Movie Marketing

Inside Netflix’s high-stakes marketing playbook for Squid Game Season 3

For its grand conclusion, Squid Game is leaving the screen behind. Through immersive events, viral social stunts, and global collaborations, Netflix is transforming the series into a cultural movement that outlasts its final episode.

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Harshal Thakur
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When a show becomes a global phenomenon, its final season isn't just a conclusion; it's a legacy moment. For Netflix and its juggernaut series Squid Game, the marketing for its third and final act, premiering June 27, 2025, is less of a promotional campaign and more of a global cultural takeover. The streaming giant is pulling out all the stops, deploying a multi-layered strategy that blurs the lines between advertising, entertainment, and reality itself. The goal is clear: to move fans from passive viewers to active participants in the show's universe, ensuring its place in pop culture history.

The campaign indulged in experiential marketing to immerse fans so deeply in the show's world that they can almost feel the tension of the games. Major premiere events were slated for key global hubs like New York, Seoul, and Mumbai, but these were far from typical red-carpet affairs. Instead, they were interactive arenas where fans could engage in themed challenges reminiscent of the series.

This strategy is epitomised by Squid Game: The Experience, a ticketed activation in cities like New York and Sydney that allows fans to compete in a series of games—from the iconic "Red Light, Green Light" under the watchful eye of a towering Young-hee doll to brand new challenges. The experience is a self-contained ecosystem, complete with a "Night Market" for Korean food and a "Squid Mart" for exclusive merchandise, effectively turning a viewing habit into a tangible, shareable event.

The campaign’s execution in Malaysia further illustrates this "glocal" approach. Following a successful Season 2 activation that saw an entire MRT station transformed into the show's universe, the Season 3 push involves a giant, ominous business card "crashing" into public spaces, while videos of the iconic pink guards engaging in mundane local activities—like doing laundry or ordering from street stalls—create a surreal, viral-ready juxtaposition.

If experiential events are the foundation, then bold creative stunts are the campaign's viral engine. Netflix launched a sweepstakes that was less of a contest and more of a "job offer." Promoted on LinkedIn, the platform recruited a "Squid Game Expert," inviting fans to become a Pink Guard for a day at the New York experience. To qualify, candidates had to score over 90% on an exhaustive quiz on Netflix’s Tudum site, a clever mechanism to filter for and reward the most dedicated superfans. This move turned a simple giveaway into a narrative, offering one person the chance to step inside the story and become part of the spectacle.

The marketing strategy also leans heavily on a robust ecosystem of brand partnerships. A collaboration with Epic Games will drop Squid Game assets into Fortnite on the same day the season premieres, allowing millions of players to recreate the show's challenges within one of the world's biggest gaming platforms. On the consumer goods front, a partnership with Pepsico yields a limited-edition Doritos pack, "Flamin' Hot or Not?", a game of chance where one in four chips is intensely spicy—a clever product tie-in that mirrors the show's themes of risk and reward. These build on the success of previous collaborations for Season 2, which included everything from PUMA tracksuits to Squid Game-themed Knorr ramen in India.

Beyond direct promotion, Netflix is skillfully riding the "Hallyu" (Korean Wave) that the show has amplified. The series has become an unintentional cultural exporter. After Season 1, sales of dalgona candy kits and green tracksuits soared. Season 2 did the same for the traditional Korean game of gonggi. The show's influence is even credited with boosting soju sales in markets like Malaysia and Singapore. By acknowledging and leaning into this organic cultural spread, Netflix's marketing benefits from a powerful, user-generated tailwind that keeps the show omnipresent and culturally relevant.

Ultimately, Netflix's strategy for the final season of Squid Game is a comprehensive and calculated play. It combines the physical immersion of live events, the viral potential of creative stunts, the commercial reach of strategic partnerships, and the organic momentum of a cultural phenomenon. By inviting fans to not just watch, but to play, compete, and participate, Netflix is ensuring that even after the final credits roll, the game will be far from over.

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