Exposition: the background information needed to properly understand the story, such as the problem in the beginning of the story.
1PM Nicole Baumstark Project Manager SXSW veteran
1BA Brendon Thomas, Business Analyst, SXSW newbie
While we are compelled to agree with all the digital chatter, SXSW:
- Jumped the shark
- Was out over its skis
- A complete madhouse
Or whatever turn of phrase you prefer, we are also forced to face the staggering fact that this conference is a triumph of positive spirit. Even when discussing over booked hotels, iced out sessions, horrible weather, and overall poorly managed infrastructure; we never once met the disgruntled conference goer lamenting the fact that they were forced to attend and would prefer to just be home. In fact, we were repeatedly faced with the statement: ‘I have hope for tomorrow because I am really excited by…” People were willing to overlook the ‘small stuff’ in the hopes of finding that greater insight, or their raison d’etre at this conference. So with that spirit we will ask you to read on and remember that due to some technical difficulties of our own, we were unable to post a few small blog updates, so instead you are now being subjected to one long formatted post. We are hitting our high notes and will try to give you a little touch and feel for what we experienced. Read on and be hopeful.
Rising Action: the basic internal conflict is complicated by the introduction of related secondary conflicts, including various obstacles that frustrate the protagonist's attempt to reach his goal.
Brands as Patterns: We were challenged to find patterns in our Brands and in fact look for a way to turn our Brands themselves into a series of patterns. The session was a panel composed by a: hardware specialist, UX specialist, writer, and composer. They posited that successful brands need to leverage patterns in all that they do in order to build Brand recognition. But it was more than simply repeating the themed tune. Rather, we should look to tell a story with our Brand (this was the BAs first introduction to the ‘story’ meme at the conference). In fact, the panel argued that it’s not enough to have one series of patterns but rather look to integrate multiple simultaneous patterns to tell the Brand story. By telling your brand story leveraging the patterns, you can imagine a series of story lines with consistent voice, interaction, sound and look/feel. However, no story is complete without tension or a ‘bad guy’. However, if you don’t have a ‘bad guy’, you can leverage your patterns to create tension by varying your one of your patterns within the greater story arc. Change the voice while maintaining a consistent look/feel, sound, and interaction. In the end by reconciling the pattern you can bring solace to your customer and increase the relationship.
Power of Unpopular Brands: Here we stumbled, the beginning of day light savings time (a beef that I will kvetch about in another venue), upon a book reading. Our other session was full, we were late, and we had no hope for gaining any insight from a reading. This was confirmed when, in the first 15 minutes, the speaker was reduced to tears on the stage, but in the spirit of optimism (or perhaps because we had comfy chairs) we didn’t abandon ship. We were rewarded for our constancy because there was a point to the tears and they brought about a dramatic turn in the presentation. We were encouraged to think about Brands as personalities, and as such to recognize that as personalities not everyone will like them. Rather than fighting that, stop apologizing to the people that are never going to like your Brand. Let the business that is difficult because it doesn’t speak to your core walk out the door (I had no intention of rhyming that but I am going to keep it). This will allow us to focus on our core market and build a personal experience directly related to the customers that keep us in business. Through dramatic understanding will come growth.
Climax: the turning point, which marks a change, for the better or the worse, in the protagonist’s affairs.
Decentralized Organizations: I must mention this less than inspiring session because the panel was so very meta. In fact it became a metaphor for the topic. There was no centralized strong leadership on the panel and no agreed upon central motivation. As a result the conversation was reduced to apathetic posits with no compelling arguments. The founder of Second Life, a Zappos VP, a MIT professor, and a non memorable HR speaker touted to the group that decentralized organizations CAN’T be efficient. Even though we vehemently disagreed and were dissenting whispering voices, this session helped us realize that there isn’t always a Silver Bullet approach to tackling a problem. Even though the session was lackluster, we remembered that SXSW is not only a conference for learning the new, but for challenging other’s ideas with our experiences.
Brands as an API: Shell shocked and confused after the sun began to come out we struggled to cross campus in the bright of day to find a session locked in the darkness of the intercontinental assembly hall. We were struck by the idea of brands as an API and immediately disappointed that the session had nothing to do with building a SOA to support your brand. Rather it was more a metaphor. Break down your brand to your core ‘primitive’ concepts and expose them with loose constraints to your user base in order to allow them to create inspiring experiences without your intervention. It may not work with all Brands, but it is the beginning of a new meme that we saw here, the idea that we should be enabling conversations rather than having conversations.
Agile Advertising: A forward 15 presentation that was cut from a 60 minute session into a 15 minute presentation forced me to consider the idea that all my presentation should be written for 4 times the time allotted and be cut down to fit. We learned about improve as a concept and how to develop our ‘agile’ mindset by killing the ‘big idea’. Rather we as marketers can build a social object that inspires reuse by listening to our user base, taking their idea and adding an ‘and then’ concept. Spin their commentary into something that can be humanized. The compelling example sited was Hyundia. During the recession, most auto makers assumed that people wanted deep discounts on car prices as the sole incentive to buy. However, Hyundia listened to consumer feedback and realized people were afraid to have a car payment if they lost their job. Hyundia heard their consumer and brilliantly took the feedback and created an “insurance policy campaign” that would help drivers with their monthly payment if they became unemployed. Sales increased for Hyundia while their competitor’s sales dropped.
Falling Action: the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist.
Dinner at Uchi: We left our SXSW experience exhausted but with hearts full and we marched to our singular dinner out. Dinner at Uchi is more than a feast; it’s a respite for a weary soul. It’s also an inspiration comparative to the Key note speeches. We grazed through super anti-oxidant and palate challenging plates (yokai berry atlantic salmon, dinosaur kale, asian pear, yuzu). As well as sumptuous plates that warmed our hearts (pork jowl brussels sprout kimchee, preserved lemon crème fraiche, romaine). At this meal the sun was shining, we didn’t have to wait in line, and everyone was prepared appropriately. Our infrastructure nemesis for SXSW was no more.
Denouement: events between the falling action and the actual ending scene of the drama or narrative and thus serves as the conclusion of the story.
The flight home was without incident and we even arrived back in Chicago ahead of schedule. We aren't going to wrap up the SXSW experience for you, rather we are going to expose the primitive facts of our experience leveraging a tool that we discovered in the trade show, in the hopes that you will use some of what we learned to create some story of your own.
This blog post was edited from an original 12 page transcript.
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