Best of SXSW: The 10 Most Iconic SXSW 2019 Experiences

Jeffrey Huang, Senior Manager, Employee Engagement and Outforce Global President at Salesforce, shares tips for making your events inclusive and welcoming to all sexual orientations and gender identities at every stage of a guest's journey.

This blogpost originally appeared on Viacom.

Austin, Texas is known for a lot of things (think: BBQ and Tex-Mex), but for two weeks out of every year, four letters remain top-of-mind: SXSW.

Every March, brands (not to mention more than 300,000 people) invade the city for some of the most talked-about experiences of the year — and this year, they didn’t disappoint.

From star-studded music line-ups to an 80s-themed pop-up roller rink (and everything in between), here are the crème de la crème of SXSW 2019 experiences:

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Ten years later, our annual conference attracts nearly 20,000 customers and partners, our company has grown to 4,000 people, and we have a first-class marketing team with dedicated event professionals who are the best in the biz. Events have been a crucial part of our brand and help us better connect with our community, evangelize our customers, and ultimately grow our company.

Here’s how we did it:

After the infamous baby goats at their activation last year, it seems VICE knew they needed to have an equally mind-blowing experience this year. They went the nostalgic route, and created a full-on retro roller skating pop-up in what’s usually a downtown Austin parking lot.

They also utilized the space as a production hub, with VICE host Zack Fox filming celebrity interviews and interactive fan videos for their new weeknight series, VICE Live.

LinkedIn brought a breath of fresh air to SXSW with an experience dedicated to helping people explore and create new opportunities for themselves. Even though it leaned a little more professional than the average SXSW party, the LinkedIn Studio was just as engaging, interactive, and unique.

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They had LinkedIn profile consultations, free headshots, plenty of networking space in their exclusive cafe, and a happy hour with live DJs Angel + Dren.

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The panels offered career advice for from LinkedIn influencers like Brian Bolis and Goldie Chan, plus a fireside chat with Mindy Kaling on diversity in the workplace and how she got to where she is in her career today.

Comedy Central took us on a satirical walk-through of President Trump’s favorite form of self-expression: Twitter. The library covered every tweet, from the laughable (“Many people have said I’m the world’s greatest writer of 140 character sentences”) to the downright disturbing (“I’m not proud of my locker room talk. But this world has serious problems. We need serious leaders”).

There was also a wall honoring the verified survivors of his online attacks, a timeline detailing the progression of his communications with the world (from before creating a Twitter account (BT) to his current and constant streams of thought), an homage to Ivanka, and a “Deleted But Not Forgotten” series of plaques memorializing some of his best now-erased tweets.

It’s laugh-out-loud funny — until you remember the tweets were all meant to be serious. Sad!

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Just when you manage to stop oohing and aahing at the dozens of balloons and “Anything is possible in ATX” outside, the inside of Kendra Scott’s flagship store is even more stunning. And with their famous Color Bar where shoppers can design their own jewelry, a Sips & Sweets café, and even a frosé machine, it was the perfect setting for a discussion on experiential marketing.

Though brief, that simple interaction with with the chef took the night beyond just an excellent meal.

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When it comes down to it, the goal of any event is to grow and nurture the relationship between your guests and your brand — whether you’re promoting a product, building community, or looking to increase brand awareness.

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This way, guests didn’t have to worry about memorizing each other’s names or drawing a blank when they turned to chat with the person next to them, and we also got to show off  our product in a natural way.

SXSW is all about the experience — so it was fitting to have an event that shared advice for actually creating incredible experiences.

 
The morning kicked off with a workshop with Radha Agrawal, CEO and Co-Founder of Daybreaker, where she shared her strategy for building meaningful communities (Daybreaker’s community is nearly half a million strong). Next, a panel of female marketing and events leaders (from brands like LinkedIn, Tableau, InVision, and Kendra Scott) shared their take on data-driven experiences.

In-between all the expert insights, guests got to personalize their own piece of Color Bar jewelry, sip on frosé, enjoy breakfast treats, and meet plenty of new friends and connections.

In the midst of nonstop party-hopping, sometimes you just need some free coffee, breakfast tacos, and time to take a breather. The Hive offered this and more laid-back vibes at their takeover of Jo’s Coffee.

With clever signs (“The hottest thing in your life doesn’t have to be coffee”) and cozy booths, it was the perfect place to meet up with your crew, debrief, and take a breath before your next party. Not to mention they offered Bumble profile tips from their experts, astrology readings, an aura photographer, and health and wellness products from Supergoop!, Feals, and Ritual.

Vox’s three-day event satisfied every need you had this SXSW, with activations centered around tech, sports, news, food, travel, and more. Whether you wanted to listen to their infamous policy podcast, The Weeds, live, check out products from eBay’s Retail Revival program, hang out by the bar and sample kombucha and Eater-curated food, or even hit up the candy shop vending machine, there was an option for nearly every type of enthusiast.

The best part? You could stay for hours and still have something left to experience the next day.

Comcast NBCUniversal created the ultimate three-day immersive SXSW experience: pop culture, puppies, and interactive panels all included. At Comcast NBCuniversal House, the company brought brought attendees up-close and personal with some of its most iconic brands and entertainment figures.

People could experience what it’s like to sit at Michael Scott’s desk, take a virtual tour of the world in How to Train Your Dragon, step into the spotlight in Bravo’s Project Runway Photo Experience, and hear from icons like Jordan Peele, Busy Philipps, the writers from Late Night with Seth Meyers, and more.

Plus: a chance to step away from the SXSW madness and play with puppies up for adoption or get your game on in the Xfinity Gaming Lounge.

Think about all the ways you can keep in-touch with guests between events — but you don’t just want to spam their inbox. Just like at your event itself, it’s all about providing valuable information. Here are some of our favorite ways to stay in touch with our members:

Video: Jake Self

Miracle Gro’s Harvest HQ was truly an urban oasis, with a line-up of events all centered around how nature can help you recharge and relax (during SXSW and beyond). The outdoor space was equipped with plenty of greenery, plant puns, and fresh drinks and snacks — plus live music, charging stations, and expert gardening and cooking tips and tricks.

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From brunch with mimosas and intention-setting, to a workshop inspired by Epicurious editor David Tamarkin’s new book, COOK90 (with drinks, bites, and cooking tips from David himself), Harvest HQ was the go-to destination for anyone at SXSW who lives for the outdoors and all things natural.

SXSW always means one thing: amazing music. This year, The Onion/The A.V. Club didn’t disappoint, delivering one of the most talked about music experiences.

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They took over The Mohawk for Just Another Manic Monday — essentially a one-day mini music festival with two stages (indoor and outdoor) and a stacked line-up of artists (including Deerhunter, Sweet Spirit, The Beths, Priests, and more).

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Even if you didn’t plan on staying the whole time, once you stepped into the venue it was hard not to want to stay all night.

CultureHouse returned to SXSW this year, and the exclusive house party was broken out into three parts: a brunch, day party, and nightcap.

Guests had free shuttle bus service to and from the beautiful Austin mansion, and when they arrived they were met with pools, rooftop views of downtown, BBQ, a Bloody Mary Bar, and live DJs.

There were also two different fireside chats on the evolution of the tech industry — one featuring none other than T.I.

Even if your event doesn’t require a full seating chart with assigned seats, think about how you want the flow of your event to go, and how you can create natural opportunities for meaningful connections.

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•   A sense of privacy: a completely private and closed off room for dinner proved to be an extremely crucial element. At one of the venues, an open section in the room allowed noise to disrupt the flow of conversation — making it feel less private and less special of a night compared to dinners that were completely closed off to the public.

At the end of the day, throwing events mean nothing if you’re not providing value to your customers.

At our conferences, we provide “Tableau Doctors” on-site that help customers or prospects with any questions about our product. Not only do these one-on-one appointments empower customers to engage with us in a meaningful way, they’ve also been the critical to driving event ROI.