PUMA NITRO LAB
Powering The PUMA NITRO™ Lab at London Marathon Weekend
Supporting OBO on PUMA’s The NITRO™ Lab during London Marathon weekend was exactly the kind of project we love at iMAG: technically demanding, creatively ambitious, and completely centred around audience experience.
Taking over the iconic Institute of Contemporary Arts on The Mall, the four-day activation brought together live trainer customisation, a high-energy 1K treadmill challenge, and an innovation hall showcasing PUMA’s latest NITRO™ technology. The result was an immersive hub celebrating performance, community, and running culture in the heart of London. Working alongside OBO and PUMA, our role was to deliver a seamless visual ecosystem that elevated every touchpoint of the experience, from hero LED moments to interactive displays and live camera integration.
The Challenge
The activation demanded more than simply installing screens. The challenge was to create a visually cohesive environment across multiple experiential zones, each with its own energy, audience interaction, and technical requirements.
At the heart of the space sat a 6m x 3m hero LED screen, which needed to deliver ultra-sharp imagery at close viewing distances while maintaining flawless performance throughout the event and on camera. The activation also required an overhead feature above the treadmill challenge area that could introduce movement, depth, and atmosphere without overwhelming the space.
Alongside this, the event space incorporated multiple additional displays, touchscreen integrations, and live camera elements, all of which needed to work seamlessly together within a busy live environment across four consecutive days. The visual experience had to feel premium, immersive, and distinctly PUMA, while remaining technically robust enough to support continuous audience interaction and high footfall throughout London Marathon weekend.
The Solution
To bring the creative vision to life, we delivered a bespoke combination of LED, processing, touchscreen integration, and live camera technology tailored specifically to the activation’s varied environments.
At the heart of the space stood a striking 6m x 3m LED centrepiece screen, built using our premium ROE Visual Topaz C 1.9mm LED panels, powered by Brompton Technology Tessera SX40 processing. The ultra-fine pixel pitch and exceptional colour performance ensured razor-sharp imagery and high-impact visuals throughout the experience.
Above the treadmill challenge zone, we installed ROE Visual Vanish 8 transparent LED panels to create a dynamic overhead ceiling feature. The semi-transparent structure introduced movement, depth, and layered visual energy, transforming the challenge area into an immersive focal point that naturally drew audiences in.
Alongside the main displays, we supplied additional LED screens with touchscreen integration, allowing visitors to interact directly with branded content and product experiences throughout the activation. To support live capture and content creation, we also deployed a PTZ camera package featuring our new Panasonic AW-UE150AKE cameras, delivering flexible, high-quality coverage across the event space.
The treadmill challenge area took the technical ambition a step further. Each treadmill wirelessly broadcast its health monitoring data into TouchDesigner, where the team team translated live biometric output into a generative visual layer. That layer was fed into Disguise GX3 Media Servers alongside the live camera feeds from across the space, with the two composited in real time and mapped across the LED wall and ceiling installation. The room responded to the people in it. The harder participants pushed, the more the environment changed around them. It was technically precise, visually striking, and entirely live.
The Result
The NITRO™ Lab became a standout destination during London Marathon Weekend, delivering an immersive and visually driven brand experience that successfully blended innovation, performance, and community. The combination of high-resolution LED, transparent overhead visuals, interactive technology, and live camera integration helped transform the ICA into an energetic, premium environment that reflected the boldness of the PUMA brand.
More broadly, the activation reflected a growing shift in how global sports brands engage with audiences. Rather than focusing solely on product, PUMA created an ecosystem around running culture that blended performance, lifestyle, innovation, and community into one connected experience. For marathon participants, the space delivered practical value and memorable interactions. For visitors and supporters, it offered an accessible way to tap into the atmosphere and excitement surrounding one of London’s biggest sporting weekends.
We’re proud to have collaborated with OBO and PUMA on such an ambitious and creatively exciting project, delivering a seamless technical solution that helped bring The NITRO™ Lab to life.
Photo Credit: Nic Serpell-Rand
