5 Takeaways from SXSW 2019
This year for SXSW, five Day One-ers attended the yearly get together of festivals, conferences, and exhibitions in Austin, Texas. With the goal of learning as much and connecting with as many people as we could, we hit the streets with custom #OutsideD1A bandanas, AirDroppable business cards, and happy faces that got to escape the cold of New York. Here, we reflect on the top 5 themes our team took away from SXSW.
1. 2020 Is Right Around The Corner
With Interactive taking place just before Music at SXSW, it’s typical for brands to bring in musicians early for special performances and brand collaborations. This year however marked a decidedly different shift with many brands turning to celebrities and politicians to talk global and national issues alike, in a city that has become a significant political battleground. From Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren headlining major discussions about technology and politics in America, to a LinkedIn fireside chat with Mindy Kaling about empowerment. There was a political tone present in the air that seemed to bring new brands in the conversation but hold others back as they feared “stunty marketing” could be perceived as insensitive. Additionally, the ACLU had a large festival-like footprint celebrating 100 years and politicians like former Ohio Governor, John Kasich, were seen in the back rooms of popular downtown hangouts like The Driskill. A few Day One-ers even got to meet legendary news anchor, Dan Rather, as a part of CNN’s programming-heavy house activation.
2. The Brand Activation Is Dead, So What’s Next For Brand Experience?
On the second day of Interactive we passed by an interestingly shaped pop-up building covered in Samsung logos. We stepped into a 6-room experience tied to their new Samsung Galaxy, but it was missing a bit of the umph they’ve shown in years past or activations like the 837 Experience. While we didn’t walk away with new phones we were stoked to check out their new curved display monitors that apparently “everyone was asking about.” Conversely, Bose did an excellent job showcasing their new speaker-enabled sunglasses in a no frills, product-first airstream pop-up that allowed the consumer to try the product without having to sign-up for a mailing list. This uninhibited try-on provided a healthy reminder that the future of branded experience doesn’t always equate to “more complicated or more steps.” One brand that seemed to really get this was Miracle Gro (of all brands) that created an immersive “Harvest HQ” experience that felt so on-brand and aligned with their product vision that it stood out as perhaps the top experience of the entire weekend. Product supported by not just friendly, but knowledgeable ambassadors was enhanced with a branded plant wall, good music, and a wide array of food and beverage options that had us staying much longer than expected. They even had a dedicated space in partnership with Cheddar to host live interviews about the products—remember we’re talking plants here, but plants are so in, brilliant!
3. Local is The New Global
While SXSW is a decidedly global event — years of cultural influx have caused a dramatic shift in the greater Austin ecosystem. No longer does the city merely play host, but acts as a conduit to some of the coolest new brands and businesses. Led by athletic-ware darlings, Outdoor Voices, it was rapidly apparent how many Los Angeles and New York natives are now calling Austin home. We started our second day with Outdoor Voices at their 5th annual “A Brunch of Joggers” event in which upwards of 5,000 people jogged 2.5 miles around their Austin HQ in blue “Doing Things” hats, culminating in a musical performance by local country band, Midland. The energy in the air was palpable and the community the brand has built was undeniable. Incidentally, this 6,000 word New Yorker piece on the brand came out a few days after the run further reinforcing the significance of the spectacle we witnessed first-hand on that muggy Saturday morning. At the end of our trip as we sat there wearing our blue OV caps, drinking Topo Chico, eating breakfast tacos at Torchy’s — it was hard not to fall in love, or maybe we already had? One thing that’s for sure: D1A cowboy hats for next year.
4. Connect Your Own Dots
Panels, panels and, more panels. Panels aren’t going anywhere — but the energy around them is certainly evolving as brands and communities are exploring new formats for sharing and thought leadership. The time and place element for casual networking has gotten increasingly precious as the festival has become more spread out and saturated. This was the impetus for D1A teaming up with our agency friends over at BMF to host a “lite bites and chill” event at their Austin HQ. Slightly off the beaten path, on Sunday afternoon, we hosted friends, clients and client-friends for a casual escape from the hustle and bustle of downtown. The afternoon provided the perfect backdrop to catch up with folks in a calmer environment while sharing delicious whisky from two of our Single Malt #clients, Craigellachie and Aberfeldy. D1A’s own Managing Director, Jamie Falkowski, attended a 10-person mozzarella making class with marketers and creators from a wide array of brands and agencies, further showing the potential of intimate settings at SXSW. Other brands like digital party extraordinaires, Splash, took a similar route with their Culture House, offering fatigued attendees an escape into the Austin hills at a beautiful mansion with guest DJs Coco & Breezy.
5. Scooters are a Major Thing and a Major Problem
We’ve all seen countless articles about the rise of ride-share scooters from brands like Lime, Jump, and Bird but personally had never actually seen it. In theory, they make total sense: a cheap, highly accessible way to get around town, without the need to park in a designated area. Which leads us to every bustling corner of Austin during SXSW looking more like a scooter graveyard than a place designated for pedestrians. On top of that is the fact that these scooters are much faster than you think, paired with eyes distracted by a phone and we’re actually talking a serious safety hazard. Just our group, witnessed three separate crashes/falls in three days. In New York we have docks for the CitiBikes which seems to be a model cities like Austin might want to consider when evolving their bustling scooter infrastructures.
Until next year SXSW!
