When PUMA and JD Sports marked the PUMA RNR x LaFrance release on November 24, 2025, the celebration happened where the product lives: on the retail floor at JD Sports on Robson Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. Booth Empire produced a custom trading card activation in Vancouver for the occasion - a four-hour, in-store experience that turned approximately 140 guests into the faces of their own co-branded trading cards.
What the Brands Needed
The activation needed to give guests a branded physical takeaway tied directly to the release, and it needed to do so inside a working retail environment. That second requirement shaped everything. A store on Robson Street cannot surrender significant floor space to event infrastructure, so the experience had to be compact, fast and visually consistent with two brand identities at once: PUMA and JD Sports.
The Trading Card Setup
Booth Empire supplied a custom trading-card photo booth finished with a PUMA and JD Sports booth wrap, so the equipment itself carried the campaign rather than sitting beside it.
The card design was built around both brand identities. A two-logo seal was incorporated into the artwork, giving PUMA and JD Sports equal presence on every card that left the store. Rather than photographing guests against a traditional full-size backdrop, the workflow used background removal. Guests were photographed in place, their image was isolated digitally, and the finished portrait was set into the custom card layout.
Each participant walked away with a custom branded trading card - a physical object connected to the RNR x LaFrance release, produced on the spot.
A Trading Card Activation Built for a Vancouver Retail Footprint
The most important production decision was what the activation left out. Because background removal handled the visual separation, no traditional full-size backdrop was required. That single choice allowed the entire setup to operate within a compact retail footprint without blocking sightlines, product displays or customer flow through the store.
Over the four-hour window, the booth served approximately 140 guests - a steady pace for an in-store event, and one the compact configuration handled without crowding the sales floor. The store stayed a store; the activation worked inside it rather than around it.
Activation Results
- Approximately 140 guests participated during the four-hour event
- Every participant received a custom co-branded trading card
- The activation operated entirely within a compact retail footprint at JD Sports on Robson Street
The numbers describe a focused, product-connected event: a meaningful share of a release-day retail audience engaged with a branded experience and left holding a physical piece of the campaign. The final number of cards produced was not recorded, so the activation is best measured by its confirmed attendance and the completed four-hour retail run.
The Payoff
The output was the campaign. A trading card carrying a two-logo PUMA and JD Sports seal is a co-branded artifact guests keep, not a flyer they discard.
Background removal replaced the backdrop. Removing the largest physical element of a typical photo activation is what made a premium experience viable on an active sales floor.
The booth wrap did double duty. Custom-wrapped equipment meant the activation reinforced both brands even for shoppers who never stepped in front of the camera.
The experience matched the moment. A collectible card format suits a limited sneaker release - both trade on the appeal of owning something specific and physical.
Take It to Your Retail Release
Booth Empire produces custom trading card activations in Vancouver and across Canada and the United States for product launches, retail events and branded experiences. The format can be adapted with co-branded card designs, background removal for tight retail footprints, custom booth wraps and on-site card production.
Contact Booth Empire to plan a retail photo activation built around your next product release.
