SXSW: Tom Bradbeer’s Austin odyssey – Day 3

Tom Bradbeer, a Digital Creative and Copywriter at Longtail, is in Austin for SXSW Interactive and writing for Campaign Brief.

The madness continues.

Still riding the inspirational high from the night before, I woke up ready for another crazy day of SXSW. Lucky, considering Austin switched to daylight saving time over night, which robbed me of a precious hour of sleep.

After a couple of delicious breakfast tacos I was ready for the first session of the day. If you haven’t figured it out yet, they really know how to do a good taco here. But enough about what I had for breakfast, this morning would be all about data.

Whether you’re aware of it or not, your personal data is being collected throughout every minute of the day. On social media, through the apps on your smart phone, even the cameras recording the traffic on your commute to work. One of the key concepts that kept popping up in both the sessions I attended, was the idea of giving the consumer access to and control of their data.We are becoming more and more aware of the value exchange we enter into with the brands we interact with. The need for transparency is growing, and with it, the need for trust. There’s a huge potential for development in technology we already use, and even more so in technology that doesn’t exist yet.

With a healthy injection of data achieved it was time to even the keel with some creativity, which came in the form of a panel discussion on how to successfully use humour in cause-based advertising. We looked at campaigns like Adopt US Kids and Wildfire Prevention with Smokey the Bear, powerful campaigns that are incredibly successful at creating awareness. A lot of cause based advertising only speaks to the people who already believe in the cause, while humour has the ability to create fresh and interesting connections. By flipping something on its head, it can create a variety of new meanings for different consumers and enables it to be viewed from a whole new perspective. But as Jon Flannery discussed, creating awareness and actually instigating change are quite different things.

With an hour of so to kill before the next thing on my schedule, I took the opportunity to wander the streets. There’s so much going on here I only made it one block before I found myself in a party with an open bar and free t-shirts. Who could say no to that? After a beer with a new friend or two, it was off to an official networking session.

I called this one speed dating for creative professionals. An informal session where we were given the opportunity to meet creatives working in a wide range of positions from all over the world. I loved this, with so much potential in one room it was great  to see what other people were doing with their skill set. From a guy developing a creative enabling freelance website to documentary film makers, every story was unique but alike in that they were all rooted in creative excellence.

With the afternoon slipping away and an unusual lull in my scheduled proceedings, I hopped on a pedicab and cruised across town to the SXSW Reddit meetup. Another opportunity to network, and of course, talk about the crazy things we’ve seen on the internet. I met some New Yorkers who are developing a social fashion network called Socially Shoppable. Basically you chuck in all your favourite online stores and it aggregates them into a Pinterest/Flipboard style platform. Me and my sneaker addiction are itching for this one to be released.

As the sun set on a busy day, I found a quiet corner to collapse and rest my legs. The internal battle in my head between going out and going to bed was raging, but soon quelled by a call from my go-to Austin local. Bed would have to wait. Bribed with Tim Tams, he used his local know-how to jump the line into The Movement Festival for a casual night of pizza and A-Trak, which was followed by some much needed sleep, because tomorrow beckons and like always it promises to be a big one.

From SXSW, Austin,

Tired Tommy bids you farewell for another day.