March 2010
44 posts
1 tag
Man on a Mission
Traditionally, SXSW is divided into three distinct categories: film, interactive and music. But once you’ve seen the epic documentary Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission, you quickly realize that all three genres can exist in one hour-and-a-half experience at the historic Paramount downtown.
Film: Ok, this one’s obvious. Man on a Mission is a film, yes. But what makes this documentary so special...
The Dailies: March 20
Daily Person
Davy is a member of Los Angeles band Everest. He shared his thoughts about branding at SXSW while smoking outside of Antone’s, where the band was about to play a day party. What are you excited about seeing this year? Broken Bells tonight. What brand-sponsored parties are you looking forward to? We’re playing the Readymade magazine party which is cool. We hung...
1 tag
Levi's + Fader Fort
The Levi’s + Fader Fort (or, more commonly called “Fader Fort”) is a marketer’s playground. Fader Magazine, a music-centric culture magazine, has long had a presence at SXSW. Their partnership with Levi’s has perfected the art of organizing and presenting a branded event.
It strikes a delicate balance between exclusive and inclusive. Anyone can RSVP, wait in line...
1 tag
The Dailies
Daily Person
Carly, from Nashville, is the manager for singer/songwriter Andrew Ripp. She had this to say about branding at this year’s SXSW: What are you excited about seeing this year? Just the craziness. It’s fun to watch people and bands you’ve never heard of. That’s what I think is so cool about SXSW. Lots of times you’re surprised by things you...
Flatstock
One of the best things about SXSW is Flatstock, the annual rock poster show put on in part by The American Poster Institute. It’s a 43,300 square-foot candy store for music and art lovers. We just left the convention center floor with a slew of posters and nothing but lint in our wallets. The show features original graphic art by more than 100 artists from across North America and the globe....
Toaster Treats
For those of you who are hungry for a tool that can track social marketing, simply check the toaster.
Social Toaster, a powerful little platform that lets organizations implement a social media strategy and track the results. Even better is that it’s automated, reducing a majority of time spent managing social media content. The software posts content on sites like Facebook and Twitter, then...
1 tag
ESET's Interactive "Billboard"
Overall, we’ve been impressed with ESET’s (an anti-virus software) presence at SXSW this year, from a branded vehicle to street team marketing to, now, an interactive “billboard” on downtown Congress Avenue.
This campaign has been done in conjunction with Monster Media and BBDO West (and Door Number 3 buddy/photographer Bryan Davis). The official press release...
1 tag
AOL Lifestream
We saw a branded bus promoting AOL’s new social networking platform Lifestream (previously blogged about here) driving around town today. Eventually, it parked in downtown Austin to set up a mobile display. A nice touch were the back windows, which featured screengrabs of the interface.
1 tag
Clear + SXSW
Waterloo Records has been hosting free day shows in their parking lot during the Music fest, and Clear has been the major brand presence there. The folks from Clear we talked to described themselves as “the new game in town”, and their marketing efforts focused primarily on generating some name recognition and to drive sales towards broadband subscriptions. Clear has definitely...
1 tag
Just Trying to get Home
Amongst all the street advertising for brands, some people just want to get back home. We chatted with these friendly folks from Nashville who were selling their line of shirts to get enough cash to go back to Tennessee. We were particularly fond of the oh-so-ironic “Sorry I Missed Your Show” one, which, we admit, is a line we’ve used every now and then.
1 tag
The Dailies: March 18
Daily Person
Phil Freeman, metal blogger for MSN Music is at SXSW to do a live, onstage interview with Lemmy from Motorhead. He also does freelance writing about heavy metal for the Village Voice and other New York area publications. What are you excited about seeing this year? Well I’m hoping to get to the in-store performance for High on Fire (editor’s note: we saw High on...
1 tag
Deconstructing the SXSW Schwag Bags: Music
The tote bag this year is co-branded by the “British Music Embassy”, an entity that represents British music and their trade partners. There have been items from them in the Music bag for the four years we’ve been covering SXSW, and we’ve always been impressed with their overall design aesthetic.
This year there was not one but two “SXSW aid kits” (which has...
1 tag
You Should Know About: Augmented Reality
Of all the different topics covered at SXSW Interactive, the discussions on augmented reality (AR) really struck us as the exciting technology of the future. If it’s something you’re not familiar with, first think of the scenes in the Terminator movies where you see what the Terminator sees– the real world with graphical information superimposed on top of it.
But the notion of...
1 tag
Crowdsourcing. AKA: Innocent people doing your...
You know you’re in a crowdsourcing panel at SXSW when the panel admits that they crowd sourced all of the content for their presentation that day.
And that’s exactly what happened at “Crowdsourcing Innovative Social Change.”
But who can blame them? There are individuals out there who just want to be heard, and crowdsourcing is a great way to give them a voice while getting what you need...
1 tag
The Dailies: March 17
Daily Person
We got Micheal’s comments on SXSW branding while he waited in line to see the Splinters at Red 7. He’s in town from San Francisco “just checkin’ out shows and hangin’ out.”
What are you excited about seeing this year? I don’t know there are so many things. jj. I want to see jj. What brand-sponsored parties are you looking forward to?...
1 tag
Levi's Fader Fort: The Wristband
Some of our team have picked up their wristbands to the Levis/Fader Fort. It’s one of the better (and most popular) multi-day free party spots. It’s not particularly exclusive because anyone can email their RSVP, but lines can be long. So Levis/Fader strike that perfect balance of feeling exclusive (“I got in!”) yet completely inclusive (“anyone can RSVP!”)
...
1 tag
Sleep Capsules
SXSW Interactive. It’s a nap, folks. This is a pretty common scene inside the downtown convention center today – which got us to thinking. With so many brands vying for meaningful consumer engagement, why hasn’t anyone set up those sleep capsules popularized in Japan? A place to take a catnap or sleep off a hangover would be much more welcomed by festivalgoers than another...
1 tag
I’ll take a Miller Lite. And a check for $24,000.
When Miller Lite wants an idea and is willing to pay for it, everyone wants in.
Digitas, the Chicago-based interactive agency who manages Miller Lite’s online brand, held a contest for content creators to pitch their big Miller idea at this year’s SXSW. In a format similar to speed dating, the contest allowed each content creator six minutes to introduce themselves, sell their idea and answer...
1 tag
ZonePerfect's Live/Create Lounge
It’s a cold, damp day in Austin so we decided to duck into Zone’s Live Create Lounge to dry off and take in some live music. Admittedly, we weren’t expecting much. What does a low calorie, on-the-go nourishment bar have to do with living, creating or lounging? From the outset, it felt like another forced tie to Austin’s music and art scenes.
The space inside was...
1 tag
Deconstructing the SXSW Schwag Bags: Interactive
Now that SXSW Interactive is a wrap, we’ve had a chance to finally go through the promotional schwag bag every attendee gets. There were rumors earlier in the year that all the schwag bags were going to be paperless this year but, even though they’re considerably lighter, were still stuffed with two handfuls of glossy postcards. Too bad. Look for the Film and Music bag reviews in the...
1 tag
The Dailies: March 16
Daily Person
Ashvin Kumar, founder of Blippy, took a brief break from his talk preparations to answer some questions about his experiences with marketing at SXSW. What are you excited about seeing this year? The reason I’m here is that I’m super-excited about social media. It allows us to connect with way more people that we otherwise would connect with. What brand-sponsored...
1 tag
Hot Dogs + Branding = ?
In addition to the giant 3D television from Panasonic commanding so much attention, one other booth at the Interactive Trade Show had a healthy crowd. That was because it had free hot dogs, whose delicious smell was wafting throughout the giant hall.
There was a continuous crowd of people waiting patiently for their chance to grab a bite. While we were hanging out with our Bandize buddies at...
1 tag
The World's Largest 3D HD TV
The Interactive Trade Show is always worth checking out. The biggest attraction this year was a display for the new Panasonic 3D HDTV. It almost felt like being at a theme park because about 20 people at a time were brought into a giant container to experience the largest 3D TV, measuring a whopping 152 inches, and the line was long.
After a pretty sales-heavy introduction by a Panasonic...
1 tag
Stickers that grow
One of the things we love about SXSW is that it really quickly becomes an advertising free-for-all. It’s great to see something as simple as large stickers slowly amassing and extending beyond the metal poles by the Convention Center.
1 tag
Monday's Best Branded Vehicles
At SXSW, there are “wrapped” cars and trucks in just about every direction. Here are a few that caught our eye.
Eset uses the “computer-barfing-on-your-face joke to warn us against Internet threats and sell their antivirus software. Kind of like road kill” nasty but we had to look.
Bing gets local by asking who has better BBQ: Salt Lick or Iron Works? Very cool idea...
1 tag
SoBe Lizard Lounge
SoBe has taken over Brush Square Park with their open-air Lizard Lounge. It has a good-times vibe with plenty of sun-dappled spots to hang out between panels. The bar serves “reskinned SoBe Elixirs and Teas” while a wall of LCDs invite festival attendees to “virtually reskin yourself, then fool your friends.” Here’s how it works: You step up to a Mac, take a self...
1 tag
The Dailies: March 15
Daily Person
Chrysanthe Tenentes from Brooklyn, New York works for foursquare and also runs Brooklyn Beat, an email newsletter about Brooklyn.
What are you excited about seeing this year? I’m just really excited to be here with foursquare. I’ve been using foursquare for so long and it works so well on this scale, in a place like this, where there are so many people around and...
1 tag
Chevy Joy Rides
A lineup of shiny new Chevrolets is parked outside the convention center today. Friendly Chevy reps ask passerbys, “Want to take one for a spin?” We immediately thought: What’s the catch? Is it really that easy? Yes, it pretty much is. All you have to do is sign in and pass a breathalyzer test. From there, you’re off on a .7-mile joyride through downtown Austin. At a...
The Dailies: March 14
Daily Person
Levi Harris, a writer and recent Austin transplant from Los Angeles shares his thoughts on branding efforts at SXSW. What are you excited about seeing this year? This year is actually my first year doing this. I’m actually excited about pretty much everything. I’m going to the Jeffrey Tambor acting workshop right now. What brand-sponsored parties are you...
1 tag
Halfway impressions: Location-Based Apps
SXSW Interactive is at the halfway point, and what’s stood out the most has been location-based mobile applications.
These are social networking applications you download onto your smartphone. What makes them unique is that they utilize GPS to integrate your location into the overall user experience. The current examples of these include Foursquare, Gowalla, BrightKite, and AOL’s...
1 tag
Our Favorite Film Posters
Top Left: Jimmy Tupper vs. The Goatman of Bowie, designer: Jonathan Sandridge
Top Right: The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights, designer: Robert Jones
Bottom Left: Trash Day, designer: Rolando G. Murillo
Bottom Right: How to Fold a Flag, designer: Petra Epperlein
1 tag
The ELEVEN API Lounge Sponsored by Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent is holding post inside the Hilton to introduce its new packaged API (Application Programming Interfaces) bundles. They’ve set up a swanky lounge with cushy white seats and purple uplighting. You can get a free beer, throw down some prosciutto-wrapped asparagus or play Guitar Hero on the big screen. But the real draw is AppIdol, your chance to submit an original mobile app...
1 tag
The Dailies: March 13
Daily Person
Chris Reddish, of Park City, Utah, is a lighting director and photographer working for IFC.
What are you excited about seeing this year? Well I’m a photographer and I’m gonna shoot a lot of live music. Music is more what I’m excited about for the festival. The Drive By Truckers are going to be playing in our studio. I’m excited to see Cracker. Being a...
2010: The Year of the QR Codes?
A QR code tagged on a wheatpasted poster on an electrical box, near 6th St.
A promotional card from Razorfish.
1 tag
Even Casino El Camino, one of 6th Street’s last punk rock dive bars (and makers of the best burgers in Austin), made a sign for SXSW. This place has the toughest, angriest cooks in Texas, a loud jukebox of blistering punk and metal, and hard R-rated movies playing nonstop and is the last establishment we’d ever expect to put out a cafe street sign.
1 tag
Pepsi: Refresh Everything
Pepsi, another major sponsor of SXSW is pushing their “Refresh Everything” Campaign. The campaign itself is really nice– the branding is slick and bright (although we still see the influence of Obama-esque branding) and the message is a positive one. In terms of fitting into a branded space, it feels a little lost though. Some people will take the time to find out more information,...
1 tag
Ah, nothing like freshly-stenciled sidewalk ads on a warm spring day. We found this a couple blocks away from the Austin Convention Center (Where most of SXSW Interactive is taking place.)
We were a bit confused about the two websites. “howdoyou.com” goes absolutely nowhere, to a placeholder page. 25years.com, however, goes to a website that commemorates the 25th anniversary of the...
1 tag
Chevy Volt's Recharge Lounge
Chevrolet, on of SXSW’s major sponsors, has put together a couple very interesting promotions this year. First is the Chevy Volt Recharge Lounge at the Austin Convention Center. Branded spaces here can always be problematic. People want a place to sit down and work and not trip over popcorn machines or other random things with logos on them. A place to recharge your laptop is such a smart,...
1 tag
SXSW 2010 Preview
There have finally been a handful of pleasant, spring days in Austin and that always puts one thing on our minds: South by Southwest (March 12-21). Once again, Door Number 3 will be bringing you all the coverage, interviews and two cents from the marketing and advertising perspective we can muster. The biggest news this year, which is sort of not surprising, is the continued growth of...
Stuff We're Into
Fundred Normally we wouldn’t recommend counterfeiting money, but we promise it’s for a good cause. To match the estimated cost needed to protect New Orleans’ youth from lead contamination, the Fundred Dollar Bill Project wants at least 3 million Americans to create their own $100 bills. When their goal is met, they’ll ask Congress for an equal contribution. ...
Please Rob Me
You know those people who clog your social media page with their constant narcissistic updates about their latest adventure?
“In France! Where should I eat?”
“Backstage with Radiohead!”
“Three weeks in Singapore. Woo-hoo!”
Yep, you know them. And now, you can rob them – thanks to the social media pranksters behind Please Rob Me.
Using services like Twitter and Foursquare, the site...
Lessons from Chatroulette
What? You haven’t heard of Chatroulette?
NEXT!
On the popular new video chat site, Chatroulette, users engage face-to-face with random people around the world. And just like advertising, users have less than two seconds to grab their audience’s attention. Failure to do so results in getting “nexted,” the advertising equivalent of someone changing the TV channel to avoid a horrendous...