How Global’s Stranger Things Pop-Up Station Is Turning Things Upside Down
My radio people will lock into this instantly, but if you’re here for branding, marketing, or turning content into an immersive product experience, you’re in the right place too, because if Season 5 has taught us anything already, it’s that every signal matters, literally and figuratively.
What Global and Netflix pulled off with pop-up station WSQK “The Squawk” is a rare example of a promotional idea and a content play landing with equal force.
This isn’t a promo stunt. It’s an opportunity masterclass – inspired by the radio station utilized as a plot device in the Stranger Things Broadway show – and Netflix signing on as a creative partner says a lot.
When a video giant crosses into audio storytelling at this level, it isn’t just licensing… it’s Eddie Munson level foreshadowing. Netflix isn’t dabbling in audio. They’re warming up and about to go from Demogorgon to Vecna.
In the middle of premiere week, when broadcasters are scrambling for their Joe Keery meet-and-greet photos (guilty), Global and Netflix dropped a fully programmed, fully textured, fully alive radio station that runs through January 1st. Tune in and turn it up to 11, obviously.
As a self-described brandovator, a word I made up and fully expect someone to steal, I preach that the details are the differentiator, and The Squawk paid attention. The logo and font choices feel straight out of a Hawkins yearbook, the first post on social has a gnarly ’80s look, the van wrap looks like it rolled straight off the set, the audio signature nails the era, and even the “sponsors” are actual businesses from the show.
It’s content building with accuracy, the kind that tells you the creatives took this seriously. Seriously enough that someone said, “the mascot’s hair isn’t canon,” and an out-of-touch U.S. PD asked why Nick Cannon was involved.
This is the kind of move that underscores how James Rea, Ashley Tabor-King, and the entire Global team operates on a distinctly different level. We’re talking Suzie Bingham level.
Literal Time-Shifted Audio
They’re using authentic 1980s gear, including vintage Inovonics processors, to give the whole thing that warm, crunchy, low-end Hawkins-on-an-FM feel. An air chain that sounds like a relic someone purchased from Bob’s Radio Shack.
The air-checking part of my brain wants to do what it always does, analyze the playlist, question the amount of imaging, suggest more jingles, critique the believability of the DJs, but in this case? The idea is bigger than the aircheck. The fun is bigger than the formatics but my PD brain isn’t going to let me skip the aircheck, so here we are.
These aren’t criticisms, they’re possibilities. Ideas that can make an already great concept feel even more alive. And to be fair, the station airs through January 1st, so elements like these may still show up.
The Aircheck: What They Got Right (and What My PD Brain Noticed)
After three hours of listening across three days, here’s the breakdown. Equal parts admiration and professional reflex.
- The era is spot-on. Stranger Things is set between 1983 and 1987, and every song I heard lived inside that window. That’s a rare level of discipline in a pop-up. And in three sessions, I never once heard Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” That restraint alone deserves an award.
- Hawkins Updates are aces. The writing, pacing, and story selection were perfect: kids on bikes, town tension, parade prep, local weirdness. Whoever wrote these understood the assignment.
- Limahl “Never Ending Story.” A smart pull, the kind of show-aware nod casual fans miss and diehards appreciate.
- The jocks posted every intro flawlessly. They hit the ramps perfectly, and the levels were clean. Those fundamentals were tight, and that goes a long way in selling the illusion of a real 1980s ‘crush & roll’ station. Somebody was wearing their “Thinking Hat” trucker cap.
- There was a music promo where the songs were beat-mixed, legitimately serious production for the era they’re recreating. The only miss: the promo featured “Karma Chameleon,” and then the actual song played one song later, a small crack, we’re not at Chrissy Cunningham levels.
- Some forgotten gems were great choices. Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance” was a perfect pull but I was hoping the jock would back-sell or front-sell it with a little Beverly Hills Cop nod.
- At one point, the imaging into Guns N’ Roses had a more rock-forward read that fit the moment extremely well. But then Guns N’ Roses rolled straight into The Clash, two rock titles back-to-back with no texture change. Details matter, just ask Dr. Brenner.
- Music flow sometimes breaks the reality. When Gary Paxton’s “Spookie Movies” (1962) was followed immediately by James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” (1970). A station that believes its broadcasting in 1985 would never stack two songs from the ’60s and ’70s back-to-back. And “Spookie Movies” whiffed on more than era — it isn’t Halloween, it isn’t a hit, and the word “movie” alone knocks it off-universe faster than a demogorgon knocks Russian soldiers.
- Sweeper fatigue is real. The same general-use sweeper hit five times in an hour, sometimes only two songs apart, even Stranger Things merch would be like “it’s a bit much.”
- Most of the jingles weren’t key-matched, some felt rushed, and the spacing didn’t support the hour’s rhythm. Casual listeners won’t notice, Bill Drake would.
- Jocks talking out of jingles is a U.S. Top 40 sin. A small detail, but a DJ would definitely get hotlined, just not from Joyce.
- EOM tones were a bit too tight, causing promos and stopsets to occasionally step on the jock’s outcue. It’s minor, but it dulls the magic or maybe.. it’s done by design to show DJs misfire the pot sometimes? Or maybe…it’s not the DJs causing the disturbance? cue Stranger Things theme
- Stopset stacking issues. Scoops Ahoy showed up twice in the same break. The writing was great but mix in Country Line Café, Roane Lumberyard, or any other Hawkins business so it feels like a real town, not two back-to-back ads from the same client.
- The jock breaks drift in and out of the 1980s. Sometimes the talent is fully in-universe, broadcasting as if it’s 1985 in real time. Other times, they flip into modern “looking back” language. Once you commit to being 80’s Hawkins Radio, every line has to stay there, makes it more radical.
- Jock breaks often felt generic, designed to float into any song instead of responding to the specific track they were hitting. More song- and artist-specific chatter would’ve made the station feel even more alive than Hopper’s reveal in season 4.
- Another small crack in the execution comes from the positioning statements. Sometimes it’s WSQK, “Turning Hawkins Upside Down,” other times it’s WSQK, “Hawkins’ Hit Maker.” Both are solid lines on their own (assuming the whole city is aware the Upside Down even exists), but they don’t rotate with any real strategy or consistency. They just appear at random, like someone grabbed whatever was in the folder and fired.
- One thing that kept catching my eye was the album art on the player. Sometimes it was wrong, sometimes it was frozen. And look, I respect Kenny Loggins as much as the next child of the ’80s, but I don’t need him staring me down while New Order is playing. The good news is that even when the artwork was off, at least it was pulling from actual songs the station plays and not Now That’s What I Call Music compilations like way too many stations do.
What I Wanted to Hear That I Never Did
- Kids from the show calling in to request songs.
- A John Mellencamp moment (Indiana’s prodigal son of the ’80s).
- Artist drops attempting their best mascot chicken cluck.
- A fake PSA show featuring DOE staff like Dr. Brenner or Dr. Owens.
- High school shoutouts from Hawkins High.
Promotions of any kind:
- WSQK bumper sticker giveaways.
- “50,000-watt hit maker giving away $50,000.”
- The Fantastic Plastic Payoff.
- Anything.
Community notes such as:
- Hellfire Club looking for a new Dungeon Master.
- Hawkins Lab taking “summer internship” applications (write MKUltra on your resume).
- Benny’s Burgers: “kids eat free.”
- Melvald’s General Store: “When your phone fries in a storm, Melvald’s has you covered.”
And to be fair, some of the ideas Global’s brand builders probably wanted to try may have been things the Netflix team flagged as off brand, too revealing, or a little too far from the primary storytelling. Totally understandable when you’re guarding a franchise this big.
Hopefully the references, imaging, and presentation evolve as fans watch the final episodes. I’m especially excited to hear how they handle the on air breaks for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Those real time touches are where a station like this can really shine.
PS… ReelWorld, please tell me you made sleigh-bell heavy versions of the jingles. I’m begging for literal jingling jingles.
Hawkins Hitwear
Global has the best merch store in radio, I’m actually writing this in my Capital FM orange hoodie. But there’s no WSQK merch on their sites or socials. Meanwhile, Target, Amazon, and Etsy are loaded with WSQK shirts and bumper stickers. Maybe Netflix kept the merch rights tight for this one, which means the lack of official gear is probably out of Global’s hands, so for now I’ll just add a Capital Xtra crossbody bag to my cart and call it even.
What makes this even more impressive is that WSQK isn’t a fringe Easter egg (P.S. Happy Thanksgiving). It’s a real part of life in Hawkins. Robin works at the station and gives herself the on air name Rockin Robin. The kids use the WSQK van to communicate with the Upside Down. It becomes their meeting place, basically the treehouse from Stand By Me.
They climb the towers, wear the shirts, drive the van, use the keychains. They call the station by its brand name, The Squawk, the same way real listeners talk about real stations. And the show treats WSQK as a real part of local culture. Lucas and Dustin wear the shirts in major scenes. And on Amazon you can buy the WSQK van complete with a Steve Harrington action figure.
What Global built matters. They didn’t just make a pop-up station. They took something already living in the show and made it tangible. They built a brand that could continue past Season 5, past premiere week, past the finale. WSQK isn’t just a fan artifact anymore. It can keep living long after Hawkins closes the gate. (Adds Squawk van to cart.)
“Squawk of the Town,” “Talk to Tammy,” “Dial-a-Dedication,” these aren’t just feature and benchmark names. They’re narrative threads pulled directly from the Stranger Things scripts.
They respect the show.
They respect the fans.
And, honestly? The respect the medium.
Built to Follow You Between Worlds
Live on DAB in London. Streaming on Global Player. Summoned by voice command “Play The Squawk.” Integrated with on-the-ground fan events across the UK. Easy for fans to Hopper right in.
In a week where Netflix could have simply bought every billboard on the planet, they chose to partner with Global to build an immersive audio activation that feels like part of the show itself.
The Finale
With Season 5 now here, this pop-up station is one of the smartest premiere-week moves in the entire campaign. It’s clever, it’s committed, and it manages to be nostalgic and innovative at the same time.
So while your family is huddled around the TV and the turkey today, use Global’s WSQK as a reminder: you can still do something remarkable with your station. Maybe YOU can help revitalize radio in the U.S. Stranger things have happened.
