Attending SXSW this year was a spontaneous decision on my part. I decided two weeks before the event to check it out after years of putting it on my career bucket list. Planning the trip to Austin turned out to be a breeze. On the outset my main focus was the Interactive portion of the festival - marketing, branding, digital, media, journalism, communications, etc. This post will focus on that portion of the Festival. Truly inspirational. 

1. Prototyping the Future of Public Media - Excellent Panel Discussion with producers from BBC and NPR discussing the nature of public media in the current era of breaking news. Fiona Campbell of the BBC spoke on the development of a new app BBC Mobile on how to reinvent peoples relationship to the news. Their goal was to capture underserved audiences i.e. women and younger listeners in order to create more interaction. Key Takeaways: 

• It's about People not Policy 
• Curating Content to the Market 
• Stories Shape Us 

2. The Future of Business is Female - Yes, we know this however it's empowering to hear these leaders and disrupters taking the bull by the horns so to speak and making things happen. Cindy Whitehead the Founder and CEO of Pink Ceiling (yes she was wearing pink) discussed the necessity of having access to capital and building that network all the time. It might take risk and anxiety, but in order to grow one has to know the investor market. Key Takeaways: 

• At 50% of the population, why are woman consider a niche market? 
• Women can create economies because of our ability to connect and empathize.
• Women live Longer.

3. The Flow State: How to Tap Into Consumers’ Brains - If we have met you know that I. Love. Pinterest. Raashi Rosenberger, head of Creative Strategy for Pinterest discussed how Pinterest is able to capture people's imaginations as they are seeking inspiration. They literally are expressing creative enjoyment; productive play. They get into the flow state. Similar brand examples that use this approach include Valspar paints chatbot Ask Val shortens the time it takes to select paint. Campbells soup "Recipe Reality check" is linked to individual Pinterest accounts eliminating the need for a grocery list. 

Perhaps the most impactful part of this session was Ben Butler's presentation on Social Responsibility. He is the Global Marketing Director for Stella Artois.  Social responsibility is doing good for others. They used data driven information about the horrific lack of access to clean water our world endures on a daily basis. Women are especially vulnerable in parts of the world. They have to spend their days searching for water instead of attending schools. Stella Artois' iconic glass chalice was used as a fundraising tool. Buy one chalice, they will donate five years of water to h20.org. The campaign aptly named www.buyaladyadrink.com . Key Highlights:

• Connect with your customers full circle.
• Search is conventional, discovery is personal. 
• Social responsibility is about giving back. 

Those are just a few highlights for now. My next post will be all about the one session that resonated the deepest for me. It could even be the entire reason I went to SXSW! It's on Purpose Driven Marketing. Stay Tuned. And if you would like to read about all the fantastic food I enjoyed in Austin please check out the posting on my old school food blog here. I talk about the cool Pinterest party I attended. 

Lastly, if you would like to learn more about my experience in SXSW or would like to discuss how I can help with your Marketing and Communications please contact me. 

Until Next Time!

MKR