Experiential Hubs for Cultural Legends: Inside ‘Bowie 75’

In celebration of David Bowie’s 75^th birthday on Jan. 8, the estate of the iconic performer activated two retail pop-up activations in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood and London’s Regent Street, two locales where the late singer resided for a time. Visitors to the “Bowie 75” pop-ups, which ran from Oct. 25, 2021, through Jan. 23 could purchase rare merch, snag collectibles, snap pics and selfies with iconic artwork, watch rare Bowie footage, attend curated events and peruse a collection of audio-centric touchpoints, including a 360 reality audio experience leveraging Sony technology.

Here are five of the pop-up’s most interactive engagements that helped bring the storied career of a beloved legend to life.

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Immersive Music Experience

One of the key focal points of the space was a music experience powered by Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. Attendees were escorted into a dark room and instructed to stand at its center while music tracks emanated from several different speakers—one for each instrument—and videos of concert footage played on a large screen. How it works: The technology, we were told, takes each sound and plays it in a spherical field, thereby separating the drums, keyboards, guitars, vocals and other sounds. Unlike typical home surround sound systems, which merge the sounds together, 360 Reality Audio mimics being at a live concert. After leaving the room, attendees could listen—through headphones—to a collection of albums that were remastered using the technology.

Sony’s 360 Reality Audio tech allowed Bowie 75 visitors to experience Bowie’s music as if they were at a live concert.

Telephone Booth Audio Recordings

A goal of Bowie’s estate, beyond selling merchandise, was to feature one of his most iconic album cover shoots, “Ziggy Stardust,” in some capacity. To ensure the representation was authentic and true to the artist himself, an exact replica of the London-style red telephone booth was built. As for the interactive portion, fabricators worked with a technologist to incorporate actual audio clips into the experience, from the artist’s musings on culture to growing old. To activate the audio, visitors entered the phone booth, pressed the number one, two or three, and enjoyed an intimate recording voiced by the artist himself.

Bowie Trivia

Interwoven throughout the Bowie 75 store were opportunities for attendees to participate in Bowie trivia, with each touchpoint featuring a different question about the musician’s career. Visitors used a QR code to submit their answers and, if answered correctly, the app activated an AR filter inspired by one of Bowie’s “characters,” such as the lightning bolt-clad Aladdin Sane and Ziggy Stardust.

QR code-powered Bowie trivia could be played throughout the pop-ups. Winners unlocked an AR filter.

Magnet Wall

Bowie is known for using the “cut-up” songwriting method, a literary technique which entails taking a complete line of text, separating the words and then rearranging them to create new lines and phrases. Attendees were able to participate in this process themselves by interacting with a “Magnet Wall” that featured some of his well-known lyrics, allowing them to craft their own Bowie songs—akin to the activity of mixing and matching words on a refrigerator door.

Message to Bowie

Lastly, a priority for the estate and its agency partners was to link the two Bowie 75 pop-ups in some meaningful way. The result was a “message to Bowie” wall—labeled “Ground Control to Major Tom,” after the astronaut character featured in his work—where visitors could write a “personal transmission for Bowie to read in the stars” that then triggered a Bowie-themed animation. The messages written by fans in both locations live online on a single microsite and will likely be featured during celebrations and activations throughout the rock legend’s 75^th year. Agency: Factory 360.

Photo credit: Ignacio Linares

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