SXSW INTERACTIVE 2014 - A FLEISHMANHILLARD REPORT
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SXSW INTERACTIVE 2014
A FLEISHMANHILLARD REPORT
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FleishmanHillard at SXSWi 2014 3
The FleishmanHillard black box Lounge 4
SXSWi 2014 By The Numbers 5
SXSWi 2014 Trends 7
SXSWi Proves Again that Wearable Tech is Here to Stay 7
Why You Should Care About Health Tech 8
Is Bitcoin the Currency of the Future? 9
Disrupt What, Exactly? SXSWi Highlights Digital Movements 10
Are you Cutting Big Data Down to Size? 11
Latino Impact at SXSWi 2014 12
Art + Science at SXSWi: Creating Compelling & Impactful Engagements 13
Gamers Remind Brands What Makes Great Community Management 14
Our #FHblackbox Team 15
Connect With Us 16
2
FLEISHMANHILLARD
At SXSWi 2014
THE FLEISHMANHILLARD BLACK BOX LOUNGE SXSW INTERACTIVE 2014
An official lounge during SXSW Interactive, the The annual SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas is an
FleishmanHillard black box Lounge was powered by incubator of cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity.
FleishmanHillard’s intelligent monitoring system. An The 2014 event featured five days of compelling presentations
interactive, portable, human-powered technology platform and panels from the brightest minds in emerging technology,
and content studio, the system integrates business data – scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry
including traditional, digital and social conversations – into leaders and an unbeatable lineup of special programs
real-time insight dashboards and visualizations. showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup
ideas the community has to offer. From hands-on training to
At SXSW, our system sifted through the vast amounts of data big-picture analysis of the future, SXSW Interactive is the
and conversation produced around the festival to surface the place to preview the technology of tomorrow today.
people, places and things most talked about and shared on
social media. These insights informed our real-time content ABOUT FLEISHMANHILLARD
studio team, who created and published textual, visual FleishmanHillard is the world’s most complete global
and video content throughout the festival to help brands, communications firm, specializing in public relations, public
attendees and more keep up with SXSW. affairs, marketing, paid media, and transmedia and social
content. The agency delivers on the power of true, reflecting
Here we’ve compiled these insights and top trends to the firm’s high values and unique ability to guide clients
highlight the best of SXSWi 2014 and what your brand through a world demanding unprecedented authenticity and
should look out for in the year to come. transparency.
3
THE FLEISHMANHILLARD
black box Lounge
In its second year at SXSWi, the FH black box Lounge at Users also had the opportunity to download a copy of the
the Four Seasons offered attendees the ability to view real- dashboard to share with their own social networks via email
time insights via twelve data visualization screens featuring or text.
custom dashboards.
This year, the FH black box lounge also partnered with AT&T,
An evolution of its original setup during SXSWi 2013, this Bionym, Freshwire, Geofeedia, Outbrain and thismoment.
year’s lounge allowed visitors to personally interact with the
black box through touchscreens and select a topic of interest,
which then displayed a custom conversation dashboard.
4
SXSWi 2014
By The Numbers
This year, we took over SXSW to track all the top
trends and social chatter, making big data small
by analyzing brands, marketers, influencers and
sessions making the biggest splash across the
festival.
Despite the overwhelming nature of SXSW noise,
we also used our data and insights to extract a
number of popular themes.
WEARABLE TECH
Throughout the week, wearable technology drove
a steady stream of conversation as the industry
continues to grow. From former NBA star Shaquille
O’Neal’s session on monitoring tools’ health benefits to
Francesca Rosella of Cute Circuits’ talk on wearables’
need to be fashionable as well as functional, we’ll
be interested to see how brands continue to attract
attention as they figure out how to harness this
technology.
BITCOIN
Digital currency bitcoin also generated some notable
buzz due to the installation of three local Bitcoin
ATMs around downtown Austin. While consumer
sentiment still shows sustained hesitance around
the expansion and use of the currency, we identified
notable discussion around its value and usage by many
attendees.
5
BRAND ACTIVATIONS
Live activations also generated strong buzz volume.
Those that featured celebrity guests and performers
particularly drew fans across the web. From Lady
Gaga’s show at the Doritos Bold Stage to Justin
Bieber’s surprise performance, there was no shortage
of celebrity influence across the city.
Brands themselves were also big trends throughout the
week. Google took the top spot with 64,675 mentions
thanks to Snowden’s Google+ hangout, increased use
of Google Glass and the brand’s upcoming release of an
Android-based software development kit for wearable
devices also helped drive their success online. Other
top brands included Samsung (supported by their
sponsored concert featuring Jay Z and Kanye West),
Game of Thrones and Apple iTunes.
PRIVACY & SECURITY
Above all, however, data security and privacy proved
to be the number one global hot button issue that took
over social chatter, in particular thanks to keynote
sessions from Wikileaks’ Julian Assange and NSA
Top Trending Brands on March 10, 2014 at SXSWi. whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Both leading up to, during and following each of their
two sessions, we saw high levels of social buzz around
privacy and related topics, including the following
around Snowden’s live Google Hangout:
• In the hour leading up the session, all of the top 40
trending social topics related to his video talk
• During the session just a half hour later, there were
more than 500 tweets related to #Snowden and
#SXSnowden every minute
• 80,488 total mentions (the majority of which
contained opinionated and polarizing views)
• The NSA drew 24,340 specific mentions
Privacy & Security Trends on March 7, 2014 at SXSWi.
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SXSWi 2014 TRENDS
SXSWi Proves Again that
Wearable Tech is Here to Stay
Wearable tech is a big buzzword in 2014, and this year’s Wearable tech has evolved into so much more than just activity
SXSW certainly proved to be no exception. From data trackers. We explored two pieces of wearable technology that
captured at our FH black box Lounge, we saw that wearable elevate a user’s experience through technical innovation and
tech and devices trended throughout the festival, in particular fashion. These products focus on creating something that
when new products were debuted and sessions showcased heightens an experience for a consumer while still looking
related technology. Many brands at SXSW showcased the beautiful.
innovations and opportunities that this technology can bring
to the consumer’s everyday life.
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While brands like Subway poked fun at some of the more
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ridiculous wearables, others used the emerging tech to
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create interactive experiences during the festival. Pepsi
showed off a BIOReactive Experience in their lounge that
includes a headset with a built-in brain-censor to detect
your concentration force and allow you to pause a movable
object if you can focus long enough. Meanwhile, former
NBA star Shaquille O’Neal talked to a crowd to emphasize
that wearable tech is here to help us improve our health and
wellness, stating that his whole family uses fitness trackers to
improve their daily habits and motivate them to stay active.
Could there be a Shaq shoe debuting at next year’s festival?
Though he remained silent, the athlete did announce that
he wishes that technology debuting today existed when Video: SXSW 2014 Trends: Wearable Tech & Fashion
he was an active NBA player considering its benefits to his http://y2u.be/CtFSAqUzpvg
basketball game.
Billie Whitehouse, co-founder of Wearable Experiments, also
cited the benefits of wearables, telling us that her company
“removes the screen as a distraction and gives the person
their eyes back.” She demoed a sleek blazer that helps you
with directions based on movement-censored GPS and
haptic tech. Sound complicated? Think MapQuest meets J.
Crew.
Though all this tech sounds promising and helpful, could
wearables just be yet another distraction? For many, the key
is in the look. We talked to Francesca Rosella, Chief Creative
Director of CuteCircuit, who believes that in order to help
people out, wearables must also be fashionable.
7
SXSWi 2014 TRENDS
Why You Should Care About Health Tech
While at SXSW, we saw a ton of conversations on health
tech. Everyone’s talking about wearables, the connected self,
health tracking apps and even electronic medical records.
When a topic spikes like that at SXSW, it basically becomes
legitimized – see Twitter and real-time marketing – and
people pay attention to the trend. But what we don’t talk
about enough in these situations is why the trend exists.
Back to the seeing is believing point. According to the Social
Science Research Network, 65 percent of people are visual
learners. And the idea of “being healthy” hasn’t exactly been
easy to see in the past. We know we’re supposed to take
care of ourselves. But the data behind being healthy wasn’t
easily accessible. So people were left to come up with their
own definitions.
Today you can see good health everywhere you look. Your
Fitbit tracks how many steps you take. Your friends post their
Map My Run mile times on Facebook. Your doctor’s office
sends you follow up emails recapping your appointment and
gives you access to personal health data.
Therein lies the opportunity in health tech and why everyone
is talking about it. Competition. We’re a competitive
society. And the access to all this data and tracking has
gamified health care and made us see and believe. With
healthier people, health care costs decrease. With healthier
employees, companies have to pay less for care. Look for
companies to ramp up the incentives they offer employees
to use the data they now have access to. And watch for the
social shaming that will take place for those who don’t jump
on board.
People’s appetite for health data and willingness to change
behavior based on that data is the trend companies should
be excited about and eager to invest in.
8
SXSWi 2014 TRENDS
Is Bitcoin the Currency of the Future?
Bitcoin was at the center of the digital
currency conversation at SXSW 2014.
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And now, it’s not just available online. Video: SXSW 2014 Trends: Bitcoin
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Three ATM’s have been installed in
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local establishments in Austin, Texas.
We talked with the man that brought
the ATMs to Austin and those working
to bring the payment exchange to the
forefront. Plus, this is just the beginning
of the expansion of the currency for
locals. Should consumers be hesitant to
use it? Could someone survive on Bitcoin
alone? Only time will tell.
Video: SXSW 2014 Trends: Bitcoin
http://youtu.be/Lx4WO9FM4gg
Bitcoin ATM in Austin, Texas
9
SXSWi 2014 TRENDS
Disrupt What, Exactly?
SXSWi Highlights Digital Movements
Just a few short years ago, we were captivated by the idea Data and privacy was a hot topic at SXSW 2014. Consumers are
of technological “disruption” — our ability to use technology becoming more concerned about the type of data that’s being
to battle entrenched norms and drive organizational change. collected from them. But, there are a lot of misconceptions about
Since then, we’ve come a long way: disruption is no longer how it’s collected, and how it will affect the end user. The industry
just a tool for process improvement; it’s a global ideal that’s will continue to evolve, and brands will ultimately have to become
fueling political and social movements and has changed the more transparent about their efforts around collecting data.
way people are organizing online and off.
This year’s SXSW Interactive Festival was keyed in on this
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shift and has opened its floor to a variety of discussions on
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the impact that disruption, particularly digital, has made
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in tackling today’s most pressing issues. Peter Ambler,
former Deputy Chief of Staff to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords,
spoke about the role digital disruption is playing in public
perception of the U.S. gun control debate. He cited how
a robust digital infrastructure coupled with targeted
engagement drove voters to the polls in the recent Virginia
gubernatorial election who were more than 10 times more
responsive to their message than the average voter, resulting
in the election of gun control supporters to all three top
state posts. Similarly, Shannon Watts of Moms Demand
Action discussed how her organization — a digital network Video: SXSW 2014 Trends: Privacy & Transparency
of concerned moms that’s driving lobbying efforts in support http://youtu.be/X0wS3wGMGNo
of sensible U.S. gun laws — is disrupting the NRA’s hold on
the gun control conversation.
On the global stage, Julian Assange of WikiLeaks described
the Internet as having become a “…political space — the
most important transition in the last decade.” When
asked about why the NSA and western governments have
been unable to control and frame perception around their
surveillance efforts, he alluded to the disruptive nature of the
Internet: the digital space allows us to “educate one another
at unprecedented speeds” and organize against powers that
have historically gone unchecked, a topic SXSW explored
further with its much anticipated virtual conversation with
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
So what does this mean for brands? While online activism
remains a scary proposition for most, brands can still leverage
the core principles that drive digital movements, including
the importance of building advocacy and ambassador
programs; targeting and engaging with consumers in a
personal, relevant way; and inviting those same customers
to be a part of authentic, brand-driven movements that have
an impact beyond themselves.
10SXSWi 2014 TRENDS
Are you Cutting Big Data Down to Size?
The concept of using big data to guide product road maps,
create competitive advantage and inform content marketing
isn’t new. In fact, big data itself is just a relatively new phrase
to describe a concept and practice that has been in use for
years. But now, are agencies and brands fully leveraging big
data to create successful programs?
The allure of big data is hard to overcome, but getting the
most from consumer data is dependent on extracting truly
usable pieces of small data to provide the insights needed
to inform actions. Maria Bezaitis of Intel described, for
example, that “big data has to become small to be relevant.”
Distilling big data to its essence – small packets of personal
data collected from consumers – is critical for identifying
needs, interests and wants. It’s this use of small data in
conjunction with experience and instinct that is used for
predictive models, strategic optimizations or product design.
Turning big data into small data is as easy as looking at
existing, owned sources to distill the essence of consumer
behaviors into trends and interests that are important to
them. Chris Colborn of R/GA reminded us that insights
must be provided from an objective viewpoint to discern real
opportunities.
11SXSWi 2014 TRENDS
Latino Impact at SXSWi 2014
This year, we were excited not only to see a variety of brands
and agencies tapping into the social savvy demographic,
but also to see the diversity in the crowds that SXSW
attracts overall. As the SXSW board has now launched their
#SXAmericas division to attract US Hispanics and Latinos
from around the world, could this be a popular trend at next
year’s festival as it begins to catch on? No need to wait for
2015: Latinos definitely had an impact at this year’s festival
thanks to some star power and engaging #SXSWLatino
activity. Ranging from Rosario Dawson’s panel on #millenials
to Selena Gomez surprise guest appearance with Justin
Bieber and to Diego Luna’s new Cesar Chavez film premiere
also starring Michael Peña and America Ferreira, the variety
of Latino activity at SXSW was popular and wide-ranging.
Thanks to our #FHblackbox, we tracked the reach and impact
that the Latino online conversations had at SXSW and how
Hispanic celebrities in attendance helped amplify the overall
SXSW buzz.
12SXSWi 2014 TRENDS
Art + Science at SXSWi: Creating
Compelling & Impactful Engagements
SXSWi can be summed up as arguably the greatest coming- Instagram is a great medium for creators to deliver a specific
together of the sciences and arts — and for good reason. As narrative through a succinct message. Brands are increasingly
MythBusters co-host and science educator Adam Savage working with popular content creators on Instagram to help tell their
said at his keynote, our society “sees both science and story. By working with these creators, they have instant access to a
art as separate;” and yet Savage sums up this important specific audience and aesthetic in order to create a dialogue about
relationship as “how we converse about who we are and what they represent and a lifestyle that surrounds them.
what we’re doing.” This is what great brand engagement is
all about.
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So where can brands start? One place is the scientific
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method. Much like science, a brand engagement is also an
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experiment — an attempt to understand what resonates
most with a target audience, then replicate it to grow and
nurture a longterm relationship. Like science, every good
engagement begins with a question or statement of intent.
We then conduct background research (e.g., social audits,
surveys, focus groups, etc.) and from there derive insights.
The latter is essential before we can move on to the “art.” Eric
Swayne, founder of DataNarrate and host of SXSWi panel
Scientist to Storyteller: How to Narrate Data, emphasized
the importance of owning insights as the key to clearly
communicating data, simple or complex.
Video: SXSW 2014 Trends: Visual Storytelling for Brands
The “art” piece of the brand engagement process is one in http://youtu.be/Xsmvw92TEn0
which we’re all familiar, but is more complicated than we
think. Once we have our insight, we need to create something
— be it graphical, interactive or editorial — that illustrates
the insight in the most memorable way possible. But like all
art, what we create can often be interpreted (and sometimes
misinterpreted) in a variety of ways. So we experiment with
a variety of art forms to see what resonates most with our
audience and what, ultimately, best conveys our insight.
This process of testing, analyzing and optimizing is crucial
to doing brand engagement right, and brings the art and
science of brand engagement full circle. As SXSWi sessions
like Crowdsourced Art: Activating the Creative Publics and
Next Evolution in Communication have shown us, the artistic
and scientific bars are being constantly raised by our own
external audiences; consequently, our need to understand
the art and science relationship has become even more
crucial.
13SXSWi 2014 TRENDS
Gamers Remind Brands What Makes
Great Community Management
When you think about gamers or gaming culture, you might
think immediately of teenagers, Mountain Dew and stacks of
empty pizza boxes. However, at its core, gaming culture has
continued to build on fundamental community management
principles, and despite ever increasing needs to collaborate
with marketing, PR and product development, few game
studios have strayed from the idea that communities will
always remain the most important piece of their culture.
For gaming communities, explosions in community growth,
engagements and participation are closely linked to several
basic principles of community management.
• Focus on networks in which your fans congregate. Don’t
try to force communities to a specific network simply
because your brand is more comfortable there.
• Recognize that people on different networks are
interested in and are looking for a variety of different
types of content.
• Strive to make everyone in your community feel heard
and engage often. This becomes increasingly more
important as your community grows.
• Remember that social communities are real people
talking to real people. Be transparent, authentic and let
everyone know that his or her input is valuable.
• Deal with fan backlash through discussion and
acknowledgement. If your community is right, change or
adapt. Again, transparency is key.
• Trust that community managers will develop effective
messaging for your brand’s community. They are often
the best positioned to understand a brand’s external
voice, and can provide helpful input on the brand’s tone
and persona.
As brands launch and scale communities in addition to
working closely with other business units to create brand
voice and related content, keeping these principles in mind
will support your community managers while simultaneously
keeping community members active and engaged.
14OUR #FHBLACKBOX
Team
Joel Anderson Steve Bauer Kat Bockli Jenna Carter Alan Chumley John Estafanous
@JoelgAnderson @SteveBauer @KatBockli @jnncrtr @alanchumley @jestodc
St. Louis St. Louis Chicago Washington, D.C. Dallas Washington, D.C.
Gwen Foutz Justin Goldsborough Michelle Goodwin Brian Hrubik Sonali Jayawardena Darrell Jursa
@GwenFoutz @JGoldsborough @_mymichelle @brianhrubik @sonalijay @jursarealwom
Washington, D.C. Kansas City Boston Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Chicago
Clarissa Kupfer Nichole Luna Jeff Maldonado Don Moxley Jacob Porpossian Meg Poulelis
@ckupfr @NNLuna @worldwidemaldo @donmox @jacob_p @megpoulelis
Washington, D.C. Dallas New York St. Louis Toronto Chicago
Jose Resendez Nikki Rodiriguez Jake Rosen Jerry Vallely
@JoseResendez Washington, D.C. @JakeRosen @JerryVallely
Miami Charlotte St. Louis
15CONNECT WITH US
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