Learn about the trends and interesting bits of insight and knowledge that iris Worldwide picked up on during SXSW 2015.

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Confidential © 2015
SXSWBitesThe best of SXSW 2015 made easy to digest
Confidential © 2015

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Every year, thousands of geeks, innovators,
marketers, techies and celebs flock to Austin,Texas
to get a glimpse into the future from tech oracles
who to prophesize on the trends of tomorrow.
Soothsayers aside, SXSW Interactive completed its
22nd year (SXSW started in 1987) and is still
delivering on its mission to bring together the
brightest minds to share and learn about
Creativity, Innovation and Inspiration.
This year, we saw a larger crowd and increased
corporate presence, some who did it really well
and others that missed the mark.There was no
shortage of big names to fill the stages from Eric
Schmidt, Chairman of Google, to Biz Stone, founder
of Twitter, while start-ups and young innovators
delivered equally on inspiration and excitement.
There was significant buzz around AeroMobile and
Meerkat, companies we definitely expect to see
more from in the near future.

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While the memories of breakfast migas are always at
the top of the list, we’ve had time to take in all of the
other amazing things we digested over the long
weekend to provide you with our reflections.
There is so much to be inspired by when generating
strategies and ideas for brands. It’s interesting to see,
year after year, despite the heavy emphasis on what’s
new and emerging in tech and digital, that humanity
continues to breakthrough.This juxtaposition between
the ability to advance technologically but still connect
as humans provided a refreshing, yet subtle undertone
to the summit. We walked away excited for the
opportunities to fill in the gaps that exist between the
burgeoning advancements in bionics, artificial
intelligence, gamification, encryption, wearables,
augmented reality, and all of the things that don’t even
have a trendy name yet..
There’s no longer a question around technology and
its ability to transform, but one of authenticity and
approach, or in other words, the why and how.
It’snotaboutifandwhen,butwhyandhow
TAKE A LOOK INSIDE AT SOME OF
OUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS AND
WHAT THEY MEAN FOR BRANDS.

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The big
themes

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THEME #1:
Just one week after the City of Austin lifted bans on both
Uber and Lyft to provide services to the local airport, both
companies shared their thoughts and reflections on the
peer-to-peer economy. Bill Gurley, a San Francisco based VC
who has investments in GrubHub, OpenTable, Zillow and
Uber, made a particularly insightful comment that was
reflective of the changing time. When speaking with Malcom
Gladwell, he noted, that, “millennials see cars as utility, not
luxury”. A new generation is growing up and the extent of
their power and tastes are becoming increasingly apparent.
We have to create new ecosystems and business models that
create opportunities for utilization that have not existed
before. While Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb are more established, we
did see some new applications of the model emerge in
ThreadFlip, Reverb, and DogVacay.
The Shared Economy: Transportation,
New Models, and Policy
As people continue moving into cities, climate change
continues to impact natural resources, and the global
population continues to age –our current system will
continue to fall short while peer-to-peer solutions will
provide one model for relief, both economically and socially.
Think of the impact car sharing has had in such a short
period of time –we’re excited to see what the 2.0 version
brings.
What does this mean
for brands?
In terms of disruption, mobile technology is
the lowest common denominator that has
helped to enable an economy of “now” and
make the reality of on-demand present.
For brands, it will become increasingly
challenging to retain the loyalty of
customers due to the commoditization of
convenience, time, and cost.
Millenials see cars
as utility, not luxury.
- Benchmark’s Ben Gurley“
“
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THEME #2:
It’s no surprise that there were over 70 sessions focused on
the Internet of Things, as it’s the most buzziest of buzz
words at the moment. With no company or brand owning the
category or marking out any clear territory, this growing field
will be fun to watch as it matures. While the future is
unpredictable, what is certain is that the Internet of Things
will provide marketers with new data management
challenges as well as create a demand for more
sophisticated systems, interconnected platforms and
intuitive connections.The end goal, like all great digital
challenges, is to have the technology disappear from the
consciousness of the user and provide a seamless experience
where reality and digital blend into one.
The internet of things
The SXSW Trade Show, with nearly 500 forward-thinking
exhibitions, presented itself like a giant Internet of Things
science fair, where large corporations were rubbing
shoulders with mobile content providers, product designers,
start-up ventures, and even NASA. How long the
experimentation period lasts or how this growing
phenomenon may take to make its way into mainstream
remains to be seen. What does this mean
for brands?
This is the next era of computing that will
impact the full stack of technology, from
infrastructure to data science to social
media. Opportunities will continue to mature
as applications are applied to home,
community, transportation and eventually
nations.
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THEME #3:
This has been a consistent point of discussion at SXSW, and
throughout the industry in general, over the last couple of
years. And while it feels odd categorizing this as a “trend”, it
remains a constant topic because progress seems to be slow.
Refreshingly, this year marked the most women as speakers,
panelists, and in attendance than any year past, and let’s not
forget the SXSW “Girls Only” lounge was a first.
The list of diverse and impactful female voices heard this
year included keynote speaker Princess Reema Bint Bandar
Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia who spoke about her mission to
empower and employ more female sales associates in her
department store despite the cultural lines she was crossing,
which ended up increasing her overall sales. Other speakers
Women and technology
like Katrina Lake, CEO of fashion start-up Stitch Fix, and
Megan Smith, White House's Chief Technology Officer
covered a range of topics including tenets such as:
mentorship, empathy, greater flexibility, providing more
STEM work in elementary schools, and introducing coding to
those as young at 10 years old. At the end of the day, two
prevalent issues were addressed: removing the gender bias
from the workplace, and providing opportunities for women
(and minorities) to get involved in the industry at an earlier
point.
What does this mean
for brands?
Improved engagement with ALL people
will allow brands to increase their reach
and sell-through.The sheer magnitude of
these combined groups represent a
growing force which translates to buying
power.Those that do not adjust will be
left behind.
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THEME #4:
Tech continues to impact the evolution of the sports, fashion,
and food industries. A major theme around connecting sport
and entertainment assets with their fans came up often. It
even felt at times like half the NFL, MLS and NBA had turned
up in Texas with tales of how they’re reducing the functional
and emotional gap between the franchise and the fan –all
signs of increased interest and value for customers and
brands.
We saw how augmented reality was being used to train
English Premier League future footballers by allowing them
to review plays and improve their positioning. Players both
on and off the field are finding ways to bridge gaps and tell
stories that present a positive opportunity for marketers,
reports, and brands alike (think Russell Wilson and Barney’s).
Sports, fashion and food
On the fashion front, there was no lack of presence of the
latest gear and wearables, including (although noticeably
subdued) chatter about the Apple Watch.The line between
fashion and tech continue to blur and we expect to see
more in the ways of new use of tech in fabrics, to constant
presence on the catwalks of Fashion Week.
From the Food and Experiential Dining front, we heard talks
about the future of dining, agri-tech, food systems, data,
and ecosystems, but talks and sessions still fell flat,
signaling that the industry is ripe for disruption and hasn’t
quite figured out what do with technology.
What does this mean
for brands?
It is clear that there is still space to grow. The
name of the game is matching value proposition
with technology and marrying that proposition
with brand positioning to deliver something
unique and distinct.The sports industry is doing
the best job at the moment by utilizing tech to
provide real training benefits to their players and
tangible emotional benefits to their fans. With
wearables in fashion on the rise, it’s likely we will
see the industry saturated over the coming years
with tech forward collections, lines and even
brands.
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THEME #5:
Damn the robots!!! SXSW never fails to disappoint and yes,
there was a “Stop the Robots!!!” protest that was later
exposed to be a marketing scam for a dating app. However,
they did raise a good point with a clever poke at the
prevalence of AI, speaking to the danger of letting too much
technology into our lives, i.e. we want AI to help but not
replace human feeling and thought.
The premise that neuroscience can be mastered and
replicated is an ongoing debate and remains to be
conquered. Martine Rothblatt, CEO of United Therapeutics,
spoke about her book, “Virtual Reality:The promise and peril
of digital immortality”, where she carefully examines cyber-
consciousness and the ethical issues associated with AI. In a
related vein, big data continues to grow bigger with a
proliferation of vendors who are pushing the latest frontiers
Pushing boundaries:
ai, Big data & Privacy
of data and analytics. But despite the ability to capture and
process data in real-time, computers haven’t quite nailed
the ability to decipher meaning, and there still exists a need
for humans to engineer meaningful stories and experiences
for consumers.This was explored from many different
angles, but most had an eye on what it takes to optimize
cut-through and share-ability.
Finally, the war against (or for) privacy continues to wage
on. Although Snowden didn’t headline this year (he still had
a private video with a group of invited privacy campaigners
and technology experts), scientists, technologists, and policy
wonks all wrestled with tough questions about the balance
between privacy and accessibility.
What does this mean
for brands?
There is a natural friction that exists between
the field of data. The open dialogue in between
the data exchanges that happen between
business and consumers is a fragile relationship
that can only be maintained through
transparency, authenticity, and appreciation for
the human condition. As our digital literacy
grows, it will be the responsibility of the brand to
take their customers along with them and make
the experience a positive one.
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Technologythat
amazedus

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Break out
apps,
wearables
& attention
grabbing
technology

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Princess Reema's mission to empower Saudi women was a
compelling one. She is leading the charge in her department
stores to create more job opportunities for women in Saudi
Arabia, creating an environment that will sell more product. She is
an example of living a passion and translating it to a compelling
vision. There was a heart at the heart of the business objective.
Several of the sessions explored the intersection of social, UX, and
content. What was reinforced was that it is getting harder and
harder to expect the customer to pay full attention. Share of
Wallet is now being shifted to Share of Attention, where instead
of a 60 second commercial, we are now down to a six second
Vine or Meerkat stream via twitter. Being creative and knowing
how to engage your audience, encourage participation, and drive
connection is the only way to stay ahead of the game. Our brains
have rewired to optimize for locating things rather than
remembering.
Data driven marketing, predictive analytics, and digital
connectivity are providing the means to understand the mind of
the consumer, but there is a more compelling force that is driving
habits. Whether it be the New York Times sharing how they curate
news to drive trust or Patagonia‘s CEO sharing her transparency
agenda on better business, it is clear that authenticity,
transparency, and honesty will triumph over the fragility of the
interconnected digital state by which we exist.
Our Top 3 Key Lessons for Brands:
3Always be
authentic1Believe in something
Bigger than your
Bottom line 2Attention is the
new currency

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3/25/15
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Thanks!Thanks for taking the time to read our little bite out of SXSW. If you’d
like to know more, or arrange a session to dive into the content and
trends in more detail, then please email
Sarah Aitken, CMO, Americas–sarah.aitken@iris-worldwide.com
www.iris-worldwide.com
@irisworldwide http://irisundertheinfluence.com