FINAL_FW2607-08_DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 8
Launch
HALLMARK
LIC ENS E D EV E NTS
Hallmark of
Success
Wearing the
entertainment crown,
Hallmark steps into
experiences
by Juliana Gilling
6
Funworld | JULY/AUGUST 2026 | IAAPA.org/Funworld
HALLMARK HAS LONG BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER through greeting
cards and those heartwarming movies, celebrating holidays, seasons, and
life’s special moments. Now Hallmark brings audiences inside its world
through its new branded experience division. The company aims to leverage
its strong emotional connections with potential guests by creating destination
events that are an attraction within their own right.
Experiences are a natural extension of Hallmark’s mission. “Our brand is
all about bringing people together, helping people make memories, and this
is another way we’re doing that,” says Lindsey Roy, senior vice president of
strategy and brand at Hallmark.
With the debut of the Hallmark Christmas Experience in 2024, the brand
began a new holiday tradition for fans—the chance to be merry and find
holiday magic at the Crown Center, right outside Hallmark’s Kansas City,
Missouri, headquarters.
“We did not start small,” Roy explains. “We were very careful with our
attention to detail.” The goal was to create an experience that lived up to
the Hallmark name and met audience expectations. Hallmark structured the
seasonal experience around two core elements: an outdoor program and an
indoor, ticketed offering at the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center Hotel.
The free-to-enter outdoor immersive environment captures the charm of
a Hallmark movie town square, featuring a Christmas market, tree-lighting
shows, card-sending and gift-wrapping stations, festive food and drinks, light
walks, and holiday photo opportunities. The experience mirrors the cozy,
