Need inspiration for your next event? There are four little letters and one big festival that’ll smack you in the face with inspiration: SXSW.
Austin draws over 300,000 people from all around the world -- so, it’s no surprise that top brands stake their claim in Austin early and expensively (like spending weeks building elaborate sets and activations, renting out pricey venues a year in advance, bringing in the biggest talent from every industry... you know, the usual).
This year's SXSW proved just how effective experiential marketing is to customer engagement and brand awareness. From HBO’s immersive Westworld experience to Tinder’s Swipe Sessions party at the Mohawk, we count down our favorite SXSW experiences this year.
Event planners: take notes.
There’s always that one incredible SXSW experience -- where no line is too long, no time too wasted. The most tweeted-about, buzzed-about, talked-about experience this year was HBO’s activation promoting their cult-favorite TV series, Westworld.
By bus, guests traveled 40 mins outside of downtown Austin to arrive at Sweetwater, the main setting of the show. “Hosts” (character actors) hand-picked black and white cowboy hats for guests (important to those who watch the show) and guests had the opportunity to drink old timey cocktails, listen to local music, interact with “hosts,” and even get a beard trim.
With all its little thoughtful details, this experience was completely immersive and allowed fans to feel like they were truly a character in Westworld.
Another year, another A.V. Club/The Onion banger. This year at SXSW, we saw one of buzziest line-ups of the entire fest -- up-and-comers like Lucy Dacas and Shamir rocked the famous Mohawk stage, as well as hipster royalty, Superchunk and Wye Oak.
See the full line-up on their awesome event page here.
To celebrate their highly-anticipated redesign, Reddit (along with their new branding) took over the Belmont for the day.
They threw two major events: all-day live AMAs with niche influencers like Chloe X Halle and the creators of “Endless Thread,” and an all-night dance party with performances from Chloe X Halle and Kittens.
See the full line-up of activities and performances on their event page.
Alongside 32 of the buzziest music names (Tank and the Bangas, Duckwrth, Jade Bird, Kelela, and more) to the Gatsby, Pandora also brought its famous Music Genome Project technology so fans could truly experience the power of their technology. With a quick pic of your face, the technology uses facial recognition and some simple personal questions to determine what “sounds like you” (which is also the name of Pandora’s big campaign for the last couple months).
See their event page here and all the music that was included.
Tinder brought the heat this SXSW: italian ice by day, and the sultry sounds of (a very on-brand) Miguel and Jhene Aiko by night.
The best part of the event? The exclusivity of the invitation. To get in, fans had to download Tinder and swipe for a “golden ticket” to gain exclusive access.
See their beautiful event page here.
Broadcasting live, Pitchfork brought in major music feels with live recordings of huge names like Natalie Prass, Superorganism, Andrew W.K, Chromeo, and more.
The setting (a very “Austin” coffee shop/bar) was unique, authentic, and intimate and fans from around the world could experience the event.
With 17 different events ranging in a variety of topics (seriously, a variety), Dell provided a multi-level experience -- everything from a special podcast taping of Trailblazers with Walter Isaacson, to an “Are you Smarter than a Mathlete?” competition, to an art show promoting the importance of e-recycling.
See one of our favorite panels:
And, of course, we threw our own event! Sunday night, we partied at the Sidewinder and brought in an amazing line-up of electrifying artists: Glassio, Rick Feds, Miears, Yellow Shoots, Mobley, Leisure Cruise, the Disfunction, and Slow Magic.
And we think we had one of the coolest photobooths ever...(thanks Bosco!)
Check out all the photos from the event here.
TechCrunch brought the day vibes with an all-day music + tech fest. Guests kept busy with light-up fidget spinners, scooters, a claw machine, and tunes by Autograf, Miears, Mobley, and more.
See the photos from the event here.
On Tuesday night, British-German composer Max Richter performed his epic, Sleep, for 150 lucky people. For the next eight hours, his lullaby-inspired piece served as a lullaby for the attendees -- who were each given a twin-size Beautyrest bed equipped with pillows, blankets and even silk eye masks.
Talk about an immersive experience.
Want to know how to make your own events memorable? Here's how.