Imagine a holiday season where a nearly century-old entertainment empire doesn't wait for customers to visit its stores, but steps right into their phones. That is exactly what Disney is doing: from November 4 to 10, the company is hosting its very first Super Brand Day on TikTok Shop.
What caught my attention wasn't the scale, but how they chose to place their bets. A brand that thrives on theme park experiences, movies, and children's toys decided to focus its holiday efforts entirely on an entertainment-driven shopping platform. Behind that choice lies a shift in consumer behavior, and there is a lot that Vietnamese brands can learn from it.
What Actually Happened During That Week
The event, titled Super Brand Day featuring Disney, lasted for seven days, bringing together products from the Disney Store along with more than 20 partner brands. The list includes Old Navy, Crocs, ColourPop, Touchland, Corkcicle, Kyte Baby, FHI Heat, Girls Crew, and PopSockets, most of which already feature dedicated Disney-inspired collections.
The product catalog ranges from home decor, toys, and cosmetics to fashion and accessories, featuring characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. Everything is part of a broader campaign called “Make the Holidays Magic,” amplified by paid advertising and storytelling through content creators.
The most notable tactical highlight was two exclusive products: a Darth-themed collectible item and a holiday edition mini backpack from Loungefly. Both were sold exclusively on the Disney Store storefront on TikTok Shop first, before appearing on the company's website.
Why TikTok Shop Became the Holiday Epicenter
The numbers speak for themselves: according to Emarketer estimates, U.S. TikTok Shop sales are projected to grow by about 48% in 2026, reaching $23.4 billion. This is no longer just a testing ground for a few young labels, but a real revenue channel.
More importantly, there is trust. GlobalData research shared in the press release shows that 67% of U.S. consumers trust a major brand equally or more when encountering them on TikTok Shop compared to other platforms. For the 18–24 age group, this figure jumps to 82%.
Young people no longer separate “watching for fun” and “buying for real.” To them, entertainment and shopping flow together as one.
Liz Shortreed, senior vice president and general manager of the Americas for Disney Consumer Products, stated briefly that the ways fans discover and shop for their favorite brands are always evolving, and their opportunity is to evolve right along with them. That phrasing is well worth noting for Vietnamese marketers: not “we are joining the marketplace,” but “we are following the customer.”
Limited-Time Exclusivity – A Leverage Underestimated by Many
A mini backpack and a collectible item do not generate massive revenue. But they accomplish something much more important: they give people a reason to open the app today instead of procrastinating.
This is a formula used by many big names. E.l.f. Cosmetics and Coca-Cola have previously launched exclusive products to liven up their TikTok Shop storefronts. Before Disney, brands like E.l.f., QVC, and Maybelline also participated in Super Brand Day—a feature launched in 2024 that allows brands to create time-limited shopping experiences for platform users.
- Exclusivity creates scarcity: an item available in only one place for a limited time.
- Scarcity creates conversation: buyers show off to each other, and non-buyers ask questions.
- Conversation creates traffic: content generates itself instead of requiring constant ad spend.
For small brands, you do not need a Marvel character. A limited run of 200 items, a color sold only during a livestream, a bundle available nowhere else—all of these create the exact same effect if executed decisively enough.
Over 20 Brands Pulling Together on One Boat
Instead of single-handedly bearing all the costs and content creation, Disney invited franchise partners to step into a joint event. Each party brought their own collection, but shared the benefits of a single stream of attention.
This organizational approach solves a familiar problem: making content for a major event is very costly, but sharing content among more than 20 parties means each side only contributes a fraction. In return, Disney fans have extra reasons to return to the store multiple times throughout the week, as a different brand goes live every day.
For Vietnamese businesses, this is a very practical suggestion: if you sell accessories, find a fashion brand; if you make pastries, find a tea brand. A joint livestream session can be much cheaper than two separate campaigns, while creating a much stronger sense of community.
Paid Ads and Storytelling: Two Legs of a Table
Disney didn't choose just one. They used paid media to ensure reach, and creator storytelling to build emotion. Ads tell you an event is happening; content creators show you the feeling of unboxing, home decorating, and gift-giving.
The platform is also expanding steadily. Back in August, Disney partnered with TikTok in a content-sharing agreement, connecting its intellectual property with creators to nurture fandom and build excitement for new products. In October, TikTok announced an AI-powered shopping experience, allowing customers to discover and buy directly within the app without leaving. Sephora and Best Buy also joined this autumn.
The picture is becoming quite clear: the platform is increasingly closing the journey from curiosity to checkout. Anyone who only uses the platform to post introductory videos and drive customers to a website will gradually lose their advantage.
If You Are a Small Brand, Where Should You Start?
Do not try to copy an entertainment conglomerate. Take the core principles and scale them down. Here are things you can do right away next month:
- Choose an exclusive "bait" product for TikTok Shop for 7–10 days, accompanied by a clear message that it is only available here.
- Prepare a storytelling script, not just a sales pitch. Viewers need an emotional reason before they need a discount code.
- Partner with one or two brands in the same customer niche to split livestream costs and increase appearance frequency.
- Set specific measurement goals: average views, retention rate, orders per session—do not just look at the final revenue.
- Prepare fulfillment and post-purchase care plans before pushing budgets, because trust comes from the unboxing experience, not the video.
It is worth emphasizing: Disney didn't win because they have famous characters. They won because they know how to turn a familiar story into a time-limited event with a reason to talk about it and the shortest possible purchasing path.
A Counter-Perspective: Don't Put All Your Eggs in One App
There is a detail that is easy to overlook. Despite pushing TikTok Shop hard, Disney still maintains the Disney Store website as its primary destination, and those two exclusive products will eventually appear there as well. The platform is a wave maker, not the only place to exist.
For Vietnamese brands, the biggest risk is not joining a marketplace late, but over-relying on a distribution channel where someone else makes the rules. Algorithms change, policies change, fees change. If all your customers live inside an app where you don't own the data, you are building a house on rented land.
Use the platform to find new people, then use content, community, and after-sales experiences to keep them. That is how Disney does it, and it is also the most sustainable way for a small business.
This holiday season, many Vietnamese brands will open storefronts on TikTok Shop and call it “digital transformation.” But the real question is not whether you are present on the marketplace, but whether you can create a strong enough reason for people to stop scrolling among thousands of other videos.
What do you think: for a small brand, should you put all your efforts into a bold, exclusive event, or spread your presence evenly every day to keep the momentum going? If you have ever tried a limited-product sales session, tell me the results—both successes and failures are valuable. Leave a comment below, and if you find this article useful, save it for planning your upcoming peak season.
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