With SXSW getting bigger and bigger each year, it's interesting to see which marketers will stand out from the crowd. Often times, it's the little things that seem to capture attention best. At least in our opinion.
Last year, mobile parking app ParkMe placed fake paper boots on the wheels of cars all over the city of Austin to call attention to its app. It got a lot of buzz and the app is quite successful one year later.
This year, task app TaskRabbit has tricked out a vehicle to make it look like, well, a furry rabbit. With so many people out and about in the city traversing the city to attend panels which have now grown well beyond the confines of the Austin Convention Center, the streets are prime space for marketers to hype their offerings.
We're quite sure we'll see more examples of this as the week progresses.
Photo Credit: Mashable
As we wander around Austin during SXSW we love to spot unique marketing stunts brands activate. One such stunt comes to us courtesy of Syfy Channel. Reacting (in a way) to the lack of housing available during SXSW, the cable channel erected a pop-up hotel. Constructed out of containers (those big ones you see on ships and behind 18 wheelers), the "hotel rooms" were decked out in as posh-like a manner as is possible with, well, a metal container.
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Working tirelessly through the night following yesterday's Facebook announcement about its new News Feed, two diligent HubSpotters, Anum Hussain and Brittany Leaning, have published a new report, How Facebook's New News Feed Changes Your Content Strategy. The 35 page (don't worry, there's lots of pictures) report that aims to educate marketers on how they need to approach content creation for Facebook's redesigned news feed.
Download the report now and learn how these changes will affect your Facenbook marketing.
What would SXSW be without a cat meme to accompany it? Thanks to Traction, we have one. Or at least a stereotypical representation of SXSW themes represented by cats. We have Big Data Cruncher, I Can Haz Mowr BBQ, Inappropriately Hot Booth Babe, The Futurist Keynoter and more. Check them all out here.
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Your customers all have mobile devices. Most walk around with Androids and iPhones. You have built your killer application, but your customers do not download it, and when they do, they do not use it. So how can you best engage your customers in the mobile channel?
Directly. SMS remains the best medium marketers use today to reach customers. But too many use SMS as an ax and not a scalpel. Marketers are flooding their customers: SMS traffic will approach 10 trillion messages this year, thanks mostly to SMS campaigns.
How do you effectively engage customers without drowning them? Smart marketers build geofences around key physical sites: stores, arenas, airports, schools, even competitor outlets.
These fences create zones that trigger an SMS message or other action when a customer enters or leaves. It is called geofencing, it is new in mobile marketing, and there are some important secrets to getting right.
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Commercial artist Laurie Rosenwald will conduct a panel during the Art Directors Club Awards in Miami Beach April 2-4. Laurie, whose workshop has been taught to writers, filmmakers, musicians, market researchers, salespeople, real estate agents, investment bankers and many others aims to highlight the benefits of making mistakes.
Interested in Laurie's panel or attending The Art Directors Club Awards? Then check out the details here and register.
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So as is the case with every large brand at SXSW, Chevrolet has a large booth set up just as you walk inside the Austin Convention Center. Part of that large booth is a giant set of...balls. OK, it's a Newton's Cradle.
If you're not familiar with a Newton's Cradle, it's that thing with five balls hanging from a string and when you swing the ball on one end, it makes the ball on the other end swing out without the middle three balls moving.
A giant Newton's Cradle. Just begging to be used by everyone passing by. Except no one in the Chevy booth wants anyone to...ahem...touch its balls. How unfriendly, we say!
OK, so she's not in a neglige and her pendulous boobs aren't spilling out of her top but there's no need for that. Jennifer Love Hewitt looks hot no matter what she's wearing and that's the case here in this Old Navy commercial. Along with Julie Hagerty, who appeared in another new ad from the brand, JLH introduces new hoodies and crews.
The ad follows the brand's most recent "style upgrade" theme which takes place in a tricked out airplane cabin.
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Attending SXSW can be a whirlwind of live performances, big announcements, and networking. Keeping track of what's going on can be a challenge even for the most connected individual.
We offer five suggestions for attendees that want to know about the latest social buzz before the crowd:
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Writing in Advertising Age, David Berkowitz, vp of emerging media at 360i, say we shouldn't be looking for The Next Big Thing this year during SXSW. And he's right. SXSW has become so big that it is nearly impossible for any one company to stand out. But, as David argues, seeking the next big thing isn't why you should attend SXSW.
You should attend SXSW to connect with those in your industry who are doing interesting, albeit not earth shattering things, that you can learn about and perhaps put to use in your own business.
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