Austin is Weird. And everybody wants in on it, especially in early March when 60,000 people descend upon this unsuspecting Texas town for South by Southwest…including creative agencies.
The interactive portion of the festival is a bit of Vegas, CES, and Disneyland, all rolled into one spectacular experience sure to keep you silently smiling for many months after.
Sure, the 1,000+ panels are amazing and the discussions and banter give you plenty of opportunities to create new hashtags in hopes of starting a meme. And yes, you can OD on food trucks spending almost nothing thanks to the huge influx of brand sponsorship. But, for the true experience, you should look deeper into the festival and find something (or someone!) that’s different from the expected.
We’re lucky because we work alongside creative agencies who know how to do Austin right. So, we turned to them to share what they are doing to make it a great week.
Noble Mouse @noblemouse
Get to know this Georgia-based agency with a knack for digital kung fu at their open house celebrating their newest office. If you have a good time or some good drinks, give them a shout with #NobleMouseSXSW
Monday, March 11th 4-7pm RSVP
Prolific Interactive @weareprolific
Brooklyn is where Prolific makes mobile magic, from strategy, to design, to execution. They’re all over Austin this week.
SXSW Party Hosted by MoPub, Metamarkets, & Prolific
Sunday, March 12 8pm-12am Register Here
Alumni Meetup to watch the Ohio State Game
Sunday, March 12 11:30am Join
Also, these guys are always looking to chat with anyone about mobile, just tweet @thedanhealy or @prolificbobby #sxswmobile
TBWA @TBWA
The crew that usually creates disruptive ideas though media arts is kicking back and co-sponsoring the VICELAND opening night party. Not in Austin? No worries, TBWA is documenting the week for us to follow along.
Friday, March 8th 8:30pm-? RSVP
Ratio Interactive @teamratio
Ratio has mad skills at creating digital experiences across all screens, and they are in Austin inviting everyone to stop by their booth or their co-sponsored MonsterMatch at the Microsoft Windows Studio.
JWT Atlanta @jwtatl
Inventing new ways to solve problems is what JWT does best. And they’ve created a pop-up agency, CallUsWalter, in Austin for 5 days to meet with a handful of startups and create a marketing plan on the spot! Now that’s what I call just-in-time marketing.
Follow the mayhem as it unfolds
Start Somewhere @startwithus
These San Francisco women are on a mission for companies that do good in the world. And they’ve come to Austin to be immersed in the combo of tech, startup, and social good. Follow founder, Leanne Pittsford @lepitts for all things #tech, #socialgood, or #lgbt.
Two suggestions of my own:
Get the app – The schedule is insane to look at, so use SXSW GO and get some control over what you’re doing. It’s easy to share your schedule with others, so you can sneak out for that last minute BBQ-Chicken taco.
Get on the bus – not the shuttles, but the moving Lounge & Karaoke Cabaret known as RVIP. It’s one of my favorite parts of SXSW. Even with two lounges roaming the streets, you still have to be in-the-know to get on. Hint: follow @rviplounge and tweet-stalk them to get their location. It’s Transportainment at its finest.
There you have it.
When you get back, sign-up with Agency Spotter to keep-up with the creative agency world! We make it quick, painless, and easy to find the right agency.
Go, be weird.
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- The Right Creative Agency May Be Someplace Unexpected (Agency Spotter)
- Yes, You Do Need a Creative Agency (Agency Spotter)
- Top 5 Pain Points of Creative Agency Search (Agency Spotter)