Ketchum SXSW 2012 Wrap Report

Gotta Go, SoLoMo! 1. The simultaneous proliferation of social media, smartphones (geo-aware pocket supercomputers) and high-speed mobile Internet access has resulted in a concentration of innovation in the realm of ambient technology (also known as “SoLoMo,” for social + local + mobile). Now that Foursquare has demonstrated the stickiness of location-based social networking, Facebook and Google Plus have added their own check-in features, and a wide array of new startups, including Highlight, Glancee and Gauss, are seeking to ride the wave by connecting users based on different algorithms related to proximity and profile similarities. At this time, it’s unclear which of these ambient startups will survive or thrive; but if “South By” buzz is any measure, Highlight holds the most promise. MARKETING Takeaway: Grandstand might be of greatest interest to brand marketers, as it engages crowds by tying their collective, real-world experience at events and attractions to onsite, in-the-moment offers. The Longtail of 50,000 ear’s , this y as the ,w Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook & Google a re than ustin, Texas , SXSWi, t mo , in A mated g ce runnin ees, ds esti est conferenecond year re of attend row thw With cBy Sou r the s ’s sha he far. Fo drew the lion sic or film, t Remember the collective letdown last year when Apple announced the iPhone 4.1 amidst all the frothed up anticipation of a th Sou ever – by tion, 5.0 model? In many ways, this is analogous to what enthusiasts experienced at SXSWi 2012. Going in, pundits engaged in the er mu largesteractive por re than eith . annual crystal ball gazing to predict which app would be the next Twitter or Foursquare, influencing consumer behavior and the int 25,000 – moeas of focus ations munic ntatives om rese seeping into pop culture. Instead, there was no hit; no step change. Rather, the apps that got most of the attention were those nearly l’s original a r cess C that continued to draft off the Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook and Google ecosystems, tapping and/or combining their APIs ncies, Ac o dozen repand share festiva er age tw er to offer users a new spin on existing data. Such apps include those mentioned above, plus Pixable (a much-buzzed app that its sist p, had about2012 to gaths who were nt 2. nd aggregates and streams photos from your social networks), Roamz and Trover (both for sharing discoveries), and Womzit ma u i er ca Ketchu Zocalo Gro rld at SXSWues and oth most signifi ed on e o (for sharing experiences). and th round the w ents, colleag e five of the ns pros, bas r MARKETING Takeaway: The growing dominance of the incumbent platforms — Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook and Google from dge with c trip. Here aommunicatio. a li — suggests that there remains plenty of opportunity to be mined from them. While we tend to recommend that our clients knowl to make th keting and c observations e e focus more on quality content and conversation, we can’t ignore the effectiveness of fishing unable ays for mar riences and where the fish are. takeawlective expe l our coFor more information and analysis about SXSW and the social mobile web, tune in to the Ketchum Blog and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and more.

The #Ketchum #SXSWi 2012 Wrap Report Brand Invasion & Online/OfflineStartups & Food Interaction3.Ever since Twitter and Foursquare famously experienced breakout moments at prior South Bys, While the social startups were out in force, some of the most established, leading analog brandsstartups have annually flocked to Austin like swallows to Capistrano looking for funding and the path were skillfully adapting to the social web and proving that old dogs (and cats, see below) can,to stardom. This year, food was a hot theme among the digital entrepreneurs (and judging by the in fact, learn new tricks. They were also demonstrating the power that comes from combininglines at the food trucks, SXSW attendees agreed!). The new Stamped app, for example, lets users real-world action with online engagement. Nike showed off Fuel Band, a new device that captures“put their stamp” on food, restaurants and other things they like. Grubwithus bills itself as a “social human movement and enables users to competitively track their activities. Pepsi unveiled futuristic,dining network,” connecting awesome people over delicious food. One of the more standout, interactive LED screens that will soon be integrated into its vending machines. FedEx (a Ketchumon-trend startups was AgLocal, a platform that seeks to disrupt the agriculture distribution chain client) provided value to South By’s device-dependent digerati by dispatching mobile chargingby enabling consumers to purchase meats directly from nearby farmers and ranchers. stations in the form of live FedEx employees (a.k.a. “power couriers”) wearing uniforms bedecked with USB ports for on-the-go recharging. And Friskies (a Ketchum client) launched You versus Cat,MARKETING Takeaway: In the food and nutrition space, AgLocal signals the growing trend of an air hockey style iPad game in which humans try to push a lump of cat food past their pets. Butconsumers taking a greater interest in the sources of their food and the distance from farm to fork. the most pervasive brand invasion was pulled off by Amex, which seamlessly integrated its sales and vendor data with Twitter and Foursquare’s APIs to offer cardholders instant, on-location discounts automatically credited to their accounts. Amex completely closed the loop by offering a half hour of free wifi on Gogo-equipped American Airlines planes flying out of Austin, so departing digital jocks could re-live Jay-Z’s SXSW performance from the night before (sponsored by Amex, of course). MARKETING Takeaway: Any brand can achieve relevance in the era of the social web by appropriately applying strategic creativity and technological innovations to provide value, engagement and entertainment.Big Data & the 5.Interest GraphIn recent years, marketers have focused much attention on the “social graph,” that is, what we thinkwe can glean about users based on who they friend and what they like and do. At the same time,SXSWi attendees were in general agreement that we have not yet realized the full analytical potentialof “big data.” Nevertheless, as we continue down the path towards numerical nirvana, we are startingto focus on a new stream of actionable intelligence: the “interest graph,” which is more of a reflectionof people’s explicit interests and intentions. With the explosive use and growth of services thatallow users to declare their interests, desires and intended actions—consider recent startups Meeps4.(“the place to share interests”), Forecast, Want! and Recco, as well as the red-hot Pinterest, Google’sSchemer and Facebook’s Interests—we see new opportunities for brands to engage with consumerswithout the potential awkwardness of trying to be their friend and/or join their conversations.Interacting through users’ interest graphs can be more seamless and transactional.MARKETING Takeaway: Marketers should take a closer look at what type of content their users areaggregating, what they are talking about and with whom. Are marketers capturing and respondingto the interests expressed by consumers, or are they still talking to themselves? Contact: Jonathan Kopp, Partner & Global Director, Ketchum Digital, jonathan.kopp@ketchum.com / @jonathankopp / +1.646.935.3900

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Ketchum SXSW 2012 Wrap Report

by Jonathan Kopp

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