In this article: A fan birthday party; interactive activities; the retail reward strategy.
Pompompurin has spent three decades being the golden retriever with a brown beret that Sanrio fans recognize instantly. For his 30th birthday, Sunway Pyramid in Malaysia is giving those fans somewhere to step into the character’s world, rather than simply browse another shelf of merchandise.
From October 15 to November 1, the mall’s LG2 Blue Concourse will host a giant birthday cake installation, an oversized Pompompurin inflatable, photo spots, games, character appearances and shopping rewards. The experience is free to explore, though some activities and redemptions require purchases or registration.
A birthday party built for fans to join
The activation makes a familiar character tangible. Visitors can photograph the giant Pompompurin display, join a bubble party or meet Sanrio characters on selected dates. Pompompurin appears on October 17 and 18, while Hello Kitty and Kuromi have their own scheduled appearances later in the celebration.
There are activities for people who want to do more than pose for a picture. At Hello Kitty’s Basket of Joy, participants use oversized utensils to move fruit onto a pie and can claim a mystery reward. At Doodle with Cinnamoroll, they can colour a character design. A cake-house play zone is also available to eligible young visitors after a qualifying purchase.
The mix matters because Sanrio fandom is not one single behavior. Some visitors want photos, some want a playful family outing and others want limited collectibles. Giving each group an activity can turn a quick mall visit into a more involved experience.
How the mall connects play with spending
Sunway Pyramid’s campaign is also structured around shopping. Visitors who spend RM800 across up to four same-day receipts can redeem a Sanrio Characters foldable umbrella blind box, subject to availability. A separate offer gives shoppers wearing yellow RM10 off selected imported Japanese Sanrio merchandise after spending at least RM50 at the mall.
The Sunway Super App plays a role in gift redemption, while participating stores offer additional deals to shoppers who present eligible Sanrio purchase receipts. That connects the character experience with merchants beyond the event area itself.
The blind-box format adds a collecting element, but the rules also reveal the commercial design: an identifiable spending threshold, receipt verification and a reward people can take home. The attraction is positioned as a celebration first, with purchase incentives placed around the experience.
Why character IP works for destination marketing
Sunway Malls Selangor CEO Jason Chin told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the collaboration reflects the mall’s focus on recognizable characters and community experiences. The event also follows a broader regional pattern of retailers turning beloved IP into photo-friendly spaces and limited merchandise.
For comparison, ContentGrip previously covered CHAGEE’s Hello Kitty festive collaboration, which combined character-themed environments with a stamp trail and merchandise. Sunway Pyramid applies a similar participation logic at the scale of a shopping mall, where different tenants can benefit from the same character-led reason to visit.
The difference between a branded decoration and a destination is the sequence of things people can do. Here, the character draws attention, games encourage participation, photo spots invite documentation, and redemption mechanics connect that attention to purchases. Whether the campaign lifts traffic or sales will require results that have not yet been reported.
Sources: Sunway Pyramid official event page and MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, October 9, 2026.
