SXSW is coming up this week, and so begins the annual pilgrimage of the advertising industry to the land of excellent BBQ and some of the world’s most inspiring thinkers in Austin. Unlike a decade ago during SXSW's heyday, when large agency groups were the norm, today's tighter budgets have significantly reduced agency attendance. However, overlooking the conference entirely may be short-sighted.
Creativity fuels our industry and we need to immerse ourselves in real-world culture. And there is no better place to experience that cultural immersion and creative spark than SXSW.
Real-world creative inspiration
Inspiration is everywhere today, but there’s something different about how it manifests at SXSW. The collective exposure to music, film, gaming and tech industries drives unique thinking and non-traditional ideas — critical for independent agencies competing with larger, well-resourced organizations. And because SXSW showcases emerging artists, musicians and filmmakers, agencies can identify new talent for inspiration and potential collaborations on future campaigns.
SXSW 2019 was where I attended my first-ever talk on artificial intelligence's potential impact on creativity. I distinctly recall attending a panel about AI and the future of storytelling and learning about how AI could change the way we tell stories and how the stories are told. Everything from real-time multilanguage translation (seamlessly opening up content to the world), dynamic content generation enables hyper-personalization and all the ins and outs of chatbots and audio assistants.
The opportunity to engage in conversations around how AI could enhance human creativity (not replace it) and the collective responsibility of positively harnessing the power of this new technology very early on was an irreplaceable experience.
Human experiences matter
In the age of algorithms and AI, the power of lived human experience becomes our irreplaceable differentiator. Though AI can write, generate an image or music and summarize a talk for you, it can never replicate how your memories, lived experiences and influences shape your thoughts and being. It’s essential to be inspired by real-life interactions.
These memories and inspirations differentiate us from data in Large Language Models that power generative AI. Leaning into these human experiences will help distinguish our work and ideas from all the AI content increasingly populating our feeds. While AI generates, we experience. That difference is now our defining strength as creative professionals.
Because SXSW, not AI, connects you with people, the event is a prime opportunity to socialize with creators across film, music, gaming and tech. I’ve met some of the most interesting creators, inventors and creative people of my life here and it’s these cross-industry relationships that can lead to new partnerships and guide ways of thinking.
Where technology shapes culture
SXSW's unique blend of technology, music, film, education and interactive media provides a peek at how innovation is shaping culture and behavior. Unlike purely tech or advertising conferences, SXSW’s interdisciplinary approach allows small agencies to connect the dots across the universe of ideas, uncovering insights that can potentially power original creative thinking and groundbreaking campaigns.
I always make it a point to catch Amy Webbs' Emerging Tech Trends presentation at SXSW. It's a great forecast of what trends to watch for the following years. It helps inform me of technology trends to educate the agency on future-proofing our ideas.
It’s more important than ever to lean into human experiences and meet in real life (touch grass, as the kids say) to exchange ideas. For any independent agency seeking to thrive, SXSW is not just a conference but an investment in originality and creativity. And the BBQ is pretty good, too.
Ricardo Diaz manages all things digital for Omelet. He comes from a computer science background and has over 25 years of digital marketing experience. Prior to Omelet, Diaz worked at TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles and Zambezi, where he helped create award-winning campaigns for clients including Grammys, Gatorade, Pepsi, Nissan, Sony, Visa,and Adidas, all while helping to develop and evolve the digital discipline within the agency. His career is punctuated by firsts: from developing the first iAd for the Nissan Leaf, through to the first SXSW award-winning agency developed platform for TBWA Worldwide, to 2016 Cannes Lion winner for world’s first gestural e-commerce platform for Stance.
