stand out, and entertainment really is the cheat code. Even if you can pay for your brand to reach people — in the last decade alone, CPMs on Meta have risen 222%. The success of social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook have actually been to the detriment of brands advertising on those platforms, because it's just so much harder to cut through, and the sliver of attention that you previously could buy doesn't get you the same quality of attention it did before. So it really is entertaining or nothing. Tons of research proves this. Brands that are the most entertaining create more lasting brand growth. If we agree that entertaining brands are strong brands, we can see that the strength of a brand is directly correlated to increase in share price and revenue. With our partner Tracksuit, we decided to do our own research — speaking to 20,000 people across the United States, quizzing them on 100 of the biggest brands in the world, trying to determine who the most entertaining brands were, what made them entertaining, and if that entertainment value actually drove revenue increase. Two firms in the top round had double-digit revenue growth, and all but one saw an increase in revenue. Over the past year, we've done two amazing projects — a project called Mall Rats, which is a social-first sitcom written, co-starring, directed, and produced with creators, in collaboration between my agency and Catherine's Hot Topic team. The Halloween series was an anthology where each creator wrote a story in a Hot Topic. The second was a more scripted series — a who-done-it over Christmas. Catherine on the entertainment-first approach: Entertainment totally clicked, especially when Dan showed that we're not just competing with other mall specialty retailers — on social, our real competitors are creators, Netflix, Disney. TikTok has always said they're an entertainment platform, not a social platform, and Instagram and YouTube have tried to duplicate that. If you're not entertaining, you're not bubbling up in the algorithm. Hot Topic is lucky because our IPs are entertainment. But instead of just covering entertainment or recording it, now we're creating it and creating our own IP, which is really exciting. Duncan on what brands get wrong: I make YouTube videos and TikToks, and I've worked with some brands. What's honestly missing from a lot of these entertaining-first ads is that they're not actually entertaining. One of the core elements is that you want the audience to forget it's an ad — create a world they want to be a part of, where it doesn't feel like time out of their day. They should want to see another video. Also, it shouldn't be too far from what the creator typically makes, because the audience is comfortable with those videos. When they see something wildly different, it feels like an intruder on their page. If you can tell the creator is having fun, the audience is going to have fun. Catherine on mall culture: Being at Hot Topic with 600-plus stores across the US and Canada, we're really excited that mall culture is back. Wall Street Journal put out a "new generation of mall rats" article saying that 62% of 18-to-24-year-olds surveyed purchased in store. It's a response to COVID — Gen Z spent their formative years not having these experiences, and now they're craving them. They want in real life. They want to touch grass. They need something analog. The digital is still there inspiring outfits and store visits, but they're also looking for a third place. Duncan: This generation yearns for places where we can just go and take ourselves into another world. When a brand online makes people feel this experience, and then it continues when they go into the store, you already feel comfortable, like you're part of the brand. Humor sticks. Entertainment plus mall culture is a powerful combination. Brand character is really back. Hot Topic is leaning into their staff and employees as characters. There was one employee who popped up in a few episodes and people absolutely loved her in the comments — then they're seeking out that employee in store. The main takeaway: go from being a brand to an entertainer, becoming a broadcaster. Think of your social channel as a TV channel and think about what that programming would be. Across both seasons, we recruited creators from all over the states — this wasn't a coastal project. The second season was more scripted, with a writer-creator who worked with creative directors like Duncan, who contributed, riffed on the script, and filled in character backstory. It was our own version of SNL for social. Duncan: It's honestly one of the coolest things I've ever done in my internet career. There's not a lot of times where creators actually get to create with a brand like this. We got to share our own character, our own perspective while creating at the mall. It was a bit of improv and it was just fun. I would love to do it again. Catherine on trusting creators: We've always trusted creators. We're never overly descriptive on briefs. We cast people who are genuine fans of our fandoms because we want it to come across as authentic. Duncan's audience knows him really well — if he does something that doesn't make sense, they're going to swipe away. The beauty of bringing five creators together from across the country was that the only thing bringing them together was our brand. My favorite comment type is "this is a collab I didn't know I needed." That's when we've won. Dan: It was like a cinematic universe — people genuinely surprised that their favorite creators from completely different niches were collaborating. Social media's fragmentation puts us into rabbit holes. This was an opportunity to bring those niches together under one roof. On production — everything was shot entirely in malls. Season one had each creator shooting in their local Hot Topic store. Season two flew everyone out together. The magic was that everyone was creating their own content with each other aside from what we were filming. Some of that content went up before Mall Rats aired, teasing the whole thing. Catherine on filming challenges: Filming in a mall during the holidays — one of the busiest times. We tried working with a larger center, but found an independent center with more flexibility. When I'd tell them I'm filming a TV show for Hot Topic and need mall access, they'd ask about budget. "No, it's an iPhone and maybe a microphone." They didn't know what to do with us. The independent center said go ahead. Call time was 5:30 AM. The mall is the character in Mall Rats. We turned the Hot Topic back room into our security office set. Duncan: We had pressure to get shots outside Hot Topic before the general public came in. They had me repeat one line over and over — the line where Santa goes missing — and I probably screamed it six or seven times in an empty mall. It was like a team bonding experience. On measurement — Catherine: Going in, it was about cultural relevance. We wanted conversations, moments, views during the holiday season. After season one's campaign effectiveness study, we found that brand awareness for Hot Topic among Gen Z wasn't where we expected. We learned we needed more visible branding — the physical in-store experience doesn't translate digitally without it. In season two, we added more stickers, posters, and Hot Topic branding everywhere. Entertainment is great, but if you don't get credit for it as a brand, it's not doing what you're trying to do. Dan: Between seasons, unprompted brand awareness bumped by 6% and preference increased by 7%. Across the board — perception metrics nearly doubled. It also drove intent to visit Hot Topic stores, the website, and refer the brand to friends and family. The share ratio is the number one metric for entertainment-first content. Duncan on why creator-first work is effective: An audience and a creator's relationship is built on trust. Parasocial relationships are incredibly powerful. When you pair a creator with a brand and the creator still gets to be themselves, it's unreal. My fans loved the Hot Topic thing because I loved it. I wasn't just saying words or being a puppet — I actually got to be myself. And it was authentic. Dan: A fascinating statistic from Tracksuit research — 93% of marketers know creative campaigns work best with creators' genuine voice, but only 7% actually give them that freedom. If you're in that 7%, you have a massive advantage. On season three — Catherine is excited for more unhinged, more native, more creator-led content. She wants a Kevin Smith cameo. Duncan would love a reality TV format — like Love Is Blind or Top Model with characters, competition, and a funny host. The discussion also touched on how Hot Topic isn't ignoring millennials but is marketing toward fandoms and meeting customers where their shopping habits are. --- *Source: stt · Language: en · Model: claude-opus-4-6* [← Back to session](/sessions/2026-03-12/pp1150592-mall-rats-reborn-how-hot-topic-is-using-entertainment-to-revitalise-retail)