SXSW Week One Recap: A-I-A-I-Oh!
By Amy Wheaton & Patrick Henderson
The VERB content team is at SXSW in Austin, Texas, meeting smart people from all over the world and being inspired by incredible work and big ideas. We’re also eating a lot of tacos. As week two kicks off, we wanted to check in and reflect on some of the emerging trends and recurring themes we’ve noticed over the first few days of the conference — and how they’re going to impact our lives and our work over the next year and beyond.
AI isn’t coming. It’s already here.
Within the interactive track at SXSW, one of the biggest themes that continues to pop up is artificial intelligence (AI). It’s going to change the way we think about content and communication in general. There are lots of different takes on AI — some of us believe it’s going to save the world, while others are convinced “the robots” are coming for all of our jobs. The truth is probably somewhere in between these two extremes.
Here’s our take on AI: it’s something we’re already using every day. Start learning about it. Embrace it.
As Amy Webb, founded of the Future Today Institute explained during her presentation: if you’re driving a car with anti-lock brakes, you’re using AI. If you’re receiving music recommendations based on your favourite Spotify playlists, you’re using AI. We’re going to see more and more AI integrated into our daily lives, and chances are, it’ll be neither as great nor as terrifying as some people anticipate.
As digital marketers, how do we get ready for AI? It starts with doing your homework, avoiding your fear of the unknown, and getting your existing platforms ready for the change. Kristina Halvorson, CEO and Founder of Brain Traffic, outlined three content requirements to make AI useful for your business:
- A reliable source of data and content
- Accurate information that’s suited to the application
- A framework for organizing the information
The big takeaway from SXSW? Don’t wait to create your AI strategy. Many brands poo-pooed the internet at first, but it makes sense to think about AI in 2018 the same way we thought about the Internet in 1998. It was a little ugly and a little clunky back then, but look how far it’s come. AI is going to get a lot less artificial and more intelligent, so get ready.
Don’t get too attached to your smartphone
Think about the devices you were using in 1998. The discman, the DVD player, the digital camera — they’re all obsolete. And the next device that’s on its way to that heap of metallic plastic in the sky? Your beloved smartphone.
As facial and voice recognition technology gets better and better, we’ll evolve from a “heads-down” culture to a “heads-up” one, spending less time looking down at our phones and more time interacting with voice-activated devices (Google Home and Alexa are two early examples) and using facial recognition technology instead of passwords.
The good? People will be looking at one another again, making eye contact…not just staring at our phones. But what we, as digital marketers, need to think about is how we’ll create, curate, and plan new content.
Content will need to be developed with the way people speak in mind.
So what do we need to do? Stop thinking about people consuming content on their computers and on their devices. Get outside. Watch how people interact and how people speak. Start thinking about the context of how people are consuming the content you’re creating.
BTC becomes DTC
Smart, successful brands are tailoring their messaging in a new way — direct to consumer. These brands are owning every step of the consumer journey, from awareness to engagement to purchase to referrals and repeat purchases. How do they do it? Rather than focusing on the product, their messaging is all about the experience — and why it matters to their target consumer.
Think about Away Luggage. Their marketing could be all about a sleek, durable suitcase: the material it’s made from, the extra-rolly wheels. What Away has done, however, is used the insight that their target customers love to travel.
They’ve created a magazine, a travel blog — every bit of content they’re producing is not about suitcases, but about travel.
The brand publishes an entire experience ecosystem for people who love traveling. And it works! Away has experienced huge success, collaborating on new designs with celebrities such as Rashida Jones and earning a spot at the top of every seasoned traveler’s must-have list.
Stay tuned for our week two SXSW recap, and make sure to follow VERB on Instagram for stories and snaps from Austin!
VERB Interactive is a leader in digital marketing, specializing in solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. Find out more at www.verbinteractive.com.
