Marketers Studio - David Berkowitz's Marketing Blog

Get All the Highlights of SXSW 2013 in a 5-Minute Read

My colleagues at 360i put together a report on the hottest people, startups, and trends from SXSW 2013. Kudos to Katie Perry for pulling all this together, and thanks to the best brand ambassadors an agency could ask for: Megan Conley, Danielle Johnsen, Irina Kondrashova, Rosie Siman, and Katie Wall.

 

SXSW HOTSHEET: 360i's Guide to the Best of Interactive 2013 by 360i

SXSW 2013 Highlights from around the Web

Following the trip to Austin, I've been pulling together a lot of materials I found interseting and/or helpful while reviewing SXSW. Here are some of my favorite links. Share yours in the comments or tweet them my way.

Research and trends

- Keyhole tracked SXSW in real-time. See a roundup of its trackers. 

- Peek Analytics profiled the people and conversations buzzing in Austin. 

- Ad Age quotes SXSW big shots who say it's still a place of wonder and a good spot to launch products. 

- Contagious looks at a lot of the big speakers and themes.

- Get the greatest hits from The Verge.

- Salesforce Marketing Cloud posted some excellent recaps on Slideshare.

- What themes popped there? HeyBigFish is built on Little Bird and shows who and what got the buzz.

Startups and technologies

- Ryse reviewed the top startups rated in its new app during SXSW. It's an interesting mix to see what was top of mind for attendees, including some that weren't trying to be the most buzzworthy there.

- Laptop mag looks at 10 of the best apps and technologies. It does make SXSW look a lot like CES.

- Altimeter's Jeremiah Owyang and Chris Silva review the technologies that matter. I'd debate a lot of the findings. For instance, if you follow their advice and ignore 3D printing, you might be blindsided by one of the best commercial and possibly society disruptors in history. 

- NYT profiles one of the hotter products, Memoto - the Lifelogging Camera. I feel like I have to get this for my job, but I really have no interest in it. Maybe it's because it reminds me of the video cameras pets wear. Is it really worth $300?

- NYT's overview looks at the spotlight on hardware.

- Highlight isn't dead yet. Want proof? They brought popsicles!

- Ad Age likes these 4 startups: Takes, Clinch, Raved, Posse. I used Takes but it's annoying it requires a special app rather than using existing content. Clinch is fine but haven't been wowed. Posse's a fun recommendation play in a crowded space. I need to try out Raved.

- Speaking of Posse, it included some Austin recmomendations from SXSW attendees. Yes, I've got a street here.

- Ad Age chceks out the interactive art - a big theme at this festival.

- Business Insider points to Tinder as the hot startup of the festival. 

- Ad Age featured the talking shoe from Google and Adidas.

- If this roundup isn't enough, Nibletz posts 48 startup stories from SXSW.

Brands

- A&E let people simulate killing each other and shared GIFs to promote its new show Bates Motel. Am I the only one who thinks this is making simulated murder a little too cute? 

- LostRemote profiles SyFy's pop-up hotel to promote the show Defiance.  

- Arm & Hammer exec wonders what he's doing at SXSW. While from The Onion, I met execs who seemed more out of place there than this guy.

- I started a collaborative Pinterest board featuring brands at SXSW. If you want to contribute to it, let me know. It's actually become a pretty good glimpse at which brands have stood out. 

In the press (some posts where I've been cited, and are good reads regardless)

- I wrote a byline in Ad Age recapping SXSW - namely, how Grumpy Cat taught me everything I need to know.

- MediaPost reviews the Oreo / Mondelez real-time marketing panel

- Adrants does a great job covering the Oreo session, and Steve Hall took amazing photos.

- Ad Age posted the full video of the Oreo panel.

- Adweek reviews Agency Execs' Favorite SXSW Hot Spots

- Ad Age wonders if agencies should even be at SXSW anymore (I say they should - surprise)

- Mashable runs sketches from Patrick Ashamalla covering panels, including my session with the IAB and Nielsen on gaming

- Digiday wonders what caught marketers' eyes at SXSW. I said Grumpy Cat. 

- Adweek has a great infographic summing up the show, even though it disses two things I loved: Grumpy Cat and the Twitter party. But I do get to mention there that Eventbrite was the killer app.

What do a scumbag, a rainbow cat, a Scottish heartthrob, and me have in common?

Umm, yeah. 

See Pete Cashmore's post. 

RSVP on Facebook.

I'll admit I'm giddy over this one. But really, I'm just one of 500 or so people at 360i who's trying to do great work for some of the world's best brands, and I know how fortunate I am to get to represent this amazing bunch of people. When I get back to the office (and our other global offices), I'll have to thank a lot of colleagues for giving me this opportunity.

And yeah, the folks at Mashable are pretty amazing too to send the invite. So, thanks Mashable.

Oreo (#client) team, I owe you a round of Guiness (#client). Or maybe a few gallons of milk (#notaclient). 

Lastly, 360i's hiring. Come join us so I can buy you milk or beer too. Your choice.

PS: If I have a chance to ask Scumbag Steve one question of my own, what should it be? 

Why I'm Over the 'Next Big Thing' Hunt at SXSW

It's time to find a better way to measure the success of SXSW than whether it launched the next Twitter or Fuelband. 

To that point, I've got a post about that now in Ad Age:

With so much anticipation for South by Southwest (SXSW), how can it possibly deliver on the hype? If you're obsessed with coming away having annointed the "next big thing" it most certainly won't, but then you'd be missing the point. It's fashionable to declare SXSW "over" every year, but I actually think it's even bigger and more important than people realize. But to get value out of it you have to start looking for the small things.

Last year the big stuff at SXSW was easy to identify. It was the year the Nike Fuelband launched, which became a hot, mainstream consumer product. It was the year American Expressconnected its Sync program to Twitter, making a company founded in 1850 one of the pioneers of social commerce; sponsoring a free concert by Jay-Z helped too. It was the year that an agency turned homeless people into WiFi hot spots, leading Jon Stewart to remark on his show, "So rather than train people to become computer workers, we're training them to become computer equipment." Events just don't get much more memorable.

So what really matters? Read on in Ad Age.

Meet Gary V, Oreo & Mondelez Execs, Ad Age, and Me at a SXSW Session

Okay, I'll admit that I luck out a fair amount with my job, and I try to enjoy it without gloating too much. But it's not every day that I get to join a panel and event like I will on Sunday at SXSW, featuring:

• Someone from Oreo, not just the world's most popular cookie and an amazing brand, but a great client as well (and one whose products I personally enjoy often enough)
• Mondelez exec Bonin Bough, who is way up there on my list of people I love talking shop with because I always learn a few things (yes, he's a client too - but I don't blow smoke)
• Gary V from VaynerMedia, one of the few true digital celebs and pioneers
• Expion, which has been a great partner to my agency 360i for years now (fun fact: it started at SXSW years back)

You should try to make this. A bonus: it's not your typical panel. I saw the agenda and the panel is well under half of the event's 2 hour runtime, so you'll have far more time for food, drinks, and conversation. 

Hope to see you there.

At SXSW Friday? Join My Games Panel with the IAB and Nielsen

Want to see some great ways brands are using games?

Want to dispel some myths about gaming and gamers?

Good, me too. That's why I'm showing up to the SXSW panel "Games: Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime." 

Anyway, I'd love for you to join. The SXSW panel is Friday at 3:30pm in the Palmer Events Center, just a short walk south of the river. And if you're lost, or want to stalk me in general, follow me on Foursquare as I'll be sharing my location there way too often. 

Here's more:

Raise your hand if you agree with any of these statements: 
- Gamers are primarily by young or teen boys. 
- Games are usually played alone in the home on game consoles.

You may be surprised at how many people would have their hand raised…especially brand marketers and agencies who make decisions about promoting /advertising on games as part of their digital marketing mix. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Games Committee is here to dispel the myths about gamers based on current research that shows how games truly are played by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

We'll introduce you to different gamer segments. You’ll learn about the type of games they are most likely to play, when and where they play them, what devices they play them on, how they interact with each medium and how mobile and tablets are significantly impacting today's game playing. We’ll end with some thoughts on the future of gaming.

Join us and meet today's game players.