Our work · Brand experience
Surviving Dead Zones: a Halloween pop-up for Xfinity, built in 10 days
A free, one-night Halloween pop-up in Philadelphia and Chicago. In Philadelphia we ran the whole experiential activation production, from the cobwebs on the facade to a ceiling that cracked open every 45 minutes.
- Client
- Xfinity
- What
- One-night Halloween pop-up, two cities
- Timeline
- 10 days, brief to doors
- Scope
- Full build in Philadelphia, technology in Chicago
The brief
The ask
Xfinity threw a Halloween party for Frank, its Frankenstein-inspired character. Free entry, open to anyone who walked in.
Our job was to turn National Mechanics in Old City into a haunted game guests could play for three hours. We had 10 days from brief to doors.
The guest journey
How the night played out
- 1
Scan any code to join
Guests signed up on their phones with a name, phone number and a selfie.
- 2
Get your ghost portrait
Seconds later, the selfie came back as a ghost and landed on the portrait wall.
- 3
Hunt five hidden codes
Each code revealed a letter. Only players who found all five and spelled F-R-A-N-K could win a prize.
- 4
Knock three times
The knock box gave up a code to anyone who knocked and said his name.
- 5
Confess in the booth
Pick up the phone, wait for the beep, confess. That unlocked another code.
- 6
Watch the ceiling crack open
Every 45 minutes the ceiling cracked open, bats poured out and a winner's ghost appeared on the walls.
The build
What we built, piece by piece
Set dressing
Cobwebs across the facade, lit columns, pumpkins and candles on the steps, a dressed bar and signage. We designed, sourced and installed all of it.
Whole venue installed in a single day
A custom QR code scavenger hunt
Our tech team built the game as a custom web app. Five codes were hidden around the venue, one per letter: the sign at the door, the photo booth backdrop, the knock box, a photo of Frank and the confessional. Only players who finished were eligible to win. We built a custom backend that picked one or more winners at random from the finishers and put their ghosts on the wall.
AI ghost portraits
Every selfie came back as a ghost portrait in seconds. A live portrait wall, projected across a large wall of the venue, showed each ghost next to that player's found letters.
Projection mapping on the ceiling
We mapped the projection to the venue's ceiling coffers, designed and animated the content, and patched audio into the house system. It ran ambient all night. Every 45 minutes we ran a prize giveaway as a full show effect: the ceiling cracked open, the lights and sound shifted, and the winner's ghost appeared on the walls.
Knock box
A custom physical puzzle. Knock three times, say his name, and it hands over one of the hidden codes. Designed, built and installed by our team, and wired into the game.
Confessional
A vintage phone in a curtained booth. Guests heard one of six greetings we wrote and recorded, then had up to 30 seconds after the beep. Audio and booth-camera video went to the client.
Photography
We handled the photography too: a step-and-repeat booth plus roaming coverage all night. Guests got their photos on the spot. Xfinity's creative team worked with us on the photo-op graphics and backdrop.
Philadelphia and Chicago
Two cities, one game
The same game ran in Philadelphia and Chicago. In Philadelphia we handled the whole build. In Chicago we ran the technology.
Philadelphia
The whole build, concept to install.
Chicago
The technology, running the same game.
How it came together
Ten days, one team
Plan
One team owned the set, the game, the ceiling and the photo, so every piece fed the same night.
Design
We designed the set, animated the ceiling, and wrote and recorded the confessional greetings. Our tech team built the game and the portrait wall.
Deploy
Install took one day. Doors stayed open for three hours. Media and stats reached the client within 24 hours.
Concept to install. One team.
On social
Two reels from the night
Your event
Bring this to your event
Every piece here is a module. Re-theme any of them to fit your brand and your venue.
Set dressing
Facade, entry and bar, dressed to your theme.
QR game and AI portraits
A custom web game with a live portrait wall.
Projection mapping
Content mapped to your room's architecture.
Physical interactives
Puzzles like the knock box, wired into the game.
Confessional booth
A phone, a script and recordings you keep.
Photography
Booth and roaming photos, in guests' hands on the spot.
Have a night like this in mind?
Tell us about it. Concept to install. One team.
