Coming to SXSW Interactive? Let Mindshare North America be your guide. We've curated a list of recommended sessions for each day (everything from AI to fashion to gaming and more), transit options, restaurant ideas, and key advice on how to navigate the festival,

2. –Engadget
“SXSW - by its very definition - is about breaking
down boundaries, and stepping into the
unknown. It’s about trying to do something
different…”

3. SXSWi
37,000+ participants
(and 82 foreign countries)
1,377 sessions with over 3,000
speakers
~3,500 media/reporters in
attendance

4. Making the most
of SXSWi
• SXSWi is widespread throughout
downtown Austin - be sure to explore
outside of just the Convention Center
• This year, the Interactive badge grants
secondary admission to a broad
selection of Film & Music programming
• Spend time walking around outside of
the Convention Center to find the best
branded experiences
• The trade show floor is open Sunday -
Wednesday; budget around 2 hours to
cover the full floor
• The weather in Austin can be
unpredictable – check the forecast
before you fly in & pack accordingly
• Download the SXSW GO app &
use it to program your personal
schedule
• Be open to spontaneity & be
prepared with a plan B (lines can
be long)
• Big names on panels draw crowds,
“unknown” speakers deliver unique
experiences
• Download the ReWop app to find
nearby charging stations for your
phone at the festival
• Comfortable shoes are a must –
expect to walk around a lot.

5. SXSWi Distilled
Mindshare experts will distill the top events, trends, and emerging topics
during the festival for marketers.
Follow us:
• Preview POV on what we’ll see at SXSWi
• Daily blog posts, videos, photos, and more
• Top trends from SXSW post-event
MINDSHAREINTHELOOP @MINDSHARE_NA MINDSHARENA MINDSHARENA MINDSHARE_NA

6. THE
SESSIONS
FRIDAY, MARCH 10 – THURSDAY, MARCH 16
THE
SESSIONS
FRIDAY, MARCH 10 – THURSDAY, MARCH 16

7. What to attend
• Mindshare experts have put together a
selection of recommended sessions for each
day of SXSWi.
• These sessions focus on innovation,
invention, and key emerging marketing areas
such as AI, voice recognition, and more.
• The selections were chosen to educate
attendees, inspire new thinking, and drive big
ideas that you can apply to your consumers.
Most of our selected sessions focus on one or
more of the following themes:
SENSORYDATA AGILE
STRATEGIES
AUTONOMOUS
LIVING
MOBILE COMMERCE

8. Friday, March 10
11:00AM-12:00PM
The opening speaker for
the Interactive festival, in
a conversation
moderated by Google’s
Malika Saada Saar.
Speakers:
U.S. Senate, Google
Austin Convention Center
Ballroom D, 500 E Cesar Chavez St
Opening Speaker:
Cory Booker (U.S.
Senator)
11:00AM-12:00PM
How TV and film are
working with Silicon
Valley to reach
consumers in new ways
& adjusting their creative
process with advances in
audience data.
Speakers:
Mashable, The Hollywood
Reporter, Endemol Shine
JW Marriott
Salon D, 110 E 2nd St
How Tech is Shaping
the Future of
Entertainment
3:30-4:30PM
Emotion-sensing
technology is moving
from an experimental
phase to reality. See how
to design rich, emotional
experiences for this next
wave of tech.
Speakers:
Changing Sciences
JW Marriott
Salon FG, 110 E 2nd St
When Your Internet
Things Know How
You Feel
3:30-4:30PM
The floodgates are open:
the FAA has broadly
authorized businesses to
use drones. A look at
what’s still needed for
businesses, and what’s
next for the public.
Speakers:
Commercial Drone
Alliance / Hogan Lovells
US LLP
Hilton Austin Downtown
Salon F, 500 E 4th St
Dawn of the Drones
5:00-6:00PM
How advances in
machine learning, AI,
and VR/AR are
revolutionizing brain
health, transforming the
treatment of brain and
mental health disorders.
Speakers:
Brain Power,
NeuroLaunch, Ginger.io,
Stanford University
Austin Convention Center
Room 8ABC, 500 E Cesar Chavez St
Mind the Machines:
Neurotech and AI for
Brain Health

9. Saturday, March 11
11:00AM-12:00PM
VR & AR let consumers
live in your brand. But
how do these immersive
experiences do more
than blow a handful of
minds & actually become
part of a marketing plan?
Speakers:
Humana, National
Geographic Channel,
EnPlay
Sheraton Austin
Capitol Ballroom, 701 E 11th Street
Is VR/AR The New
Storytelling… Or The
Old 3D?
12:30PM-1:30PM
While tech has given
brands personalization at
scale, it’s taken the
“personal” touch out of
fashion. How brands
must leverage both data
& people in commerce.
Speakers:
The Business of Fashion,
Stitch Fix, Poshmark
JW Marriott
Salon 1-2, 110 E 2nd St
Data Alone Can’t
Decode the Fashion
Industry
3:30-4:30PM
How will intelligent
machines affect mobile
apps, as they try to
understand & mimic
human intelligence? A
look at the potential for
systems like Watson.
Speakers:
IBM, Eventbase
Technology Inc
JW Marriott
Salon 8, 110 E 2nd St
Mobile Apps in the
Age of Cognitive
Computing
5:00PM-6:00PM
As more and more fans
watch sports on the sofa
or while they’re on the go
(relying on apps for
updates), see how the
industry must monetize
this critical audience.
Speakers:
Lewica Ltd, SporTechie
Four Seasons
Ballroom AB, 98 San Jacinto Blvd
Do Stadium Fans
Even Matter
Anymore?
5:00PM-6:00PM
As social media allows
us to filter out
imperfections, content
creators can empower
their audiences to
embrace an authentic
vision of themselves.
Speakers:
CharliHoward.com, clapit,
Dr. Vivian Diller
Hyatt Regency Austin
Zilker Ballroom 2, 208 Barton Springs
Rd
Social Media Real-
volution: What’s After
Perfect

10. Sunday, March 12
9:30AM-10:30AM
The thumb is in charge
now & it’s quick to scroll,
swipe, close. How mobile
has changed consumer
behavior, from shopping
expectations around
time, and more.
Speakers:
Facebook
Hyatt Regency Austin
Zilker Ballroom 1, 208 Barton Springs
Rd
Moving at a Mobile
Minute
11:00AM-12:00PM
In a world where buyers
prize experience over
ownership & ostentatious
consumption is largely
frowned upon, how do
we define luxury to
remain relevant?
Speakers:
Jaguar Land Rover,
PSFK, Diageo, Warrior
Poets
Hyatt Regency Austin
Zilker Ballroom 2, 208 Barton Springs
Rd
The Future of Luxury
12:30-1:30PM
How will live sports
tackle cord cutters?
Exploring the future of
live sports distribution
and the challenges
sports teams, leagues
and networks face.
Speakers:
Twitter, NBC Sports &
Comcast Ventures,
Sportle, Monumental
Sports Network
Four Seasons
Ballroom CD, 98 San Jacinto Blvd
Live Sports and Cord
Cutters
2:00-3:00PM
From Snapchat
Spectacles to GoPro and
more, how marketers
weigh what’s a game
changer vs. just a fad for
sports experiences and
fan engagement.
Speakers:
NHL (Minnesota Wild),
Space Techie, Space 150
Four Seasons
Ballroom AB, 98 San Jacinto Blvd
Game Changer:
Spectacles Come to
Sports
3:30-4:30PM
Social has taken your
brand out of your control,
while asking you to be
more participatory than
ever. How will it evolve
over the next five years?
Speakers:
Spredfast
Hyatt Regency Austin
Zilker Ballroom 1, 208 Barton Springs
Rd
Social Is More Than A
Metric

11. Saturday-Sunday, March 11-12
Tech companies across Transportation,
Social & Culture, Innovative World, Health
& Wearables, and Enterprise & Smart
Data.
9:30AM – 6:00PM
SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event
Tech companies across Sports,
Entertainment & Content, Payment &
FinTech, Security & Privacy, and
Augmented & Virtual Reality.
The Accelerator judges will calculate the top
scores for each of the ten categories, and
announce the winners at this pitch awards
ceremony. Each winner will then go on to
compete at the Super Accelerator event on
Monday.
11:00AM - 6:00PM7:00PM – 8:30PM
Accelerator Pitch Awards Ceremony
Startup Village at Hilton Austin Downtown, 500 East 5th Street – Salon AB
Now in its ninth year, the SXSW Accelerator Pitch allows emerging technology startups
to pitch their products and services in front of a live audience and panel of expert
judges. 50 companies across ten categories will present over the course of two days.
DAY ONE – MARCH 11
MARCH 12
DAY TWO – MARCH 12

12. Monday, March 13
9:30-10:30AM
How do platforms and
publishers cover issues
like race, politics, and
sex in a thoughtful way
while audiences are
exposed to images &
headlines in real-time?
Speakers:
Teen Vogue, Refinery29
Hyatt Regency Austin
Zilker Ballroom 3-4, 208 Barton
Springs Rd
How To Do “Taboo” In
a Digital World
9:30-10:30AM
How GIFs can go
beyond cute cat memes
to actually advance
storytelling in journalism,
convey complex
information, and reach
new audiences.
Speakers:
Frontline, PRI’s The
World, Point Taken
(WGBH)
Hyatt Regency Austin
Texas Ballroom 1-3, 208 Barton
Springs Rd
What the GIF?! How
GIFs Help Advance
Journalism
9:30AM-10:30AM
The future of shopping is
social. What marketers,
influencers, and e-comm
teams need to know
about creating authentic
content & turning social
followers into buyers.
Speakers:
ShopStyle, Neiman
Marcus
JW Marriott
Salon 3-4, 110 E 2nd St
The Hundred
Thousand Dollar
Snap(chat)
11:00AM-12:00PM
How will millennials
embrace luxury in an
unpredictable social,
economic climate? Does
modern luxury still
depend on high prices &
"status" labels?
Speakers:
Refinery29, Levi’s, Zady
JW Marriott
Salon 3-4, 110 E 2nd St
How New Media is
Redefining the
Meaning of Luxury
5:00PM - 6:00PM
FBI Director James
Comey will sit down with
Newseum to discuss a
wide range of issues,
from cyber security to
safeguarding civil
liberties, and more.
Speakers:
FBI, Newseum
Hilton Austin Downtown
Salon H, 500 E. 4th St
A Conversation with
FBI Director James
Comey

13. Monday, March 13
Startup Village at Hilton Austin Downtown
500 East 5th St – Salon C
If you missed the Accelerator pitches,
here’s your chance to meet each of the
50 finalists and see them demo their
products and services.
11:00AM - 6:00PM11:00AM – 1:30PM
SXSW Accelerator Demo Days
Austin Convention Center
500 E Cesar Chavez St – Ballroom EFG
All ten category winners will be invited
back to the stage to pitch in front of a new
audience and a new set of judges. This
competition will select the 2017 Best
Startup Pitch Company.
11:00AM - 6:00PM5:00PM - 6:30PM
SXSW Super Accelerator

14. Tuesday, March 14
9:30AM-10:30AM
A look at the challenges
and strategies moving
forward for publishers
and platforms in a world
of ad blocking and
viewability issues.
Speakers:
Google, Vox Media, The
Washington Post
Hyatt Regency Austin
Zilker Ballroom 3-4, 208 Barton
Springs Rd
Redefining Ad Tech in
a Distributed World
12:30PM – 1:30PM
With addressable tech
already in millions of TVs
around the world,
explore the future of TV
advertising, the data that
will drive decision-
making, and more.
Speakers:
Advertising Age, Comcast,
Gracenote, LG
Hyatt Regency Austin
Zilker Ballroom 2, 208 Barton Springs
Rd
The Last Frontier: $73
Billion Land Grab
12:30PM – 1:30PM
For every new,
successful tech that
humankind has brought
to our lives, we’ve
molded & altered our
behaviors. Will we follow
the same path with VR?
Speakers:
Google, Facebook, New
York Media Center, Ustwo
JW Marriott
Salon 7, 110 E 2nd St
Virtual Crossroads: A
Look at VR and
Human Behavior
3:30PM – 4:30PM
With over 500MM active
Instagram users and
52MM pieces of content
uploaded each day, how
and why have some
reached the top of this
content cluttered world?
Speakers:
Jerry Media, The OutCast
Agency
Austin Convention Center
Ballroom EFG, 500 E Cesar Chavez
St
@FuckJerry and The
Business of Hilarious
Content
5:00PM - 6:00PM
The rise of male
household consumers,
more stay at home Dads,
more focus on grooming
– it’s forcing marketers to
take a new look at how to
talk to men.
Speakers:
Movember, Pernod-
Ricard, Ketchum
Hyatt Regency Austin
Zilker Ballroom 2, 208 Barton Springs
Rd
The New Man Code:
Targeting Modern
Male Consumers

15. Wednesday, March 15
11:00AM-12:00PM
From appliances to cars
to medical implants, the
products we buy are built
around software code.
But if you don't control
that code, do you really
own your device?
Speakers:
Northeastern University School
of Law, Public Knowledge,
Case Western Reserve
University, R Street Institute
JW Marriott
Salon 7, 110 E 2nd St
The Internet of Things
You Don't Own
11:00AM-12:00PM
Experts from the early
days of VR will present
lessons learned with
their relevance to today’s
more affordable and
accessible forms of VR.
Speakers:
Set It Spinning, Virtual
World Society / Simiosys,
PwC's Experience Center,
All These Worlds, LLC
JW Marriott
Salon 3-4, 110 E 2nd St
Learning From the 1st
VR Boom to be
Successful Now
3:30PM-4:30PM
The growing impact of
the experience economy,
and why brands must
grow more mobile,
social, and personal to
meet consumer needs in
this environment.
Speakers:
Mashable, Lyft, StubHub
JW Marriott
Salon E, 110 E 2nd St
Memories Matter:
Leveraging the
Experience Economy
5:00PM-6:00PM
Shazam and Wyclef
have partnered to deliver
an AR experience
around his new album.
Get an overview, demo,
and Q&A of the
technology.
Speakers:
Shazam, Wyclef Jean
JW Marriott
Salon E, 110 E 2nd St
How Did Shazam Get
Wyclef in AR on My
Phone?!
5:00PM - 6:00PM
Looking at the big dollars
being invested in media
today, and a discussion
of the challenges,
successes, and the
future of the publishing
industry as a whole.
Speakers:
BuzzFeed, Reuters,
Bleacher Report, Under
Armour
JW Marriott
Salon FG, 110 E 2nd St
Who Has The Guts to
Invest in Content?

16. Thursday, March 16
11:00AM-12:00PM
Today you can control
your home, consume the
news, order a ride, and
much more through the
latest in AI innovation. A
look at where it’s
evolving to next.
Speakers:
Amazon, Sonos, Samsung
JW Marriott
Salon 7, 110 E 2nd St
The Future of
Intelligent Living
11:00AM-12:00PM
A discussion on the
guardrails, governance,
policy, accountability,
transparency and
security that will be the
underpinnings of
responsible AI.
Speakers:
Wired, CognitiveScale,
Mertiage Capital LLC,
WayBlazer
JW Marriott
Salon C, 110 E 2nd St
The Next Four Years
of AI
11:00AM-12:00PM
How do you reach
PC/online/console
gamers? How brands
can navigate the
massive gaming
ecosystem and tap
influencers in the space.
Speakers:
Twitch, Ad Council,
Rooster Teeth Productions
LLC, 3Blackdot
JW Marriott
Salon D, 110 E 2nd St
Game On: How to
Engage Gaming
Influencers
3:30PM-4:30PM
A look at relationship
between VR creators
and brands; why some of
the most innovative VR
content created today is
being financed by
brands.
Speakers:
Discovery
Communications, MEC,
Deutsch, Moth + Flame
JW Marriott
Salon 1-2, 110 E 2nd St
Brands are Leading
the Way in the
Evolution of VR
3:30-4:30PM
See Tony Stark's vision
come to life. Developers
can build and customize
the foundation of
J.A.R.V.I.S. (of 'Iron Man'
fame) in an extremely
short period of time.
Speakers:
Built.io
JW Marriott
Salon 6, 110 E 2nd St
Building J.A.R.V.I.S

17. Main Conference Venues
HYATT REGENCY AUSTIN
FOUR SEASONS
JW MARRIOTT
AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER
HILTON AUSTIN
COURTYARD
MARRIOTT
WESTIN AUSTIN DOWNTOWN
SHERATON AUSTIN

18. THE
SESSIONS
FRIDAY, MARCH 10 – THURSDAY, MARCH 16
AROUND AUSTIN
SEE - EAT - GET AROUND

19. Around Austin
Austin’s Bat Colony
What:
Largest Bat Colony in NA
Where:
South Congress Bridge
When:
At sunset in March-November
Soco
What:
Trendy street of retail & restaurants close
to downtown
Where:
South Congress Ave
(Btwn Riverside Dr & W Johanna St)
When:
At Sunset in March - April
Barton Springs Pool
What:
68 degree natural spring pool
Where:
Barton Springs Road
When:
Year Round 5am – 10pm (except for part
of Thursday). Closed March 4-10 for spring
cleaning.
State Capitol Building
What:
Texas State Capitol
Where:
1100 Congress Ave
When:
Year Round Mondays-Fridays 7am-10pm;
Sat & Sun 9am-8pm

20. Around Austin
Rainey Street
What:
Old homes converted to bars & restaurants
Where:
Rainey Street
When:
Year Round
Broken Spoke
What:
Honky Tonk Dance Hall
Where:
South Lamer
(10min drive from downtown)
When:
11am-11:30pm Tuesday – Saturday; open
until 12am Wed-Thurs and 1:30am Fri-Sat
Lady Bird Lake Trail
What:
Running & bike trail through downtown
Austin
Where:
Along the Colorado River
When:
Year Round
Alamo Drafthouse
What:
Movie theater w/ food & drinks served
Where:
6 locations around Austin
When:
Year Round

21. Places to Eat
WINK WINE BAR
Z’TEJAS
FIXE
FRANKLIN BARBEQUE
EASY TIGER BEER
GARDEN
FUKUMOTO
GERALDINE'S
EMMER & RYE
LAMBERTS BARBEQUE
LA CONDESA
OLD DUCK
ALCOMAR
TORCHY'S TACOS
GUERO’S TACO BAR
PERLA’S SEAFOOD
IRON WORKS
MICKLETHWAIT
COOPER'S OLD TIME PIT
BAR-B-QUE

22. Getting Around
Official ridesharing partner of
SXSW. Download the app &
get $5 off your first ride with
promo code RIDEON
Austin B-Cycle:
pay-as-you-go bike
rental
Sign up for the
complementary
Mazda Express ride
service
SXSW Shuttles:
departing the Convention
Center every ten minutes
during conference hours.
Cap Metro:
extended metro
services to downtown
Austin
Car Rental Service
Use the rental code:
L65SXSW (PIN: SXS)
Car Sharing Service
Use promo code SHAREATX;
they’ll waive the sign-up fee
and give you a $10 credit.

23. THANK YOU