Lloyds' Firehorse toy shop lets visitors load it with Lunar New Year ambitions

Lloyds wanted to move beyond simple festival messaging. CMO Suresh Balaji asked for a genuinely meaningful experience built on the brand's iconic horse, to inspire hope and ambition for the year ahead and build brand affinity.

A pop-up on Greek Street, London, blended British toy-shop nostalgia with Asian cultural aesthetics: shelves of horse plushies and interactive displays where guests submitted their zodiac signs and ambitions — from buying a first house to funding travel. Each visitor received manifestation charms to place on a limited-edition Firehorse toy, plus a bespoke zodiac prediction. The Lloyds East and Southeast Asian network shaped the execution, backed by influencer attendance, digital out-of-home and social amplification.

Hundreds of visitors went through the store, with creator content amplifying it online, and celebratory messages were projected onto Lloyds office buildings in Birmingham, Bristol and London. The source gives no reach or sales figures.

To celebrate the 2026 Lunar New Year, the Year of the Horse, Lloyds opened 'Year of the Horse X Year of You', a pop-up on Greek Street, London, built as a toy store that hundreds of visitors walked through. The concept blended the nostalgic charm of a traditional British toy shop with Asian cultural aesthetics, with shelves adorned with horse plushies.

Inside, visitors took an immersive digital journey through interactive displays: they submitted their zodiac signs along with personal ambitions for the year, ranging from buying their first house to funding international travel. Each was gifted manifestation charms representing their ambitions to place upon a limited-edition Firehorse toy, plus a bespoke zodiac prediction, as physical reminders of their 2026 goals.

Suresh Balaji, CMO of Lloyds Banking Group, said the point was to move beyond simple messaging and connect on an emotional level using the brand's iconic asset. The activation was supported by influencer attendance, digital out-of-home displays and social amplification, and celebratory messages were projected onto Lloyds buildings in Birmingham, Bristol and London.

It puts the bank's oldest icon — the black horse — centre stage in the exact year that celebrates the horse.

Visitors' own ambitions, not the bank's products, are what get attached to the brand object.

The charm on the Firehorse is a keepsake, so the brand's promise physically outlasts the visit.

A one-street store travelled nationwide through creator content and projections on Lloyds offices.

When a brand owns an animal icon, let the zodiac year do the work: turn the symbol into something visitors act on — a toy they load with their own wishes — and brand affinity becomes personal intent.

The store ran around Lunar New Year 2026 with hundreds of visitors and creator content circulating online. Lloyds projected celebratory messages onto its offices in Birmingham, Bristol and London through the period. No longer-term results were reported in the source.