Journal · Case study · Romania · 2016–2017
Ice Age at Sun Plaza, Bucharest: 320,000+ visitors from Halloween to Christmas
How a woolly mammoth, a sabre-toothed cat and the animals of the last ice age drew more than 320,000 visitors to one of Bucharest’s busiest malls, from Halloween 2016 through the Christmas holidays.
Summary
From Halloween 2016 to January 2017, our Ice Age exhibition filled Sun Plaza, one of the most visited shopping centres in Bucharest, and welcomed more than 320,000 visitors. For three months, the giants of the last ice age moved into the mall: a woolly mammoth with tusks almost as wide as the atrium, a sabre-toothed cat, Glyptodon, Hippidion, giant ground sloths, cave bears and more.
Sun Plaza wanted a project that would surprise its customers through the busiest season of the year — Halloween, the first days of winter, the Christmas holidays and the new year. Ice Age gave families a reason to come, stay and come back, at the moment when the mall was already full of shoppers.
Giants of the last ice age
The exhibition brought together life-size animals that disappeared at the end of the last ice age, each one recreated in detail and lit to look alive. Visitors met the woolly mammoth, the symbol of the ice age; the sabre-toothed cat with its long fangs; the Glyptodon, a giant armoured relative of the armadillo; the Hippidion, an ancient American horse; the Macrauchenia and the Toxodon, strange grazing animals of South America; the giant ground sloth; the short-faced bear and the cave bear in its rock cave.
Every animal had an information panel in Romanian, so a walk through the mall became a lesson in natural history for children, students and parents.
Designed for a busy mall
Instead of one closed hall, the animals were placed in several scenes across the mall. A snow-covered scene with the mammoth and a cave under a starry curtain filled the central atrium, where it could be seen from every floor. Other groups stood along the main walkways, in front of shops such as Zara, Mango and Colin’s, so shoppers met the animals on their way and families walked further through the mall to find them all.
Snow, rocks, palms and warm spotlights created two worlds — a frozen landscape for the mammoths, bears and sabre-toothed cats, and a dry South American plain for the Glyptodon, Hippidion and Macrauchenia. Rope barriers and “please do not touch” signs kept the figures safe while letting visitors come close for photos.
Local partner
Our Romanian partner Pandorra Style handled local logistics and the on-site team, while Coco Agency produced the exhibition and managed the installation. Working with a strong local partner let the mall stay fully open during the build and kept the exhibition running smoothly through the busiest weeks of the year.
Why it worked
An exhibition spread across a mall works because it adds to the visit instead of replacing it. Shoppers discover the animals by surprise, families plan a trip to see them, and the atrium scene gives the whole centre a strong winter image — on social media and in the mall itself. Timed for Halloween and Christmas, Ice Age turned the busiest season into a reason to visit Sun Plaza rather than another mall.
Sun Plaza, today part of NEPI Rockcastle, later welcomed Ice Age again as part of our 2024–2025 tour of Romanian malls. The same exhibition has since travelled from Bucharest to Saudi Arabia, where it welcomed more than 1.1 million visitors with Al Othaim Malls and received an honour award from the Saudi Ministry of Culture.
At a glance
Photos from Sun Plaza
Why the tour model works for a mall network
Touring one exhibition across several properties of the same network has clear advantages. The content is produced once and refreshed for each location; the marketing message stays consistent across cities; and every mall can promote its own dates to its own catchment area.
For Iulius, it meant that families in Cluj-Napoca, Suceava, Iași and Timișoara each received the same high-quality attraction in a setting adapted to their mall — from the gardens of Iulius Parc and Palas Gardens to the open spaces of Iulius Gardens in Timișoara.
How we adapted Giant Bugs to each property
No two malls are the same. For every stop we adapted the route to the available space — indoor halls, gardens or open plazas — and chose the order of the habitats so that families moved naturally from one scene to the next. Power, access for trucks and the build-up schedule were agreed with each mall’s technical team in advance.
What made it attractive to schools
The scientific content was designed for learning outside the classroom. Panels about insect anatomy, life cycles, ecosystems and biodiversity gave biology teachers a ready-made visit, and parents a reason to choose the mall for a weekend outing that was both fun and educational.
Lessons for venue owners
An exhibition is most effective when it combines spectacle with substance. The giant animatronic insects bring people in; the educational layer brings school groups and repeat visits; and a well-planned layout keeps visitors in the mall for longer, where they also eat, drink and shop.
If you manage several properties, a touring exhibition across your network can deliver the same impact in every city with one partner. Contact us with your locations and preferred dates, and we will propose a tour plan.
Working with Coco Agency
Coco Agency has produced and toured exhibitions and mass events since 2012, for shopping centres, museums, municipalities and global brands across Europe, the Middle East and North America. Our exhibitions and events have welcomed more than 17 million visitors.
Every project follows the same four steps. First you tell us about your venue, your dates and your goals. Then we send a tailored proposal with a layout for your floor plan, the list of figures or works, the timeline and the budget. Our crew delivers, installs and tests everything with your local team. Finally, we support the run with photos, videos and texts for your marketing, and dismantle and pack at the end.
Questions venues often ask
How much space is needed? Most of our exhibitions are adapted to spaces from about 200 to 900 m², indoors or outdoors, and we design the layout for your floor plan.
How long does the installation take? Usually a few days, depending on the exhibition and the venue. We agree the schedule with your technical team so that the venue can stay open.
Can the exhibition travel to my country? Yes. We have delivered exhibitions in Bulgaria, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, the UK, Canada and many other countries, and we organise the transport and customs documents.