The SXSW ReportBy James Whatley / @Whatleydude Digital Director Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, London

IT’S BEEN SEVERAL WEEKS SINCE SXSW

SO WHAT?

– Krystal Higgins Sr. UX Designer

Google

“A wealth of information creates a poverty of

attention”

TREND ONE:

THE ERA OF DISENEGAGEMENT

THE ERA OF DISENGAGEMENT: KEY DRIVERS

THE ERA OF DISENGAGEMENT: KEY DRIVERS (1)

THE ERA OF DISENGAGEMENT: KEY DRIVERS (1)

THE ERA OF DISENGAGEMENT: KEY DRIVERS (2)

THE ERA OF DISENGAGEMENT: KEY DRIVERS (3)

‘CONTENT MARKET-ING’

THERE WERE OVER 400 TALKS WITH THE WORD

'CONTENT'IN THE TITLE

THE ERA OF DISENGAGEMENT: EXAMPLES

DEVICE HANDOVER

THE ERA OF DISENGAGEMENT: EXAMPLES

SOCIAL MEDIA SABBATICALS

THE ERA OF DISENGAGEMENT: EXAMPLES

THE SOCIAL MEDIA GUARD

THE ERA OF DISENGAGEMENT: IMPLICATIONS

Content is as much about publishing & distribution as it is about creation and storytelling. When considering your content strategy, you must consider the distribution of that content.

LESSIS

MORE

COULD YOU BE THE BRAND THAT TELLS ITS

CONSUMERS TO ACTUALLY SWITCH OFF?

TREND TWO:

THE RETAIL REVIVAL

– William Gibson(did not say this)

“The future of retail is here, it’s just not evenly

distributed”

THE RETAIL REVIVAL: KEY DRIVERS (1)CUSTOMER FOCUS: EXPERIENCE

A focus on ‘The Customer Experience’ (hello Apple) and UX as the future of advertising and communications meant that at every retail-themed talk at SXSW (over 150 sessions on this one subject) the topic of customer experience was never far from the agenda.

Consumers are hungry for their high streets to prosper but the value placedon time and attention is continually increasing meaning that if a customerchooses to visit your store, you better make it worthwhile.

THE RETAIL REVIVAL: KEY DRIVERS (2)CUSTOMER FOCUS: WEARABLES

Wearable technology was everywhere at SXSW. The Totes bag even had the words ‘The Original Wearable’ printed on it which, perhaps counter-intuitively put wearables front of mind at every glance (and not Totes).

From wrist payments to biometric scanning to seamless mobile inte-gration, the way that consumers interact within the retail environment is set to change and, by iBeacon or wearable, we are about enter a brand new technology-driven bricks and mortar retail revival with a laser sharp focus on the customer experience.

THE RETAIL REVIVAL: KEY DRIVERS (3)CUSTOMER FOCUS: ONLINE GOES OFFLINE

Buy Online Pick in Store (or ‘BOPS’) was a key trend in the myriad retail sessions at SXSW.

A recent econsultancy report cited a stag-gering 40% of British consumers reserved online to pick up in-store over Christmas and this is only set to increase.

And it’s here that the online giants could ultimately miss out.

YOU COULD CALL IT THE ‘CLICKS AND MORTAR’

REVOLUTION

THE RETAIL REVIVAL: EXAMPLES

FOCUS ON EXPERIENCE

“The days of waiting in line and crossing fingers for a product are over for our customers. The Apple Store app and our online store make it much easier to purchase Apple Watch and the new MacBook. Customers will know exactly when and where their product arrives.

This is a significant change in mindset, and we need your help to make it happen. Tell your customers we have more availability online, and show them how easy it is to order.

You’ll make their day.”

THE RETAIL REVIVAL: EXAMPLES

BIOMETRIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS

THE RETAIL REVIVAL: EXAMPLES

ONLINE GOES OFFLINE

ONLINE INTERCONNECTED DATA

IS BEING USED TO ENHANCE & ENCOURAGE

OFFLINE FOOTFALL(AND NOT JUST IN

RETAIL)

THE RETAIL REVIVAL: IMPLICATIONS

Wearables and Sensors

“No matter how often we say we’re creeped out by technology, we tend

to acclimate quickly if it delivers what we want before we want it.”

75% OF MARKETERS BELIEVE THEY WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR

THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCEWITHIN 3-5 YEARS

TREND THREE:

LIVESTREAM GOES MAINSTREAM

– Tero KuittinenBoy Genius Report

“Meerkat’s ‘success’ was the creation of a handful of west coast tech bloggers who managed to lure major newspapers into

covering a phenomenon that did not exist”

LIVESTREAM GOES MAINSTREAM: DRIVERS (1)

MEERKAT’S RISE AND ‘UP PERISCOPE’

The application Meerkat has “surfaced” during this year’s SXSW.

There was a number of people in the corridors and at performances who were “livestreaming” the event on their social channels.

Gary Vaynerchuk, during his talk with Jack Welch, appeared with a man who was streaming it all the time to the observers of Gary’s profile. The question is whether Meerkat will be able to stand up “Periscope” without that strong support from Twitter? We’re not sure.

Now with PERISCOPE getting in on the scene, the Live Stream promise that was made in the late noughties, is finally coming to fruit.

LIVESTREAM GOES MAINSTREAM: DRIVERS (2)

PROLIFERATION OF 4G / TECH / SOCIAL

Data is no longer a luxury item. With the advent of the year decade of mobile well and truly behind us, 4G technologies plus the democratization of previously pro-sumer tech, means that everybody has access to broadcast-quality kit.

4G networks allow super fast uploads and the flagship smartphones of 2015 packing cameras that can record up to 4K resolution, it’s no wonder that livestreaming is no longer the land of the geeks.

Finally, the maturity and subsequent seamless integration of social media platforms in our lives means that when someone starts broadcasting, their friends will know very quickly indeed.

LIVESTREAM GOES MAINSTREAM: DRIVERS (3)

GENERATION SELFIE

CONSUMERS ARE INCREASINGLY

LOOKING TO THE SOURCEFOR ENTERTAINMENT

LIVESTREAM GOES MAINSTREAM: EXAMPLES

Meerkat was without doubt the app du jour at SXSW. With tech bros from all over world ‘meerkatting’ their lives to their myriad fans

LIVESTREAM GOES MAINSTREAM: EXAMPLES

Madonna premiering her the video for her new song exclusively on Meerkat.

1000 subscribers isn’t much but Madge has 640k followers on Twitter and over 18m fans on Facebook (where the Meerkat feed was published to).

LIVESTREAM GOES MAINSTREAM: EXAMPLES

Twitter telling Meerkat: NO.

DO YOU NEED A LIVE-STREAM STRATEGY?

YOU DO NOT NEED A LIVE STREAM

STRATEGY

TREND FOUR:

THE ROBOT REVOLUTION

THE ROBOT REVOLUTION

THE ROBOT REVOLUTION: EXAMPLES

3D Printed iPhone-controlled robots.

THE ROBOT REVOLUTION: EXAMPLES

THE ROBOT REVOLUTION: EXAMPLES

Robot arms for amputees

THE ROBOT REVOLUTION: IMPLICATIONS

FOCUS

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?

THE ERA OF DISENGAGEMENT

How can you tap into out the consumer fear of ‘information over-load’?

How can we reposition your online (and offline) efforts as the saviour of this never-ending stream of information?

What about content?

If your consumers are switching off, how do ensure you’re adding value and simply not adding to the white noise of social media?

THE RETAIL REVIVAL

Real world spaces are back in fashion. You only need to look at Google’s recent high street efforts on Tottenham Court Road to see how/why…

How could you manifest a presence in retail?

What would the customer experience be like?

Where are the opportunities for wearables? What about sensors?

LIVESTREAM GOES MAINSTREAM

The big stars of this ‘new’ livestream aspect of social media are those that already have the audience to tune in (celebrities, mainly).

Is there a celebrity ‘face’, with an already large following, that you could work with use this? If so, how?

THE ROBOT REVOLUTION

Forget Drones and 3D-printing, for 2015 you want to get robots on your clients’ innovation-led campaigns.

With the aforementioned democratization of the robotics available to us all, getting the right tools, kit, and programmes, in front of the right people –

Well, it’s a creative technologists dream!

The SXSW ReportBy James Whatley / @WhatleydudeDigital Director Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, London

THANK YOU