The 19th annual SXSW Interactive festival took place March 9-13, 2012 in Austin, Texas. The event featured five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer. From hands-on training to big-picture analysis of the future, SXSW Interactive has become the place to experience a preview of what is unfolding in the world of technology. Here are my top takeaways from this year's conference.

1. 2012 SXSW INTERACTIVE
RECAP
Sloane Berrent Phone: 212.598.4400 ext.277
Vice President, Digital Marketing sberrent@lippetaylor.com
215 Park Avenue South, 16th Floor Twitter: @sloane
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New York, NY 10003 www.lippetaylor.com

2. OVERVIEW
The 19th annual SXSW Interactive festival took place
March 9-13, 2012 in Austin, Texas. The event featured five
days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds
in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking
events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line
up of special programs showcasing the best new websites,
video games and startup ideas the community has to offer.
From hands-on training to big-picture analysis of the future,
SXSW Interactive has become the place to experience a
preview of what is unfolding in the world of technology.
Our Vice President of Digital Marketing and Social Media,
Sloane Berrent, attended for her 6th year. Here are her top
takeaways from this year’s conference.
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3. TOP TRENDS AND KEY LEARNINGS
 Tech Is No Longer for the Digital Elite
– There wasn’t a single standout service that had attendees buzzing – SXSW is
now more about distribution than innovation.
– Launching at SXSW is no longer crucial - Square, Path, Kickstarter, Instagram
– all did not make their debut at SXSW, but were still heavily talked about at
this year’s conference.
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4. TOP TRENDS AND KEY LEARNINGS
 The Future of Social Media
– Apps like Kismet, Glancee, Ban.jo and Highlight, which help people meet
others nearby, were the talk of the town but are still very “early adopter” heavy.
– Tapping into rich and invisible layers of data is the name of the game to drive
smartphone applications and mass adoption.
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5. TOP TRENDS AND KEY LEARNINGS
 Mobile Matters
– Kevin Systrom, chief executive of Instagram, took to the stage on Sunday to talk
about the popularity of the company’s mobile photo-sharing application.
– Despite being available only for iPhone owners (although a version for Android
is on the way), the service has attracted 27 million users in a little over a year,
proving that there is life for budding social networks after Facebook.
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6. TOP TRENDS AND KEY LEARNINGS
 Big Brands, Big Bands
– This year, big companies and major retail brands shelled out big money to woo the tech
set, likely in the hopes of raising their cachet — and generating blog posts, Facebook
status updates, tweets and photos promoting themselves.
– Microsoft erected a pop-up, purple-hued tent city to promote Bing, its search engine.
Warby Parker built a circus for conference goers to revel in, and Google set up an entire
village. American Express came away a winner with multiple activations including a Jay-
Z concert for online influencers who had personal AMEX cards.
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7. TOP TRENDS AND KEY LEARNINGS
 Some Techies Don’t Get the Sensitivity Thing
– Ad agency BBH Labs thought it had a clever idea to solve bandwidth overload
at the event: It outfitted homeless people with mobile Wi-Fi hotspots, igniting
controversy.
– Many found it exploitative, personified in the T-shirts worn by the 13
participants, stating “I am a 4G hotspot” as opposed to “I am running a 4G
hotspot.”
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8. TOP TRENDS AND KEY LEARNINGS
 Women Events on the Rise…but there continue to be opportunities to shine!
– Women continue to make a big splash at SXSW! This year saw increased exposure for
female entrepreneurs, bloggers, online influencers and decisions-makers for consumer
packaged goods and technology products. Marketers came out in full force to target
women.
– Change The Ratio (a NY-based media campaign to increase the role of women in C-level
positions, Op-Eds and media) helped host and co-host multiple events targeting women
including a “Beauty Bar” where women could get manicures and hear curated panels.
– L’Oreal was one of the few brands to host a “women-only” event bringing together women
in digital.
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9. THANK YOU!
If you’d like to discuss in more detail or find out how to be involved in
Social Media Week 2013, please contact:
Sloane Berrent
VP, Digital Marketing and Social Media
sberrent@lippetaylor.com
@sloane
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