The document summarizes highlights from SXSW 2019. It discusses how connected experiences centered around content were impactful this year. It also notes that major brands supported local Austin culture through partnerships. There was a increased focus on politics, technology, and their intersection with culture. Health and wellness were also prominent topics, with the health track seeing growth. Overall, the festival celebrated progress while also pushing for more open discussions around diversity, inclusion, and other uncomfortable issues.

1. VMLY&R @

2. Every March, thousands of thinkers, futurists, and creative
minds flock to SXSW Interactive to showcase and take in the
latest-and-greatest ideas for the future. SXSW has evolved in
many surprising and meaningful ways, but at its core, it
remains a place for creators and ideas to come together.
We were thrilled to be part of the conversation. Read on for
our highlights!

3. At past festivals, SXSW has been all about the new and the next. But this year was a
time to simultaneously sit back and reflect on the significance of the rapid innovation,
technology and media that has come to define our world — and the responsibility
that comes with it.
From data and AI to entertainment, journalism, diversity and politics, SXSW
presenters were asking:
What are the implications and impacts of the tech, media and culture we’ve
created? What ethical responsibility do we have in the future?
SXSW 2019: WHERE TO NOW?

4. SXSW 2019 HIGHLIGHTS
IT’S ALL ABOUT CONNECTED EXPERIENCES.
CELEBRATING PROGRESS & GETTING UNCOMFORTABLE.
MEGABRANDS GO LOCAL.
HEALTH HAS ARRIVED.
VMLY&R @ SXSW
POLITICS AND CULTURE ARE INTERTWINED.

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CONNECTED
EXPERIENCES

6. CONNECTED EXPERIENCES
Connected experiences have become the cornerstone of SXSW. Brands and start-ups alike participate in
the festival every year hoping to strike cultural oil and launch the next big thing at the festival.
This year, content creators rather than services were the ones creating the most immersive connected
experiences.
With the volume of content available today, it’s difficult to know what to choose. By building connected
experiences around content, creators are not only endearing people to new content — they’re also
selling them on something much bigger than a show:
Culture.

7. HBO’s Game of Thrones rallied fans to
prepare for The Great War to come in the
final season. The takeover at SXSW
launched HBO’s global blood donation
campaign supporting The American Red
Cross.
Netflix’s The Highwaymen gave attendees
the chance to visit the The Highwaymen
House, a pop-up experience transforming
Austin’s Banger’s Basement into an
interactive space that takes guests back in
time to the 1930s, when infamous bank
robbers Bonnie and Clyde were at large.

8. Amazon Prime Video brought Armageddon
to Austin, celebrating the highly anticipated
premiere of novel-turned-series Good
Omens at SXSW. Festival-goers could head
to the Garden of Earthly Delights, a hidden
oasis from the impending End of Days.
Audible’s The Night Realm Tavern
transported attendees to the medieval
world of Heads Will Roll— with an
immersive, audio-driven experience that
allowed guests to revel like royalty and
indulge in medieval food and drink.

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MEGABRANDS
GO LOCAL

10. MEGABRANDS SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESS
•Unlike many festivals, the city and culture of Austin is central to
SXSW.
•Brands that took over without a nod to Texan culture felt like a
miss, but brands that got cheesy (no queso puns intended) didn’t
quite work either.
•The most authentic activations saw global brands getting behind
local culture — without overtaking it.
•Cue Uber Eats, which had a “walk through” window where people
could pick up Torchy’s Tacos and Amy’s Ice Cream. And Bumble took
over Jo’s Coffee for a millennial-friendly, beautifully designed
workspace. We recommend all of the above, incidentally.

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GETTING
POLITICAL

12. • For the first time, the festival dedicated an entire
track to cities, government and politics - a reminder
of how deeply politics and culture are intertwined.
• Governors to senators took the stage, discussing
how to get back to human-centered politics, the
race/class divide, breaking up big tech, and how
these factors are likely to play out in the years
ahead.
•Politics vs. Big Tech: Presidential hopeful, Elizabeth
Warren stole the show with her plan to break up big
tech, and fueling the global conversation around
fairer, safer, and more transparent market.

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HEALTH HAS
ARRIVED

14. Since its debut in 1987, SXSW has evolved to reflect the
macro-trends and topics shaping culture around the world.
Today, health is everywhere, and wellness is sexy. And, true to
form, the festival reflected this new age of health.
The Health & MedTech conference was bigger than ever,
packed with 100+ panels, sessions, and meet-ups held in A-
list venues. The track covered topics, from access to care, and
marketing ‘taboo’ products, to blockchain, women’s health,
and patient centricity.
Meanwhile, the Wellness Expo doubled in size, with 171
brands participating – compared to just 80 in 2018. Clearly,
health has arrived at SXSW.
1996: for the first time, the
internet was a major
presence at the festival
2011: The first SXSW Eco
Conference was held to
advance environmental,
economic, and social change
2013: Grumpy Cat was
voted the undisputed star of
SXSW by CNN, CBS, CNET
and other media…a true
reflection of the times
SXSW: A Reflection of the Times

15. AR, VR, MR
• The future of AR, VR, and MR will be more about how we overlay them into our
everyday lives. Notably, AR is gaining major traction with training doctors, and was cited
as the reality most ripe for disruption since the hardware is now accessible on most
phones, and AR apps can easily be made as extensions of existing apps.
VOICE
• The practical and meaningful application of voice tech was an exciting highlight. Case in
point — Triad Health AI’s use of home speakers to develop in-home exercise programs
for people with Parkinson’s Disease. The workouts combine movement, voice and
cognition to slow or lessen some of the hallmark symptoms of the disease.
PATIENT CENTRICITY
• Technology’s acceleration of truly patient centric healthcare dominated the health track
with sessions ranging from humanizing tech to create meaningful connections,
strategies for using tech to further democratize healthcare, and more. Notable points:
• The blending of science, tech, and humanity is key to driving empathy and compassion,
and ultimately advancing patient centricity — a theme heard across many sessions.
QUICK BITES
By 2020, 20% of healthcare
companies will be using
blockchain for patient
management
Our healthcare system is
broken because it was
designed around the wrong
person - the provider, not the
patient.” - Dr. David Feinberg,
head of Google Health
Voice assistants could enable
people to stay in their own
home for up to 10 years more
before moving into assisted
living
”
“
”
“
”
“
POINTS FROM THE HEALTH
TRACK

16. Butterfly iQ
A portable ultrasound scanner that transmits images via
an app. The device makes it possible for doctors to scan
patients right in their office or even at home. This makes
it possible to do scans - of the heart, a limb, or a fetus in
utero - in places without traditional ultrasound
machines. And, it's about ⅕th the price of a traditional
machine.
iN: Cognitive Patient Care Assistant
A small AI-powered device that detects
movement and activity in hospital rooms.
Created to help stop patient neglect, it detects
staff presence and assesses environmental safety
risks while collecting data from other medical
devices such as EKG/vitals monitors, and from
environmental sensors detecting temperature,
noise, brightness, etc.
SXSW 2019 INTERACTIVE INNOVATION AWARD WINNERS
Fundamental Surgery
Virtual reality surgical simulation that
allows surgeons to practice in lifelike
environments with live feedback on their
performance. The future of learning for
doctors.
NOTABLE MEDTECH

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CELEBRATING PROGRESS &
GETTING UNCOMFORTABLE

18. CELEBRATING PROGRESS & GETTING
UNCOMFORTABLE
• It’s crucial to keep doubling down on diversity and
inclusion, even when it’s slow and difficult.
• It is every person’s responsibility to make sure that we
don’t limit these issues to a moment in time.
•The uncomfortable topics are the most important topics.
Talk about the issues that used to be taboo and ask the
questions that make you squirm. Because if we don’t
have these conversations, we’ll never move forward.
• Break the glass ceiling… literally. Attendees could
physically shatter barriers with ADP’s experiential
activation.
When it came to women’s issues, diversity and inclusion, this year’s festival was all about the intersections —
between women and women of color, women with disabilities, and women from economic divides.

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VMLY&R @ SXSW

20. LOSING OUR EMPATHY AND HOW TO GET IT
BACK
• We are empathetic by nature. 98% of us have the ability to
empathize.
• Today’s technologies are making us both disconnected and more
connected which presents an opportunity to fill the empathy
gap.
• Some researchers are exploring if empathy is a choice. They
hypothesize that empathy is not something that happens to us
but is something we elect to do.
• Empathy isn’t a fixed trait; it’s a skill that needs to be practiced.
• Ways to practice empathy: Helicopter View (a perspectives
exercise worksheet) and Heard, Seen, Respected (a deep
listening exercise).
BAVGroup Executive Strategy Director, Laura Jones, kicked off the week with a talk about how today’s ‘me-
centered’ culture is driving new trends and industries, and the need to collectively rebuild empathy in our
businesses and communities. Some notable points on how we can be more deliberate in our approach to empathy:

21. BEYOND SYNCH: INDIE ARTISTS AND BRAND
INTEGRATION
VMLY&R’s Executive Music Producer, Theresa Notartomaso, and Producer, Kelli
Shannon spoke in a panel about how up-and-coming artists are finding
themselves in a position to partner and participate in integrated projects with
major brands.
Citing our work with New Balance and LA-based
band Beginners, the discussion explored how
indie artists can best set themselves up for
success throughout the process – from initial
pitch to launch.

22. Adweek's 3rd annual Arc Awards took place at
SXSW, celebrating the best in brand storytelling.
We were honored to have our work for the
Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation,
U.S. Navy, and Wendy’s recognized.
Our team @Wendys took home a Grand Arc Award
for the breakthrough “webeefin?” Mix tape.
Fun fact — Wendy’s rap battles with its
competitors on Twitter was a springboard for the
webeefin? hip-hop release. Listeners streamed 76
years’ worth of the tracks across platforms.
TEAM WENDY’S TAKES HOME GRAND ARC AWARD