[US Field Report] SXSW 2018 Report: Where the World’s “Fun Events” Gather

In this blog post, we will report on the world’s largest creative business festival,
“SXSW (South by Southwest) 2018,”
currently being held in Austin, Texas, USA.

■ A festival where the world’s most anticipated cutting-edge innovation, technology, and entertainment converge
Austin, Texas. This state capital is currently attracting significant global attention.
This is due to the presence of South by Southwest (SXSW), which started 20 years ago.

Starting as a music festival and gradually expanding in scale and genre to include film, interactive, and education, this festival is highly regarded worldwide as a venue for entertainment-related business matching. In recent years, exhibitors from Japan have included startup companies seeking encounters with investors, university-launched ventures, and renowned major corporations.
This year featured a lecture by Elon Musk, as well as sessions originating from Japan on themes such as biotechnology and autonomous driving, which included participation from a Soto Zen monk.
SXSW was also the catalyst for services like Twitter and Uber to be introduced to the world.
The main focus of SXSW, where global minds with visions for the future gather as innovators, is not just the convention center, but also the sessions and trade shows held throughout various locations in downtown.
As a group that wants to “Let’s Have Fun!”, we experienced the atmosphere of the sessions and meetups while exploring the festival as the entire city transformed into a venue. We would like to introduce several promotional booths that, from a different perspective, make you want to step inside, along with the city’s atmosphere.

■ SXSW—The chaos created by the official and the unofficial
Centered around the convention center, the entire city serves as the venue, including high-rise hotels, showrooms, shops, warehouses, parking lots, and temporary booths erected on vacant lots throughout downtown.
Among them are official SXSW exhibition spaces for famous companies, as well as “opportunistic” promotional booths that have little to do with the SXSW concept but have joined in the commotion. It feels as though all of these elements together shape SXSW.

・DELL
An authentic technology experience booth by DELL, which was founded in Austin—a hub for the computer industry alongside music.
・Under Armour
A dome-shaped pavilion built on a vacant lot. Visitors can experience bouldering and VR treadmills.

・YouTube Story HQ
A popular booth that expresses modern fairy tales using video and the latest technology.
・SONY
Among the many VR experience corners, such as the Captain Tsubasa PK corner, the aibo corner is particularly popular.
・google assistant fun house
A popular pavilion where you can experience a world with Google Assistant. Be prepared for a significant wait time.

・FOX sports house
A sports bar themed around the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. If you have an SXSW badge, you can enter preferentially without waiting in line. It is said to be the most popular event in terms of attracting crowds, but the reason is… all-you-can-eat beer and nachos. Essentially, it is a free sports bar experience. You can even get a tattoo.
・CNN GREAT BIG STORY
A themed pavilion for the popular CNN program. It recreates the world featured in the show, such as a South Korean “claw machine god” and Japanese “Dekotora” (decorated truck) drivers. You can also take photos with a Dekotora-style display.

・bravo “Imposters”
A promotional booth for the Bravo TV drama series “Imposters.” In our industry recently, it has become standard for any promotional event to include an Instagrammable photo corner. Accordingly, in line with the drama’s protagonist being a con artist, visitors can take “alibi photos” on sets of private jets and luxury cruise ships. Hair and makeup services are also available for those who wish.
・Mashable house
Mashable is a popular media outlet for trend information among young people, with a vast number of retweets sent worldwide every day. Characterized by its high entertainment factor, it offers various interactive booths, 80s Japanese arcade games (free of charge, of course), and unlimited original drinks made with alcohol or lemonade. However, you will be reprimanded if you step out onto the street with an alcoholic beverage. It is wonderful that SXSW has these kinds of relaxation spaces (where you can also charge your phone) in various locations.

・[Extra] 12-Seater Bicycle Promotion
A 12-seater bicycle, or perhaps a pedal-powered sightseeing bus, that you occasionally see around town. While these are seen in other American tourist spots, this time it was utilized as a promotion for an energy drink.
By registering your name, receiving a product sample, and signing a waiver stating “whatever happens while riding is my own responsibility,” you can take a 15-minute sightseeing ride.
I would love to do something like this in Japan, but the Road Traffic Act would be an issue…

While many of the individual elements are simple, having them scattered throughout the city like a theme park—with free alcohol, soft drinks, and snacks being served—creates a strangely high-energy and fun atmosphere. There were many things that could serve as hints for the production of Tokyo 2020.

Furthermore, they collect reliable personal information, such as IDs, in exchange for providing drinks, food, and experiences. They have visitors enter their names and email addresses under the guise of sending commemorative photos taken at special sets. The cleverness of the systems used to build a fan base afterward is also very informative.

In any case, the pavilions introduced here are all within walking distance.
If you show a photo and ask someone, you should definitely be able to find them.

However, the popularity of SXSW in Japan over the last few years has been incredible; you run into people from ventures, creators, and everyone in the industry from Japan. The charm of SXSW is that you can casually meet friends you rarely see in Japan, or even the future Elon Musks of the world, at a bar and become friends.

Opening hours vary by pavilion, so be sure to check them.