Long live SXSW: A brand marketer’s paradise, and aren’t we all brand marketers?
With all the hype and “SXSW-hating” over the past few days, much of which is focused on the overwhelming attendee growth and presence of big brands, though mainly written by an elite corps of self-aggrandizing people who make their lively-hoods on page views and twitter followers, I wanted to throw my personal opinion, that of a brand marketer, in to the ring. This is my own personal opinion, not that of my employer, Microsoft.
SXSW is a strong as ever, if it were a public company the stock would be off the charts, if we were in mainstream media we’d say it had its Oprah moment, and if we likened it to the annual debate of “Who was the Twitter of SXSW 2010?” we’d answer, SXSW, itself, was the Twitter of this year’s SXSW.
This year it did feel noticeably larger, I ran into less people that I knew, and there was as strong of a carnival-like feel as any year before. But guess what – SXSW is the physical manifestation of twitter, and while all the self-proclaimed social media experts complain about losing its quaintness, they seem to be overlooking the simple fact that social media is about extending your brand, be it personal or professional, and for the first time it seems as though SX has hit its inflection point of being able to provide the correct audience and scale to attract big brand advertisers. Is this not the goldmine of every startup, blog, or individual?
Before I engage in any marketing activity be it a digital ad campaign, integrated web sponsorship, or physical event presence, I ask myself three simple questions:
1) Am I reaching my target audience?
2) How many people in this audience can I reach?
3) By reaching these people, is there a way that we can ignite word of mouth chatter, and extend the brand through them?
In analyzing a marketing engagement at SXSW, the answer to every one of these is unequivocally, yes. Think of the brands, Pepsi wants reach for its “Refresh Project” campaign – an entirely crowd-sourced initiative for social good, Chevy was onsite with a sneak peek of its all-electric Volt car – a geek’s dream; Miller Lite, well, connected with all of us on one night or another, I’m sure. Bing, Azure, Windows 7, Silverlight, Windows Phone 7 Series – this is one of the largest launch years for Microsoft in history, and where are there more tecchies in one location? Aol., they’re makin a come back! In fact, aren’t all of these brands doing the same thing that this year’s startups, Plancast, Foodspotting, Foursquare, Gowalla, Mog, Solvate, and more, are trying to accomplish? Sequoia Capital’s Mark Kvamme just said yesterday that social media marketing can entirely replace traditional advertising.
Then why the hate? Is it really so hard to walk by a booth, or not take a free taxi ride, or just say “no, thanks” to a free snack?
You can’t blame the big brand, you can’t blame Mike from Cincinnati who came to Austin to meet more social media tech people, and god forbid, run into his favorite blogger and want to meet them in person! No doubt, SXSW is changing, but so is everything else. Twitter changed the way we communicate with each other, growing and strengthening our networks, enabling us to brand ourselves and spread the word about our causes. We shouldn’t be so shocked when the physical world around us begins to adapt: CNN, celebrities, service providers, and yes, brands and average people. Roll with it, we’re in the innovation business. Don’t take yourself too seriously; let’s head back to Austin 360 days from now, and I’ll be the first to buy you a beer.
Follow me on twitter @jacob
[Disclaimer: This post is my own personal opinion, and in no way reflects the opinions, beliefs, or strategy of my employer, Microsoft.]
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