PATA 2019
South by Southwest: Transforming a destination city and the events industry
SXSW Origins 1987: Music industry conference and festival launched ● by a small group of Austin Music Professionals in a tiny office at the Austin Chronicle newsweekly 1990: Mike Shea joined as a consultant ● 1994: Added Film and Interactive (technology) ● 2009: Added SXSW EDU (education) ●
SXSW Center Opened June 2019
SXSW’s secret sauce All content is curated and much of it is crowd-sourced ● Endless variety of experiences in meeting rooms + ● storefronts + theaters + parks + city streets + rooftops Sense of possibility - anything might happen at any time ● Vibe is very informal but always professional - be your ● (best) self Austin, Texas -- best city in the world ●
Some common misconceptions SXSW is a consumer festival. SXSW is for business but fun ● business -- a B2B event for creative professionals. SXSW is run by the city. SXSW is a privately owned corporation ● that produces the event without government subsidies. SXSW has gotten too big! How big is too big? Attendees and ● press continue to rave about the SXSW experience.
Businesses at SXSW
Why do professionals attend? ● Creatives come to be inspired ● Businesses come to establish their brand and launch products ● Media come to discover the new next thing ● Distributors and content providers find content and creators ● Everyone comes to learn from their peers and grow
The SXSW demographic Age 26 -34 (34%) • Income $150,000+ annually (39%) • Startup business (19%) • Decision makers at work (25%) • Looking for new business opportunities (59%) •
74% are from the USA
26% are from 105 other countries
SXSW growth from 1987 to 2019 (33 years if you’re counting) ● Attendees +10,530% 700 to 73,716 ● Conference Sessions +14,000% 15 to 2,147 ● Music Fest Artists +1,109% 177 to 1,964 ● Films Screened +42,500% 1 to 425
Austin, Texas home of SXSW
Austin Texas’s image in 1987 ● Medium-sized college town that’s a mecca for artists and weirdos from the rest of Texas ● Economy is non-diversified – primarily state government (Texas’s capital city) and University of Texas ● Tourists ignore Austin and visit the Alamo and Riverwalk in San Antonio (100 miles away). ● Willie. Nelson.
Austin skyline circa 1987
Austin growth from 1987 to 2019 ● Population +283% 744,000 to 2,111,000. ● Air Passengers +337% 3.8 million to 12.8 million ● Prime Hotel Rooms +733% 1,500 to 11,000+ ● Exhibition Space +988% 25,000sf to 247,00sf
Austin skyline circa 2017
SXSW influence on Austin growth SXSW brought the world to Austin (and the world like it) ● City built/expanded a Convention Center for events “like SXSW” ● Hotel companies noticed SXSW premium rates and added ● capacity to meet demand Airport expanded and new airline routes increase capacity ● New events imported (Formula 1) and created (Austin City ● Limits and Texas Book Festival and more)
SXSW & Austin: How they grew together for 33 years Businesses and governments and citizens worked for ● growth (they faced considerable opposition at times) SXSW and Austin were authentic and stayed true to ● their own cultures even as those cultures evolved and became more worldly Growth was organic and happened from within – not ● imposed from the outside
Beneficial Impact of SXSW on the City of Austin 2019 Economic Benefit to Austin: $355.9 million ● ● 30 Years of Economic Benefit to Austin $2.02 billion ● International Media Valuation of $339.6 million Fuel for the city’s economic engine year-round ●
Austin’s culture shift ● Austin shed its “small town” image is now perceived as cutting edge in the arts, sciences and more ● Now a leading cultural and event (and foodie!) destination for GenNext and Baby Boomers alike ● Startups and established tech companies all want a major presence in Austin because it’s a recruiting tool as a livable city for techies and creatives of all stripes
Can we have a SXSW in our city / state / country? Cloning such a unique event isn’t easy ● (we know because we’ve tried) In 1987 SXSW filled a void – the world ● needed a new music industry event and an event must fill a need to succeed The “next SXSW” will always be ● compared to the “real SXSW” and that bar is set very high
Festivalization of Meetings
Festivalization of Meetings New buzz word coined circa 2017 ● Loosening traditional conference structures and ● incorporating interactive elements SXSW was a pioneer -- mixing festival informality with ● conference and trade show business practices Trend also moves in the opposite direction as music and ● film and technology events now include conference elements outside their original sphere
SKIFT said… The festivalization of meetings trend started with the multidisciplinary programming at SXSW and TED. That has since inspired a surge of new “innovation conferences” in cities of all sizes worldwide... Populous said… The mecca of business + entertainment festivals, SXSW... happened organically and it all started with a concert-centric format. Event planners should learn from festival-first events, minimize boundaries, encourage chance encounters and produce casual content.
Attendees like festivalisation Immersive activities are stimulating ● Festivalisation encourages inventing new ways of delivering ● and receiving information Professionals from different fields share with and learn from ● one another – technologists and filmmakers and venture capitalists and athletes and politicians Festivalisation leads to unexpected encounters and ● serendipitous inspiration
Virtual Reality Room at JW Marriott
Immersive Art Experience
SXSW Pitch Stage
Music Fest in Convention Center
Brands want festivalization ● Experiential activities are more memorable than traditional promotions ● Clients can innovate outside traditional conference hours and venues ● Instagrammable opportunities create viral buzz
Lockheed Martin Zero Gravity Photo
Marvel Universe Spider-man
Mercedes Smart vehicle activation
Creatives and professionals like festivalisation They can showcase their creations + ● technology + music + films + ideas Their work is validated by their peers ● They learn the state of their industry ●
SXSW Gaming Awards Winners
Bill Murray (he can’t stay away)
HBO Game of Thrones Event HBO ACTIVATION: BLEED FOR THE THROWN
Olivia Wilde Film Fest red carpet
Future Directions for the Events Industry ● Meetings & Events is an estimated $840 billion industry ● Attendees have shown willingness to travel further and spend more for experiential and immersive events ● Industry projections identify Pacific Asian destinations (and South America) as the next growth regions for conventions, events and festivals
What’s the takeaway? ● Adapt to new models – be nimble – encourage serendipity Events are transformative – they change people, places and ● minds – embrace the change Identify a void in the world of events and be an agent of creation ● to fill the void
Thank. You.
SXSW Resources Website & Conference Information & Exhibitions Information: www.sxsw.com Register & Attend: www.sxsw.com/attend Marketing at SXSW: www.sxsw.com/marketing Sponsorship Opportunities: www.sxsw.com/marketing/sponsorship-opportunities Statistics, Demographics & Economic Impact: www.sxsw.com/facts-figures-quotes
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