Udo Lindenberg is an extraordinary German musician, artist and writer and he is internationally renowned as a living rock legend. His musical career began in the late 1970s. To date, his entire oeuvre has received numerous awards. There has been a successful musical ‘Hinterm Horizont’ based on his life and he is also a prolific painter with enormous commercial successful. His history is closely associated with Hamburg’s Reeperbahn. So it was only natural that this famous street should become the multimedia home of the legendary rocker. Located in the heart of Hamburg, visitors to the “Panik City -The Udo Lindenberg Experience” are offered a unique cultural experience: a location based experience that has become an industry bench-mark in interactive storytelling.
INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
The use of innovative and groundbreaking technology plays a significant role in the overall success of Panik City.
The digital experience specialists at pilot Screentime have created a world covering approx. 700 square metres that brings Udo Lindenberg’s musical, artistic and political work to life in a multimedia and multi-sensory experience. The technical set-up includes floor-to-ceiling panoramic video walls, LED screens, tablets and interactive applications, as well as a sophisticated audio and video system.
Visitors experience unique art objects, a virtual concert and can record their own song together with the music legend.
The technologies used for the live experience surprise, entertain and involve the exhibition guests – allowing visitors an intimate insight into the musician, artist and person – Udo Lindenberg.
INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING
A virtual Udo Lindenberg accompanies visitors on their tour through the Panik City. Guests are immersed in Udo Lindenberg’s past and become part of it themselves. New content was produced especially for this extraordinary journey through time.
Among other things, the moving image experts at pilot worked with Udo Lindenberg and other contemporary witnesses in his hometown of Gronau to shoot real and fictional film footage. This was then combined with archive material to create a completely new and immersive experience for visitors.
VISITORS TO PANIK CITY TAKE A JOURNEY BACK IN TIME TO THE GDR WITH UDO LINDENBERG.
Want to stand on stage with Udo Lindenberg? You can at Panik City.
Visitors to the Panik City do not feel like they are in a classic museum, where guests walk from room to room and look at artefacts. At Panik City, they are immersed in the world of Udo Lindenberg for around 90 minutes without interruption. To make this non-stop experience possible, a completely new visitor management concept was developed for the Panik City. Access to the various areas of Panik City is controlled by an RFID technology that monitors the technical and timing setup. Tour guides accompany guests, monitor the process and thus ensure a holistic multimedia experience.
This brings visitors very close to Udo Lindenberg. They can stand alongside the rock musician on his concert stage or in his recording studio, ‘Boogie Park’. They experience him during the GDR era and gain insights into his secret Stasi files. They also get to meet real-life witnesses and companions and paint one of his famous ‘Likörelle’ pictures themselves. The interactive storytelling engages visitors emotionally to such an extent that Udo Lindenberg becomes a life-like guide for them. But that’s not all: guests can take home a bit of their experience to share with their friends and family. For example, they can download the song recorded with Udo Lindenberg in his recording studio and digital “Likörelle” paintings can be sent via by email. Panik City thus creates a long-lasting brand experience that goes beyond the live experience.
BLUEPRINT FOR BRAND COMMUNICATION
Udo Lindenberg’s Panik City is a multimedia brand experience that serves as a blueprint for innovative brand communication in many ways. People are interested in stories and remember them when they are well told.
This also applies to brand communication. Interactive elements reinforce this effect, creating completely new brand experiences. Interactive storytelling can be an effective way to reach consumers emotionally, build closeness and anchor a positive brand perception in the long term. The multimedia concept behind Panik City focuses on participation. This kind of multimedia experience can create completely new touchpoints for connecting with existing and potential consumers and getting them excited about a brand’s products, services or content.
Those who experiment with new technologies such as VR or AR at an early stage and use them effectively also secure a knowledge advantage over the competition. In times of fragmented media usage and declining reach, brand managers can thus connect with people who would be difficult or impossible to reach through conventional advertising or communication channels.
These previously untapped target groups can be brought closer to brands through a positive live experience, and in some cases convinced and even turned into multipliers.
