10 SXSW Panels You Should Vote For
Voting is a pain in the ass. But it’s worth it, we promise.
It’s that time of year again–SXSW panel ideas are up and voting is live for only one more week. Whether or not you plan to attend, this year’s lineup of proposed panels is quite the reflection of the state of the marketing and tech industries, as well as crazy recaps of the antics of 2015. We’ve slogged through over 4,000 panels (yeah, it was rough) in order to provide you the top 10 we’re crossing our fingers for. So read on young, restless voter. And for those that win you over, voting ends Sept. 4.
1.
For How Stumptown Roasted the Coffee Industry, Portland agency Instrument is bringing in the big guns. Stumptown’s director of digital marketing will join two Instrument bigwigs who helped Stumptown build its brand empire. Hear how this coffee company David roasted the Goliaths of the industry by becoming connoisseurs of their customer’s behavior, all along while making just damn good coffee. Important note: they have promised that coffee will be served.
2.
No discussion on the next marketing frontier would be the same without rolling and lighting one up. Yup, that’s right. The participants of this panel, America’s Next Tech Boom: Legalized Marijuana, are all several years to decades into the emerging legalized cannabis/marijuana industry and will provide a glimpse into the cross-section of folks that are currently investing, innovating, educating and promoting the multi-billion dollar cannabis industry. Another important note: they have not promised that weed will be served.
3.
Millennials-schmellennials. We all know them, market to them, and some of us are them (Gen X cough, cough). What we really haven’t heard much about is how Millennials will shape the travel and hospitality industries–both ripe for disruption. In Millennials and the Future of Hospitality, the global design firm Fahrenheit 212 will serve up their ideas on innovation in a world with emerging market disruptors like Airbnb–including the new rules for engagement and the creation of sustainable, scalable platforms that will allow brands in the realm to stay relevant and attract future audiences.
4.
When it comes to creating an epic digital campaign, winning never felt so good. In What Winning Looks Like, the chief digital strategist on President Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns and the director of digital at Freedom To Marry will join forces, in a panel moderated by one of Mashable’s Political Editors, to tell us what separates the winners from the losers to declare campaign victory in the digital age.
5.
What would any gathering of social-minded individuals be without a special nod to Twitter? In Say What?: The Year in Conversation on Twitter, join the team at Twitter, along with some of Twitter’s most creative and innovative celebrities, to mull over the past year’s most influential buzz on this powerful platform. Get a taste on how users ignited the controversy and conversation that traveled around the world.
6.
One tequila, two tequila, three tequila…more? In Unfiltered: Distilling Down the Beverage Industry, entrepreneurs from three different perspectives–distilling, coffee, and juicing–will spin (not tall) tales about the trials and tribulations on getting a niche beverage startup off the ground. What does it take to turn consumer perception and desire for booze, coffee, and fresh juice into profitability?
7.
We live in a world where food delivery can be scheduled with a simple emoji. And we don’t know about you, but apps for ordering for food delivery are probably one of the best things that happened to our office since white bread (and peanut butter-filled pretzels). This panel will delve not only into how How Data & Tech Are Changing the Way We Eat, but also the implications that this has for the food industry as a whole. ‘Cause things are changing, from farm to…conference room table.
8.
To produce in vertical video or not, that is the question. Ninety percent of us hold our phones vertically when we watch video, so why hasn’t the industry caught up? Vertical Video: The End of the TV Era, will explore why vertical video is more natural for mobile users and the new visual framing required for vertical video. Panel speakers will include a designer and human factors researcher from Vervid, the world’s first immersive video platform designed for shooting, sharing, and discovering HD video vertically.
Let’s stop here. Did I mention that the minds at Struck have also put together two panels? Well, I couldn’t put this together without a shameless plug for ourselves:
9.
A Fantastic Journey with Boogers as Jet Fuel will take audience members down the slimy rabbit hole, to the birthplace of Ren & Stimpy, Spongebob and home to some of the most irreverent and groundbreaking animation. Russell Hicks of Nickelodeon Studios will provide an unparalleled glimpse into the workings of the studio, explaining how, in an industry rife with competition, the studio brought back its unique creator-driven culture to recreate the early heady days of Nick — where everything was possible.
10.
Hop into bed with Salt Lake City (you heard me) in How to Design a City: Between the Sheets with SLC. You won’t be there alone, as a Salt Lake City planner, architect, and ad agency will provide intimate detail on what it takes to re-brand a historic city with a beat-up rep, block by block.
If you’re going to attend SXSW, or even if you’re not, please take the time to log-in and vote. All of these (us) panelists would really appreciate it. Voting ends Sept. 4 at midnight.
