Pepsi aims to make consumers' blood run cold with drive-in horror experience

Drive-in cinemas might have grown in popularity nowadays due to COVID-19, but Pepsi is turning it up a notch with a drive-in horror experience titled Icebox, Karak Haunted Highway ahead of Halloween. Participants can experience a journey of unavoidable scares all from the comfort of their cars.

Pepsi is the main sponsor for the event while C27 and Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre are the official digital partner and official venue respectively. Meanwhile, iMedia and Brickfields Asia College are the respective media and education partners. The event is organised by Livescape Group and Hitman Solutions, brought to life by Livescape Group's latest IP, Icebox (in-car experience), and supported by immersive haunted house experience Hauntu. Icebox is designed to delivery a fully-immersive experience in the post-pandemic world. 

In a statement to A+M, Livescape Group's CEO Iqbal Ameer said Pepsi's sponsorship will entail onsite branding, with its logo and products being featured during the event. Pepsi will build a brand station that fits seamlessly within the consumer journey, creating product-to-hand trial activations, all with full exclusivity.

The events management company invested RM500,000 for this experience and aims to extend it to other regions based on its success. "We are in conversations to bring this to Penang and our Singapore office is also beginning preliminary talks to bring the experience there as well," he said.

The idea of a drive-in horror experience has been in the works since March, and Iqbal said the success of drive-in cinemas in Kuala Lumpur and other states has cemented its belief that Malaysians crave new and exciting experiences.

The Icebox Karak is a fully-immersive experience revolving around a custom set built inside of KLCC MarqE. The set comprises six different scenes and each car will be in a fully enclosed LED pod. There will be live actors throughout the experience, along with stories and interactions to elevate participants' experience. The 15-minute drive-in horror experience runs from 28 October to 8 November and is expected to receive 1,320 cars.

The experience does not end when participants leave. To extend the impact of the drive-in horror experience, participants will receive a WhatsApp message later on from Bentong Police Station indicating that it has found a speed camera photo of the passengers screaming in fear. The next morning, the car's owner will wake up to find a bumper sticker that reads "I survived Karak".

Iqbal told A+M that Livescape explored streaming, AR and VR but those were not fully authentic to its DNA. He explained that Icebox was derived by focusing on providing an immersive and entertaining event whilst keeping consumers within the safe confines of their cars. "What is key here is that it is 100% compliant with social distancing guidelines, and the IP can go beyond the pandemic. Our long term solution with this project is to continue to provide new content to new audiences in the future," he added.

Livescape will focus on digital, radio and TV to promote this event, and expects a total of 5,000 participants over the 12 day duration of the event. Iqbal said the number is expected to increase due to its healthy early sales which currently stands at 30%. "In terms of PR value, we expect more than RM1.5 million worth of PR coverage through media coverage, influencer engagements, eyeballs via our OOH as well as through our social media," he said.

According to Livescape, these two aspects will prompt consumers to share about their Icebox Karak experiences on social media, further creating hype surrounding the event. The company added that the drive-in horror experience first launched in Japan during the pandemic. CNN also previously reported that Kowagarasetai was the Japanese haunted house and horror event production firm behind the drive-in haunted house.

Separately, Livescape Group won a lawsuit battle worth US$500,000 against production company World Wonder Fest in August for an alleged breach of contract concerning the K-pop concert WKNDFEST Vol. 1 K-Pop Edition. The concert was scheduled to be held on 30 August 2019 but World Wonder Fest announced on 19 August that it will be postponed.

Livescape's spokesperson told A+M that it was not paid for the work it has completed as contractually stipulated. Nonetheless, it is thankful to the authorities who made the decision to support the company, as it is one that will protect the live events industry. "We hope this decision will encourage others to speak up for their rights as well as this industry is often overlooked," the spokesperson said.

Headquartered in Malaysia, Livescape also has offices in Singapore and Indonesia. It has worked on events including Wonda Coffee Malaysia Meal Donations 2020, Ultra Abu Dhabi 2020, Tokopedia: Running Man Keep On Running 2019, and Viu: Keluargar Don Baha 2019, among others. The events management company is also responsible for It's The Ship, a musical festival at sea. Among the list of services it offers include 360 event management, AR, talent management and creative and design services.

Related articles:
Livescape Group wins US$500k lawsuit against production firm for allegedly not being paid
Event sponsorship’s evolution and where it’s heading in 2020