Scream Machines -

Whether in response to joy, fear or frustration, screaming is a part of human nature that marketers are tapping into to foster richer memory-making. Activations that center around screaming booths and audio-triggered vending machines are popping up to provide consumers with a participatory activity that inherently elicits heightened emotions (and, usually, a good laugh).

Depending on the end goal, there are any number of ways to craft an interactive experience that encourages consumers to unleash their loudest shrieks for a brand. From provoking their competitive sides to offering some sweet relief, let’s look at strategies that will turn your attendees into bona fide scream queens.

GAMIFICATION

There’s nothing like a little friendly competition to keep attendees engaged—especially if they have their eyes on a prize. Take horror-film production company Blumhouse, which at SXSW 2025 marked its 15-year anniversary with an activation that had festivalgoers delivering their best blood-curdling screams inside a noise-cancelling ScreamBox in downtown Austin. The booth was equipped with a decibel meter that calculated the sound produced by each participant, and ranked them, with daily winners earning swag, and bragging rights.

With a similar, but more detailed approach, Warner Bros. got fans in London hyped for its horror flick “Evil Dead Rise” by planting a sound-proof Scream Booth at the film’s red-carpet premiere event. Attendees could release their loudest screech, which was measured by a decibel meter and scored to maintain a competitive spirit. What’s more, each participant’s scream was captured and delivered as a shareable 360-degree video, as well as a physical Polaroid featuring the movie’s artwork.

WELLNESS

When a Yasso survey revealed that 71 percent of Americans say sometimes they just want to let out a scream, the company responded with an activation that gave frustrated consumers a chance to vent—at the top of their lungs.

Indeed, the “ridiculously better” frozen snack brand teamed up with “ridiculously positive” producer and TV host Ross Mathews to launch an I Scream for Yasso campaign featuring Scream for Yasso booths located in key markets that provided a moment of relief. Consumers could step inside a booth to (privately) air their grievances and be entered for a chance to win a year’s supply of the brand’s snacks, plus $2,000. Samples, of course, were also part of the experience.

CROWD-SOURCED ART

Those who have a taste for the macabre were drawn to FX’s “call-to-scream,” which promoted the network’s horror drama “Grotesquerie.” The brand cast out a nationwide invitation over the fall for fans to become a part of its “Symphony of Screams,” a chilling musical composition created with the help of Grammy Award-winning producer Blake Slatkin. To participate, consumers in Los Angeles, Nashville and New York could step inside branded Scream Chambers and submit their best bellow for a shot at being featured in the symphony.

When the composition was complete, FX hosted two dining events that gave attendees an opportunity to hear the “Symphony of Screams” played in spaces “engineered” to send shivers down spines.

SAMPLING

Audio-activated vending machines offer their own twist on the screaming booth concept. The installations are less contained, but better equipped for more throughput, making them ideal for sampling campaigns.

Consider Coca-Cola-owned Royal Tru-Orange (or, Fanta, as it’s called in the U.S.), which didn’t just want to give away samples of its soda during Halloween; it wanted consumers to work for them. So the brand activated a vending machine stunt that tasked Filipinos with screaming their lungs out in order to snag a free beverage—plus a creepy surprise.

And in an older, but ever-relevant example, Farnham Ale & Lager encouraged Quebec Beer Festival attendees to unleash their frustrations by yelling into a scream-activated vending machine at the event. Every participant scored a free beer, but based on how loud they screamed, a variety of brew that matched their “bitterness” was dispensed. Cheers to that.

Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros.