Comcast Lift Zones at SXSW Innovation Festival

Comcast's Lift Zones Wins People’s Choice Award at SXSW with Immersive Installation Showcasing Free WiFi Learning Spaces for Distance Education

Client: Comcast

Timeframe: 2022

Collaborators: Los York

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The Opportunity

In 2020, as COVID-19 measures forced students into distance learning, Comcast worked with its deep network of non-profit partners and city leaders, who kept select community centers open as essential services during the pandemic, to launch Lift Zones and provide free, robust WiFi-enabled distance learning spaces at over 1,000 community centers nationwide.

The Approach

San Francisco-based creative studio MOSIS EXPERIENTIALand LOS YORK partnered with Comcast, the largest internet service provider in the United States, and strategic communications consultancy, Message, to bring the Lift Zone experience to attendees at this year’s SXSW festival. The experience included a 3D sculpture representing the threads of connection that Lift Zones provide, which brought viewers into a VR world explaining the initiative. Marrying the real on-the-ground community impact with the cutting edge tech world of SXSW, the multi-pronged media project was rounded out by a short film.

The Takeaway

With such a distinctive social mission, the initiative required an out-of-the-box approach to production and collaboration, requiring simultaneous ideation and creation. Blending the very practical, community service aspect of Lift Zones, with the exceptionally artful installation piece provided a distinct creative challenge and opportunity. From concept to visualization to execution, the creative studio worked closely with its partners at Comcast and tobring the project to reality. Comcast’s Lift Zones initiative was among more than 60 SXSW Innovation finalists spanning 13 categories, and went on to win the People’s Choice Award.