We’re gearing up for SXSW 2019 and looking forward to our time in Austin. This year marks our 9th year of powering the SXSW GO app. After browsing sessions in the SXSW schedule from the Brands & Marketing track, Experiential Storytelling track, Tech Industry & Enterprise and more, we’re ready to plan our time in Austin.
With the SXSW GO app, we’ve favorited our top session picks for event marketers. While not all sessions are specific to event marketing, they’ll inspire you with new ideas on how to engage your attendees and deliver valuable experiences.
Here’s our annual round up of the top sessions which should be on every event marketers SXSW schedule in 2019.
Friday, March 8
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Location TBA
Hear from the founders of Giant Spoon, the agency who brought the infamous SXSWestworld activation to SXSW in 2018, about how they push the limits of creativity. This year, they’re producing a Game of Thrones activation for HBO in partnership with the American Red Cross.
Saturday, March 9
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Westin Austin Downtown, The Gallery Room
GDPR has been a driving force in marketing over the past year, forcing marketers and brands to articulate how data provides value to their consumers. We’ve seen this play out as attendees are asked to share their information in exchange for more personalization and networking opportunities. This session will give event marketers deeper insight into creating authentic relationships with their audiences to continue to advance the privacy and value exchange.
Sunday, March 10
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Austin Convention Center, Ballroom G
Nothing can replace face-to-face connections as events continually occupy nearly one-quarter of an enterprise marketing budget according to Forrester. In this session, a panel of event marketers from TD Ameritrade, JetBlue, Heineken USA and Proscenium Events will take us through why events are so valuable and how their brands use live events to connect with their audiences.
Monday, March 11
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
JW Marriott Salon 3-4
This exciting panel brings together experiential marketing leaders from a variety of fields, including Giant Spoon, the agency behind the 2018 SXSWestworld experience. Join them to learn what’s next in experiential marketing and how your brand can benefit from it.
Tuesday, March 12
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Fairmont Congressional B
The number of Gen Z consumers is increasing and will make up a big portion of the market by 2025. In this session, experts will share how valuable influencer marketing is to this segment and how you can harness the power of influencers for your brand. For event marketers, gain insights to help your event planning on topics like selecting which speakers and guest stars may be the key to attracting Gen Z attendees and ensuring they’ll come back each year.
Thursday, March 14
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Fairmont Congressional B
How do you make sure your brand is showing up on the newsfeed of every event attendee? How does your activation standout in a tradeshow floor? This session will share how marketers can ensure their experiential marketing campaign catches on and creates community with their event participants.
