"US Mode" – UScellular Experience at Summerfest
648,112
Buttons Pressed
15 ft
Custom Boombox Build
<10 sec
Game Reset Time
Overview Working with rEvolution, a leading experiential marketing agency At Milwaukee's iconic Summerfest music festival, we launched a playful yet purposeful activation encouraging guests to unplug and be present. "US Mode" was a custom-built, gamified experience designed to promote healthier digital habits with a literal twist. Festivalgoers stepped up to a giant boombox-themed game station,...
Client
UScellular / rEvolution
Location
Milwaukee, WI
UScellular
Put the Phone Down: A 15-Foot Boombox Built to Stop You in Your Tracks
At Milwaukee's iconic Summerfest, PivotXP partnered with rEvolution to bring "US Mode" to life — a playful, purposeful activation that asked festivalgoers to do one simple thing: put the phone away.
The centerpiece was a 15-foot-wide custom boombox structure that anchored the footprint and pulled people in from across the festival grounds. Guests stepped up to the podium, dropped their phones into a dedicated slot, and were instantly part of the experience — no app, no account, no friction.
The build did the heavy lifting on attention. The mechanic did the rest.
15 ft
Boombox Build
Phone-Free
Entry Mechanic
No App
Required
PivotXP
Smart Gameplay, Built on Local Hardware
Once the game kicked off, players had a 45-second window to react. Forty backlit buttons — 31 blue, 9 red — randomly lit up for three seconds at a time. Blue buttons stood for healthy habits and added points; red buttons represented digital distractions and took them away. Music notes, text bubbles, and emoji icons reinforced the message at every press.
PivotXP engineered the whole system to run locally — Raspberry Pi and PC handled the button logic and GPIO-driven lighting, while a mounted TV styled as a vintage radio dial showed each player's score climbing or dropping in real time. No internet dependency meant no hiccups, even in the dense festival environment.
Reset time stayed under ten seconds, keeping the line moving and the energy high all day.
40
Backlit Buttons
45 sec
Game Window
Local
Hardware Stack
UScellular
More Than a Game: A Statement About Being Present
Every press tied back to UScellular's mission of helping people reset their relationship with tech. Final scores translated into instant on-site prizes, but the real takeaway was behavioral — guests walked away energized, rewarded, and a little more aware of their own digital habits.
Across the festival's run, players racked up over 648,000 button presses. Photos of the boombox structure spread organically across social, extending the activation well beyond the footprint itself.
"US Mode" wasn't just a clever festival game. It was a high-energy brand moment that turned a values statement into something fans could actually feel.
648,112
Buttons Pressed
On-Site
Prize Fulfillment
Organic
Social Sharing
Gallery
See It in Action
4 photos
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