The Ysabel restaurant in West Hollywood was full of stars, champagne, and plenty of gold trophies as Apple TV+ hosted a big after party on Sunday night following the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Apple TV+ had reason to celebrate: The streaming platform scored 22 wins during television’s biggest night, with The Studio taking home 13 Emmy Awards, including outstanding comedy series and a lead actor accolade for actor and co-creator Seth Rogen. The show broke the record for most awards for an individual season from a freshman comedy.

Slow Horses, another Apple TV+ show, also scored an Emmy for outstanding directing for a drama.

While HBO Max’s medical drama The Pitt won the prize for best drama series, Apple TV+’s workplace sci-fi series Severance had a big night as well, garnering eight awards—including honors for Britt Lower and Tramell Tillman in the lead actress and outstanding supporting actor categories.

With The Studio and Severance being some of the top winners, it seems as though Apple TV+ might’ve learned from its past mistakes when it comes to marketing its shows.

Apple has struggled to cut through the streaming noise

Ted Lasso is the perhaps last show that made a splash for the streaming platform during awards season, earning a total of 11 Primetime Emmy Awards in 2021 and 2022.

But beyond that, Apple TV+ has been seen in the past as struggling to break into the broader popular culture, despite no shortage of ambitious efforts. An article from Fast Company‘s Joe Berkowitz last year chalked the problem up to lackluster marketing efforts.

But things appear to be changing.

Indeed, when Severance first premiered in 2022, it debuted to widespread critical acclaim. But it didn’t quite reach a larger audience until the second season premiered at the beginning of this year. In February, Apple reported that the show was its most-watched series, surpassing even Ted Lasso.

Apple’s streaming growth relative to its competitors reflects its recent successes. According to a May 2025 research note from analyst firm MoffettNathanson—which cited data from Nielsen—Apple TV+ grew 37% year-to-date through April, making it the third fastest growing streaming platform behind The Roku Channel and Paramount+.

Pop-ups, activations, events, and more

Ahead of the second season of Severance, Apple TV+’s marketing team came up with creative ways to promote the series, including deploying a few pop-up activations and immersive events.

Before the season premiered, a pop-up glass box replicating an office setup was launched in New York’s Grand Central Hall, with director Ben Stiller making an appearance alongside Adam Scott and the rest of the cast. 

Following the finale, the cast paid a visit to London for an installation where signature blue balloons from the show featuring the characters’ faces were released across landmarks like Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, the London Eye, and more. 

Apple TV+ also hosted an immersive event at Bell Works in Holmdel, New Jersey, which serves as the location for Lumon Industries—the mysterious fictional company known in the series for its “severance” procedure. At the event, the cast appeared for a Q&A along with late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert. 

It seems as though Apple TV+ got more creative with its partnerships too. Last month, it partnered with Los Angeles-based luxury grocery chain Erewhon, letting customers recite Severance catchphrases to receive a free limited-edition drink.

And along with the real life pop-ups and partnerships, Apple TV+ also incorporated digital components to increase its presence online and on social media, from creating a fictional LinkedIn page for Lumon, to producing a spot featuring a cameo from Apple CEO Tim Cook as a “severed” employee, to debuting a short-form video of the cast calling each other “hot” while singing to the tune of the Severance theme song.

As for The Studio, Rogen is already somewhat of a marketing machine himself, known for popular movies like Superbad and Pineapple Express.

When the trailer first premiered, it boasted an A-list cast, which included Martin Scorsese, Bryan Cranston, Charlize Theron, Zoë Kravitz, and more. Ahead of the Emmys, Rogen made sure to maintain a presence everywhere, showing up at Venice Film Festival earlier this month to reportedly explore locations and conduct “research” for the second season of The Studio. 

Whether or not Rogen and cryptic pop-ups are the secret sauce behind Apple TV+’s broader success this year, it seems as though the streaming platform has learned to ramp up the kind of marketing that gets people talking.