Each year, Southwest Media Group sends a group of employees to South by Southwest to capture the next big media and marketing trends that will be changing the industry. However, there was one key difference at this year’s conference. What once used to be a conference that predicted the next big trends, now seemed to be a conference that reflected the current state of marketing rather than predict it. Southwest Media Group has compiled a list of the big themes at this year’s SXSW conference and provided insight into how it can be applicable to media and most importantly, to our clients.

1. 2015 SXSW
Trend Report
APRIL 2015

2. Each year, Southwest Media Group sends a
group of employees to South by Southwest
to capture the next big media and marketing
trends that will be changing the industry.
However, there was one key difference at
this year’s conference.
What once used to be a conference that
predicted the next big trends, now seemed
to be a conference that reflected the
current state of marketing rather than
predict it.
Southwest Media Group has compiled a list
of the big themes at this year’s SXSW
conference and provided insight into how it
can be applicable to media and most
importantly, to our clients.
THE THEMES
⁄ Redefining Retail
⁄ Frictionless Consumer
Experiences… Powered by Data
⁄ Marketing to Millennials
⁄ Visual Data
⁄ Trending Tech
Introduction
2015 SXSW Trend Report |2
Southwest Media Group

3. MOBILE ON THE RISE
Mobile technology provides shoppers access to
products and services anytime, anywhere. Before a
shopper even enters a store, 70% have searched for a
product online or on their mobile device, an act known
as pre-shopping. When they are in-store, shoppers are
using their mobile device as a personal shopping
assistant and searching for product information and
pricing. To put it in perspective, Target announced that
10% of its 2014 Black Friday online sales occurred while
the shopper was in-store.
With this in mind, panelists stressed the importance of
providing customer service and product information
across all channels. Tricia Nichols, Senior Director of
Media & Brand Partnerships at Gap said, “Mobile is the
first experience, it’s no longer a second screen.”
BLURRING OF THE PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL
Consumers are more informed and demanding than
ever due to an influx of information at their
fingertips. However, this hasn’t changed the
importance of physical retail, with an estimated 90%
of purchases still occurring in-store.
Providing immersive and connected experiences will
prove to be a competitive advantage as physical
retailers fight to stay relevant to the digital shopper.
To sync the offline and online worlds, experts urged
marketers to adapt local market strategies from data
provided online and through CRM. For example, if a
shopper researches a product online and then buys the
product in-store, retailers should attempt to sync their
data so that the same shopper isn’t served a digital
banner ad for a product they already purchased.
The importance of staying active and connected
through all stages of the purchase cycle will help
consumers (1) become aware of the brand, (2) have
an enhanced shopping experience and (3) be
reminded to come back again.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT
In the retail space there is one indispensable factor,
humans. Interaction cannot be replaced. Even though
information is available at a customer’s fingertips, their
desire for customer service is not diminished.
Purchasing power in recent years has shifted to
influencers, such as bloggers. Consumers view them
as a trusted friend and value their opinions.
Redefining Retail
E-commerce has dramatically changed the retail landscape in
recent years. However, the need for marketing communications
to move their audiences along the purchase cycle from product
discovery to purchase has not.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Sync traditional and digital to connect
the dots along the consumer journey
and provide an immersive, connected
brand experience.
2015 SXSW Trend Report |3
Southwest Media Group

4. NIEMAN MARCUS – SNAP FIND SHOP
Nieman Marcus has an app, Snap Find Shop, that
catalogues each product it offers in a similar fashion to
Pandora’s music genome project. When a user submits
a photo, the app will scan the database so the
consumer can purchase the same item (if offered by
Nieman Marcus) or an item believed to be similar.
Nieman Marcus says the app is a success and is 85%
accurate at providing product recommendations the
consumer will like and keep.
Brands who are Redefining Retail
GAP – STYLD.BY
Gap replaced their store catalogue with a user-
generated content site called Styld.By. Gap knew their
consumer wanted to view product on real people, not
models. They also knew people don’t wear an entire
outfit from one store. So Gap combined these two
insights to create a user-generated experience that
resonated with consumers.
Overheard @ SXSW
“THE STORES OF TOMORROW ARE GOING
TO BE THE CATALOG OF TODAY.”
- Jennifer Hyman, CEO, Rent the Runway
“YOU HAVE TO PUT THE AUDIENCE FIRST,
NOT THEIR DEVICE.”
- Amy Webb, Founder of Webb Media Group
“PEOPLE DON’T MIND ADVERTISING IF
YOU PROVIDE GREAT CONTENT.”
- Pete Cashmore, CEO, Mashable
Our favorite stunt at SXSW was #MophieRescue.
Loveable St. Bernard’s would come with Mophie
phone chargers if you tweeted the hashtag. It was a
big hit with SMG resident dog-lover Olivia Jahn.

5. LISTENING TO THE CONSUMER
To create an experience that will be adopted
positively by consumers is by listening before
implementing. Using tools like social listening
platforms can show what consumers are already
asking for from the brand and it can also help
marketers get an idea of how consumers are
interacting with the brand on their own. One panel
noted a big step in the right direction is possible now
to a partnership between IBM and Twitter which will
allow IBM’s super-computer, “Watson” to intake social
data and implement sentiment tracking.
WHY DOES YOUR DATA MATTER?
When putting together a campaign using big data,
marketers must first figure out what the data
provided means and how it can be utilized to
enhance the way consumer’s interact with the brand.
Good examples of brands that take this strategy to
heart are not the ones who go viral and are forgotten
about within a week.
The truly good examples are ones that stand the test
of time and use data to be a force of change. Take
Waze for example: What could be a simple map tool
has transformed the way people drive. It utilized all
the available data about traffic, and improved an
everyday task by personalizing to each driver.
Frictionless Consumer
Experiences…
Powered by Data
The ability for companies to turn impersonal data into personable messages will become a
sweet spot for marketers over the next couple years. The brands on the forefront of this trend
are already finding ways to catalogue their products and message to consumers in ways that
are building loyalty and larger baskets.
MAKING DATA HUMAN
Adapting new technology and gathering data is the
easy part for most marketers. What tends to be
missing though is the human element. When dreaming
up new media strategies, it is easy to put on the
marketing hat and forget why our communications
matter to our consumers.
Consumers want their phone or mobile apps to
enhance their experience while shopping instead of
being sold to. They prefer to have product information
be transparent when they are viewing product ratings
and reviews.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Brands can no longer rely on one-way
messaging, they must listen and engage
with the consumer. By harnessing
consumer data, brands have the
opportunity to provide rich, personalized
experiences that reinforce messaging.
2015 SXSW Trend Report |5
Southwest Media Group

6. “Mobile is there to solve a
problem for both the
brand and consumer. If it
doesn’t accomplish both,
it will fail.”
- Laura Heller, Forbes
hours that you have for a consumer
to open an app or it will likely never
be used.
24
of all online sales were placed on
mobile devices, up 27.2% from the
same period in 2013.
-IBM Digital Analytics
22.6%
Of people 14-24 prefer watching
television programs on a screen
other than the television. For
individuals 25-30, around 47% prefer
to watch on a different screen.
-Deloitte
56%
Millennial women pre-shop online.
Some consider it like “pre-gaming,”
or to put it in marketing terms “pre-
optimizing,” for the best in-store
experience.
-Refinery29 & The Futures Company
Joint Research
2out of 3
“We are all digital humans
at this point.”
- Joel Beckerman,
Founder of Man Made
Music
2015 SXSW Trend Report |6
Southwest Media Group

7. BALANCED DREAM-DRIVEN LIFE
Millennials are confident individuals that embrace
their individuality. Leveraging all the resources at
their disposal, these individuals strive to make
marked progress toward personal, financial and career
goals on a day-to-date basis. 80% of Millennials believe
they can achieve their goals and feel they can reach
success on their own terms.
ARTFUL SHOPPING
Millennial-minded individuals are powerful shoppers
who make decisions based not just on emotion, but
on informed research. Millennials feel a pride of
ownership and rocking their own personal style.
While price-conscious, they also like to invest in key
items. A Refinery29 study found that 68% of
Millennial women will find a way to buy an item they
love, even if it’s out of their budget. In their eyes, if
the cost per wear is good then it is worth the splurge
or they will find ways to off-set high-end items with
less costly pieces to create an artful ensemble.
SCREENS ARE THE NEW STOREFRONT
Smart devices and digital platforms play a critical role,
often merging online and offline shopping into one
core experience. Roughly 2 out of 3 shoppers are
using the internet to get inspiration prior to shopping
in-store. They are snapping pics on their phones and
asking friends for an opinion on what to choose; they
are also searching for online coupons and much
more—all while in-store.
Marketing to
Millennials
Millennials are not just a demographic to market to. It’s a mindset. The Millennial mindset is
rooted in optimism. This optimism originates with access to technology and it fuels the desire to
live the best life possible. The term Millennial can now be used to reference anyone who shares
this state of mind, regardless of age.
VIEWS ON ADVERTISING
It’s no secret that Millennials do not want to feel
advertised to. They are drawn to brands that provide
inspiration and create experiences. The brands that
are really excelling at this are showing products used
in new and unexpected ways.
McDonald’s had a large brand presence at SXSW, a
presence that was expected to receive negative
feedback by Millennials attending SXSW. However, by
positioning their tent as a charging station and a place
to share digital images, they made users rethink how
they thought about the role of McDonald’s in their life.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Millennials aren’t interested in one-way
advertising. Brands that tap into shared
experiences and provide wisdom-
oriented messaging will help to capture
the attention of this audience.
2015 SXSW Trend Report |7
Southwest Media Group

8. DESIGNING YOUR CONTENT
When considering your narrative, it is important to
tailor the content in a manner appropriate to the
intended audience and for the desired outcome.
Simplicity is key—this includes layout and color. No
more than five colors should be used in a single
layout. Color should be used sparingly to highlight
important information.
Data should also not overwhelm the reader with
multiple graphs of single data points when one
combined will suffice.
THE VALUE OF VISUALIZATION
The efficacy of visualization can be broken into three
core areas of value: appeal, comprehension and
retention. Well-designed information appeals to our
need for stimulating, attractive and engaging
qualities. Aesthetics are not superficial; they are how
you get people’s attention.
The brain is pre-wired to comprehend relationships
between objects. Describing relationships visually as
opposed to describing them verbally, ensures your
message is understood quickly. Additionally,
visualizations trigger our long-term memory, helping
aid in cementing your concept in the brain.
SHOW, DON’T TELL
Decisions are increasingly data-driven, so it follows
that most of our communication must include data.
The true value of data visualization lies in its ability to
help you show—not just tell—your story.
Visual
Data
Big data was the big buzzword at SXSW. However, our current method of data collection is
outpacing our ability to tell a story with it. With the wealth of data available, marketers and
decision makers are now facing information overload and processing fatigue. Visual storytelling
is quickly becoming the marketing skill of the future, answering the visually-wired way our brains
work and appealing to human emotion.
“Attention is the new currency.”
- Jason Schlossberg, CCO, Kwittken + Company
The Case for Design Thinking in Communications
2015 SXSW Trend Report |8
Southwest Media Group

9. 3 Tips For Designing Effective Visual
Business Communication
450
500
550
600
JAN FEB MAR
0
250
500
750
1000
JAN FEB MAR
The eye is easily deceived; make sure
data is presented accurately as not to
skew data. A bar chart should always
start at zero.
1 | PRESENT DATA ACCURATELY Wrong Correct
Although this chart shows an
impressive 100% increase in sales, a
more comprehensive data set shows
it’s minor compared to the significant
drop the year prior.
2 | AVOID ISOLATING DATA
2012 2013
$ 2M
$ 1M
2010 2011 2012 2013
$ 1M
$ 2M
$ 3M
$ 4M
Wrong Correct
Avoid unnecessary design, including
3D charts, ornamental illustration or
extraneous elements.
3 | PRACTICE SIMPLICITY
61,569,669
FANS
43,280,066
FANS
43,280,066
61,569,669
Wrong Correct
2015 SXSW Trend Report |9
Southwest Media Group

10. THE BIG THREE
DRONES, 3D PRINTING AND VIRTUAL REALITY
Three technologies could either change everything
about the world or disappear with little effect. While
everyone at SXSW seemed to be talking about drones,
3D printing, and virtual reality no one could seem to
agree about their overall longevity.
Will 3D printers undermine and disrupt the entire
manufacturing industry? Or will they just be that
technology that makes for a good cocktail story?
Will drones change healthcare and delivery systems to
bring enhanced efficiencies? Or will they remain toys?
Many seemed to think they were too disruptive to
consumer lives to create much impact.
Will virtual reality create an alternate universe that
parallels real life and literally turns life on its head? Or
is “real” reality good enough?
These were some of the most exciting questions
technology questions being asked right now and will
be interesting to see how they play out.
Trending Tech
MEERKAT
Meerkat was the app that broke through the noise
and took everyone’s attention at the show. Users
connect via Twitter and can live-stream via their
mobile devices or view and comment on another
user’s stream.
Meerkat was the first company that’s cracked the live-
streaming code. They made it easy for anyone from a
tech guru to your grandmother to use it easily and
effectively. Expect trade shows and conferences of
the future to all be using this technology.
Twitter launched a week later with their new app,
Periscope, that is essentially the same thing.
However, Meerkat got everyone’s attention at SXSW.
In just one day, there were 15,000 streams with more
than 200,000 people tuning in.
QUANTIFIED SELF
The Quantified Self has been a trend that’s been
discussed for a few years now. However, this was the
first year that wearable technology is more of a
reality used, with the health data provided becoming
even more granular.
The new world of wearables will track and record
health and fitness statistics, provide haptic feedback
to aid in seamless integration with mobile devices
and even stabilize body temperature for us.
2015 SXSW Trend Report |10
Southwest Media Group