AUSTIN, TX SXSW INTERACTIVE |
FILM | MUSIC The @finianmurphy report @finianmurphy @ SXSW

What is SXSW ? Established
1987, South by Southwest is a convention for the music, film and interactive (tech & advertising) industries. Hosted by the residents of Austin, TX, SXSW becomes home to 100,00 marketers, movie makers and musicians who converge on the city for ten days, every March, to discuss and shape the future. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Last year, 2012, what was
the hype? MOBILE SOCIAL NETWORKS APPS Brands which were embracing Social design was king and every Apps for finding people, finding mobile into their strategies, using product and campaign which places, adding tags, declaring location and building on the didn’t have social networks at interests, sharing photos, making second screen trend. their core was criticised. events, making coffee... @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Last year, 2012, what was
the hype? } It was all about the technology @finianmurphy @ SXSW

2013, we parked the technology
{ 1 Behaviour It was a return to 2 Physical Objects the real world 3 Storytelling @finianmurphy @ SXSW

1 Behaviour We have moved
beyond the debates about technology adoption, about social networks about mobile, about old vs. new media We have now returned to observing consumer behaviour, digital just happens to be part of this. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Content for all platforms “The
railroad tracks have been built – now the question is, “What’s worth sharing on them?” Jonah Peretti, founder & CEO of BuzzFeed (25 million monthly unique users) describes how we should stop talking about the technology and focus on the content we are creating. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

How Twitter is changing TV
viewing US drama American Idol SuperBowl We’re chatting online while watching live TV, but who are we talking to while binging on boxsets? Breaking Bad These charts show the level of social media conversations for different types of TV. Finales and events can cause a dramatic spike, while streaming/VOD peaks early and then tails off @finianmurphy @ SXSW

How Twitter is changing TV
viewing Agencies are currently not set up to react to TV viewers who are tweeting along with shows Oreos was cited as a brand with a simple tactic, tweeting out this image during the SuperBowl in reaction to the lights going out during the football game. It was amplified by over 30,000 RTS or likes. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Foursquare has created the social
map Foursquare can now show the behaviour of people in cities - when and where they travel, work, eat and relax Many have written Foursquare off, but moving from a game where people “check-in” to a search utility for finding the best places to go, it now offers a “social” layer of maps, with over 3 billion points of interest @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Online marketplaces now provide viable
options AirBnB provides not just a place to rest your head but provides a unique experience not available anywhere else Online marketplaces with unique experiences (e.g. sharing a vintage car via RealityRides; Etsy connecting directly with craftmaker) are becoming serious competitors to mainstream brands. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

What does this mean for
communications? Every consumer is digital It is not a young person’s game Every idea has digital baked in Ideas without digital will not succeed We need to plan faster and be more agile As creative content is devoured quickly 1 Behaviour @finianmurphy @ SXSW

2 Physical Objects We have
been obsessed with the online world the digital space the mobile apps the social networks However people seek something tangible, a return to the real world, physical things which can also be connected. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Bringing Google (AdWords) into the
real world Google is encouraging “By bringing developers to build ideas for technology closer – Glass, but at $1,500 will it ever reach the masses? we can get it out of the way” Timothy Jordan, Developer Advocate, Google Google live-demoed their Glass product, a pair of glasses which displays information in the foreground of your vision as you go about your day - bringing digital information into the the real world. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Wearable Technology: The Talking Shoe
While the shoe might be far off, people are already actively broadcasting their every move, meal, movie... Every move the user makes generates data that’s captured using an accelerometer, gyroscope and pressure sensors. The data is translated into commentary that gets pushed to banners and social media, creating new, interesting content in the digital world from something happening live in the physical one. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

The best interface is no
interface Leap Motion was the hottest technology launch at SXSW 2013, allowing people to interact with computers with their hand gestures - it is one step closer to removing interfaces we interact with. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

3D printing digital creative Allowing
people to print objects has created a community of makers who help in product development 3D printing allows the user to print physical objects from designs they create or download. This allows prototypes to be quickly created. GeoMagic Inc has produced a 3D printer for home and school use. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Major online retail now experimenting
with pop-ups The retail world has realised that the consumer wants to experience both online and offline buying opportunities. Owned by Gap Inc. Piperlime.com has created a NYC pop-up shop in order to see what clothes people buy in ‘the physical world’ where touch is important, and what people are happy to buy online. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

To have and to hold
“This is not anti-tech, we’re not turning off electricity, There is a revival of older but we all like to eat by traditions that are fading with the transition to digital candlelight” Vinyl Never Die in music, photography, art. Physical artifacts can be keepsakes, identity markers and status symbols. Physical objects also have a longevity that digital objects lack; 76% of a JWT 2013 survey said as much. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

What does this mean for
communications? Consumers seek great offline experiences As well as smart technologies An idea should live in a real and virtual place Physical (outdoor, retail) and online (sites, mobile) Ideas people will experience (everywhere) These moments will be shared with others 2 Physical Objects @finianmurphy @ SXSW

3 Storytelling Our focus has
been on big data the social media strategy the celebrity endorsement the sponsored event However there can be an emotional void in digital work, and emotions in our creative is vital, storytelling is vital @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Storytelling involves taking risks “When
you’re making a story... the things you Danny Boyle (Slumdog think you shouldn’t do... Millionaire, Trainspotting and the Olympics Opening do them” Ceremony) on risk taking David Carr (New York Times writer) described Boyle’s 2013 movie Trance as the type of story that “when you hit the sidewalk, you don’t want to be by yourself, you want to talk about it with someone else” @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Do you have a community?
Use them LEGO leans to their adult fans to help them develop new products and act as advocates of the brand. LEGO presented an impressive case study which has shown how their crowdsource model for New Product Development has led to stories being created around three new products in the past year. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Big Data driving creativity! Data
is helping to inform better decision making, but must be balanced with human instinct. “We know what people watch on Netflix and how big a likely audience is for a given show based on people’s viewing habits” Jonathan Friedland, Netflix Communications Director When Netflix analysed their bank of TV and film shows, the viewing data told them people liked Kevin Spacey, political dramas and David Fincher, which led them to commission a 13 part drama - House of Cards. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

Data without soul is meaningless
Data can inform us, but it does not account for emotions or empathy, created by storytelling “There is an emotional void in the digital age” Paul Woolmington: Naked Comms founder The Good Night Light, brings is a physical object which is connected to the internet to allow you know when your friends or family turn on and off their lamp indicating that they are in their homes (storytelling). This brings an emotion and a behaviour right into a digital product. @finianmurphy @ SXSW

2013, we parked the technology
{ 1 Behaviour “This year it was all about the real 2 Physical Objects world” The Wall Street Journal 3 Storytelling @finianmurphy @ SXSW

So what about 2014? “One
of the certainties of being a futurist is that everything is temporary” BRUCE STERLING, SXSW CLOSING SPEECH 2013 @finianmurphy @ SXSW