Technology is culture. How we experience the world and indeed how we experience each other has been dramatically altered by the internet age. More often than not, human interconnection is intertwined with connectivity. Add to that the relationship between music and technology and you have the most complex and powerful dynamic in the entire industry. Music holds a charged, deeply emotional place in culture and is often the basis for a glimpse into the future of technology, be it new ways to disseminate music or giving voice to our most urgent social concerns. The experience of seeing live music has also become more important than ever - for artists, fans and the cities that host them. What if there was a museum that explored all of these topics through art, but did so within the parameters of a music festival that specifically highlighted the NYC community? Welcome, The Lab.

Brainstorming of The Lab began two years before Panorama took place. Curation and design started six months before the festival, with HP coming on as the tech sponsor 3 months prior. Overall execution took place over the course of 8 weeks which comprised the promo and a mere two week build period. The experience was broken down into 3 main components; façade, exhibition and the dome. The façade was an architectural marvel by day, projection mapped experience at night that hid the exhibition and dome, creating mystery and intrigue to lure festival attendees closer. The Exhibition was a gallery style environment that housed 10 interactive installations designed by NYC’s leading Experience Directors. The dome was a fully immersive, 180 degree video dome that surrounded in 15 minutes of motion graphic design to create an audio-visual trip. All of this built inside a 3-day, world class music festival.

The breadth and depth of the Panorama audience allowed HP to target each of its desired audiences with experiences aimed specifically at each demo and the impact was clear in the results. The Lab and HP Lounge saw nearly 30,000 visitors over the course of 3 days. #PanoramaHP saw 2.5 million impressions across the FB/Twitter/Instagram socials channels with an additional 3 million impressions through an influencer campaign. 11 original placements, 2 livestreams and 24 onsite media tours resulted in everyone from Forbes to the NYTimes, People, AdWeek and VH1 raving about their experience. Consumer recall and positive association with the HP brand was high and so successful that 2017 will see a significant expansion of the program at Panorama plus a first time foray into the already established, preeminent Coachella Festival.