SXSW 2015 highlighted the rise of experiential marketing and live broadcasting, particularly with the popularity of the app Meerkat for real-time sharing. Technological advancements, including superfast internet and networking tools like iBeacons, are reshaping brand interactions and consumer experiences. The event also showcased robotics innovation in disaster relief and brand engagement, pushing companies to consider their impact on customer experiences.

1. What we learned from SxSW 2015
(unfortunately, not by being there)
Source: The Next Web

2. What happened at SxSW this year
Sources: http://www.dotrising.com/2015/03/18/your-guide-to-sxsw-2015-infographic/
http://www.fastcocreate.com/3043677/sxsw/hbo-and-game-of-thrones-return-to-austin-with-sxswesteros
http://www.psfk.com/2015/03/sxsw-2015-sxswi-video-recap-experiential-marketing.html
A lot of attention was given to experiential activations this year

3. Can you take a guess at what these are?

4. What we think

5. “…the store of the future, in a world where a tap of a
smartphone will soon set in motion a near real-time
delivery by a drone, must become a marketing channel.”
- Ad Age, How Online Retailers Are Creating Immersive Brand Experiences in the Real World
Brand experiences are the new ads
Source: Under Armour

6. Technology has made documenting and
sharing a natural part of our experiences
Source: http://www.apple.com/iphone/world-gallery/

7. 1. Sharing at SxSW

8. Quiz: name the new type of social network
???Friends Image-based Video

9. In spotTable earlier this year
We asked…“Are live broadcasts set to become as big as photo sharing?”

10. SxSW-goers did a lot of broadcasting…
Source: https://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/16617251877_2cdacd1f50_k.jpg?w=1279&h=727&crop=1

11. And they did it using this app…

12. Meerkat Fact file
Who?
Meerkat is an Israeli startup founded by Ben
Rubin (below) and launched on 27th February.
It’s a spin-off of Yevvo, the live-streaming app
that was also referred to as Air.
How?
Live streams are broadcast to users’ Twitter
accounts but are not automatically stored
anywhere. If you want to save them you can use
#Katch to upload them as YouTube files.
What?
A mobile-only live streaming app that only
shoots vertical video. Why? Because it’s
the most natural way to hold your phone.
It gained over , users during SxSW

13. Meerkat is entering an interesting space
YouTube is relaunching
YouTube Live following its
failed attempt to buy Twitch.
Twitch.tv (owned by Amazon) attracts
100m viewers per month of live
streams of people playing video games.
Twitter just bought
Periscope, a live stream
app for $100m.
“Driving the shift are technological
advances and the ubiquity of
smartphones, as well as years of
people getting more comfortable
with revealing information about
themselves online through text and
photos.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/technology/tech-titans-bet-that-
the-world-is-ready-for-the-streaming-selfie.html?_r=0

14. 2. Networking at SxSW

15. Beacons are struggling to take off
“iBeacons is a very difficult
platform to work with right
now and is not necessarily
a mass-market or mass-
media opportunity.”
http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/13392
02/ibeacons-lack-mass-market-appeal-says-
location-marketing-expert

16. However, they may have potentialCould they play a role in brand events?

17. SxSW used iBeacons to connect attendees
• When attendees downloaded the
SxSW Go mobile app, beacons
would show them a profile of
other attendees nearby.
• You could send a quick message
via the app to quick start the
networking process.
• Beacons also alerted you to
when events in your vicinity were
starting.

18. Mobile sits at the heart of experiences
In the absence of beacons in retail, mobile is still a powerful driver of
meaningful experiences between brands and their customers.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2015/03/25/facebook-goes-all-in-on-e-
commerce-by-bringing-businesses-onto-messenger/
On 25th March, Facebook announced
that it will offer one-to-one chat
services for businesses and
customers via its Messenger app.

19. 3. High speeds at SxSW

20. Google Fiber Space and Shinra Technologies
SXSW attendees could experience “The Living World”, a
virtual world created by gaming platform, Shinra Technologies.
Image source: https://www.shinra.com

21. What does Shinra Technologies have to do with Google Fiber?
To understand this…
Image source: https://www.shinra.com

22. We need to look at the state of broadband
in the US, a sector lacking in competition
Some customers in the US pay
up to $200/month for a
broadband and TV package
combined, yet their broadband
speeds are poor compared to
other countries.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24528383

23. Now the competition is shaking up with the
arrival of…

24. 1 Gigabyte internet
Download and upload speeds of 5MBPS to
1GBPS
Why it matters
Affordability
The fastest internet connection will set you
back $70/month.
Internet + TV = $120/month.
Download games in minutes
Stream HD TV effortlessly to
all your connected devices
Or you get basic internet
free for seven years if
you pay a $300
installation fee upfront

25. “We just busted TWC for putting Showtime on our bill and
adding $17 a month. Fortunately we are getting Google fiber
installed in about 2 weeks. They just ran the fiber through my
neighborhood. Just waiting for them to run it into my house
now. Fuck TWC. I can't wait to troll them on my way out.”
And customers are loving it
“The internet speed is rip-roaring fast...The local Google Fiber
drive works beautifully as a way to sling "downloaded" movie or
TV seasons to your TVs…I’m never moving.”
“My only problem with Google
Fiber is we can't get it here in
California.”
Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1nj1mm/customers_of_google_fiber_have_you_found_any/
“I keep having to buy new hard
drives because I keep filling them
up with all my downloading.”

26. How will this impact on brand experiences?
Back in 2013, Google Fiber made it possible for a terminally ill patient to
participate in a live baseball game while he was 1800 miles away.

27. 4. Interacting at SxSW

28. Who are FIT?
The Field Innovation Team are a
disaster relief organisation run out of
Utah. They use technology in to help
survivors and strive to educate
communities on the power of
innovation in helping victims of
natural disasters.
They created the Robot Petting Zoo
for SxSW to show people how to
control, interact with and program
robots.

29. Robots are doing extraordinary things…

30. …but not all of us are convinced
Pepper for Nescafe Dolce Gusto OSHbot by Lowe for Orchard Supply Hardware

31. However, some brands are using robotics
efficiently
“This competition will challenge entrants to build their own robot
hardware and software that can attempt simplified versions of the
general task of picking items from shelves.”
http://amazonpickingchallenge.org/

32. While robots are still a work in progress in the customer service space
they are indispensable in the work done in other sectors. If consumer
brands want to jump onto robotics they need to make sure they are…
What consumer brands need to know
Truly pushing boundaries
Anti-poaching drones are being built to protect
wildlife from illegal activities
Improving on existing systems
Amazon’s Kiva robots speed up processes in
warehouses alongside their human counterparts

33. CONCLUSIONS
4 KEY TAKEOUTS

34. • Meerkat proves there is an appetite for sharing and connecting with experiences
in real-time. Live-broadcasting is the next big step for social.
• While customers want personalised experiences they do not want to feel like
they’re being tracked. Retail beacons are taking off in the US but over here they
are still in their infancy.
• Although we rarely need speeds of 1GBPS, superfast internet is creating an
unknown need. Think back to the beginnings of iTunes and us asking, “Do I really
want to digitise my music?”.
• Robots are having a huge impact on certain industries but what about in our daily
lives? Brands really need to consider what impact they can have on the customer
experience.
Conclusions