Atomicdust Heads to SXSW
By the time you read this, Tara and I will be in Austin for the annual South By Southwest Interactive Festival.
If you’re not familiar, SXSWi is a five-day event filled with speakers, discussions and every possible meet-up you can imagine. Seriously. There’s even a meet-up for people who organize meet-ups.
When it comes down to it, SXSWi brings together designers, developers, marketers, educators, journalists, entrepreneurs and just about anyone else with a passion for our industry to discuss changes in technology and communication. With sessions focused on startups, advertising, gaming, artificial intelligence, space travel, privacy, fashion, sports and more, there really is something for everyone.
And I mean everyone. SXSW is expecting more than 100,000 attendees. All here to learn in a few of the 800 sessions.
It’s overwhelming, to say the least. There’s so much to choose from – and five days really isn’t that long. From what I’ve been told, I should be prepared to get derailed and not make it to the sessions I wanted to go to. Not exactly the most comforting scenario for an over-planner like myself.
But alas, we’re off. With so much going on in the next few days, what do we hope to get out of it?
Ideas and inspiration to put into practice.
First and foremost, we’re looking for knowledge, tips and a renewed motivation to bring back to Atomicdust. It isn’t just about feeling inspired in Austin, it’s about bringing that energy back. We’ll be attending sessions on digital marketing, design, content marketing, search and social media to bring back the latest news and tools to our coworkers and clients.
Understanding the climate our clients are working in and helping them prepare for the future is what our work is all about. So we were glad to see so many events and speakers in the healthcare and food and beverage industries – we’ll be sure to bring some knowledge back from those sessions as well.
Industry insight.
Aside from events focused on marketing and design, we’ll be looking for ways to better serve all of our clients, too. This week, AdWeek wrote that the real lesson to be learned from SXSW is being surrounded by brands competing for attention. This is a proving ground where companies large and small showcase their latest and greatest marketing tactics. The real insight comes from paying attention to what works, and seeing the flaws in what doesn’t.
And of course, a little fun.
While I happen to think being shuffled from one auditorium to the next for a keynote session or panel discussion is fun, there’s a lot of more conventional fun to be had in Austin. Countless organizations are hosting happy hours, brunches, concerts and more all day, every day – even better, most are free to attend (with your badge and a quick, online RSVP). There are plenty of these events on our to-do list. So we’re looking forward to meeting and learning from fellow marketing and creative professionals from around the country.
Oh, and who could forget the NASA Driven to Explore trailer? Our inner nerds are already excited to see what’s in store.
If you’d like to keep up with everything Tara and I will be up to in Austin, we made it easy. See our travels and insights at www.atomicdust.com – and check back on our blog for the recaps after SXSW 2015 is all said and done.
