Since 2015, the Exchange’s hardlines team has partnered with toy vendors to host military-exclusive kids’ events at Exchanges worldwide.
At first, it seemed like 2020 would be no different. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“The key players were already in place for in-store events this fall,” said Buyer III Jennifer Wooten. “Because of the new environment we were in, however, we didn’t want to encourage people to gather for in-person events like we have in the past.”
Recognizing that many military families would be physically distancing at home this fall, the team wanted to bring fun, family-friendly activities directly into Warfighters’ homes—a much-needed morale boost during a time of unprecedented uncertainty.
“Disney shared their Create Magic Moments concept with us, which is a campaign of online activities kids can do at home,” Wooten said. “We wanted military families to join in the fun too, so we developed our own program in partnership with Disney, which also includes three free online movie screenings.”
The Operation Fun campaign offers activities—including interactive videos, crafts, giveaways and more—through the Exchange’s XKids interactive community Hub page. The campaign centers on monthly live events, including free movie screenings:
- Sept. 25: “Toy Story 4” movie screening.
- Oct. 24: “Incredibles 2” movie screening.
- Nov. 26: “Frozen 2” Thanksgiving movie screening.
- Dec. 12: Disney Jr. video activity night.
Online movie screenings are a first for the Exchange, whose longstanding partnership with Disney has brought unique in-store events, sweepstakes and concept shops to military families, as well as first-run movies to Warfighters in Southwest Asia.
“This pandemic has no doubt been stressful for military families, so we wanted to do something that would help bring them together and make memories that will last a lifetime,” Wooten said. “Operation Fun is our way of thanking military communities for the incredible resilience they have shown throughout this challenging time.”
To help the campaign come to life, the Corporate Communication team created an interactive landing page for the XKids Hub, fashioned after a child’s bedroom.
“We wanted kids to interact with the room’s different elements to discover everything the campaign has to offer,” said Creative Director Johnny Olson. “For example, they could click the palette and paintbrush on the shelf to access art activities, or click on a TV on the wall to see a video gallery. We were going for a fully immersive experience.”
The campaign kicks off with PixarFest, a celebration running through the end of September. Kids can log on to the Hub every Sunday for a new Pixar-themed activity sheet, along with other activities and videos.
The campaign will also include top toy videos and more from the XKids, the Exchange’s crew of in-house toy experts, many of whom are the children of active Exchange associates or active-duty service members. Shoppers and associates can click here for a video breakdown of the campaign from the XKids, including the seven new members added to the team this year.
Operation Fun movie streams can be accessed from the Hub and are open to all authorized shoppers with a ShopMyExchange.com account, though the number of viewers who can tune in at once is limited. Each movie will be available to stream for 48 hours.
Join the fun! Exchange associates can also participate in Operation Fun’s free activities and movie screenings. Log on to ShopMyExchange.com/XKids to discover everything the campaign has to offer. Be sure to also follow the Exchange on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ShopMyExchange to stay up to date on all things Operation Fun and XKids.
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