SXSW INTERACTIVE 2014
the
roundup

Content
Intro
Digital Disruption
Data
Privacy
Personal devices
Omnichannel retail
Healthcare
Storytelling & content
Virtual reality
Food technology
Robot wars
Social good
Trends cheat sheet
Thanks & references
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SXSW Interactive 2014
This year’s SXSW wasn’t just about one or two
shiny pieces of new tech. More than this, it was a
peek at our lives in the future, one that’s so much
closer than we realised.
Technology we may have already heard of is
starting to grow up – wearables, 3D printing, data
and mobile continue to be key.
Trends are converging and cross-pollinating at
an ever-accelerating pace. This year, retail and
healthcare were highlighted as the industries
facing the most disruption. And talk about privacy
issues is a topic none of us can afford to ignore.
The future’s both incredibly exciting and scarily
intruisive. The decisions we make today, not just
as agencies, brands, or technologists but as
people, will shape the world we inhabit tomorrow.
Ashika Chauhan, @ashikachauhan | @wearebig

DIGITAL
DISRUPTION
_
A revolution in the very fabric of society.

Technology has the power
to disrupt the way society
functions – freeing people to
think, act and change with
greater effect than ever before.
Wearable tech, robotics, the
internet of things, privacy
concerns and innovation in
healthcare are all ways in
which disruption manifested
itself at this year’s conference
– making it an underlying
theme throughout.

DISRUPTORBEDISTRUPTED

DATA
_
Me. My data. And I. And a few thousand branded messages.

Online and
real world
personalisation
Imagine airline seats that adjust to
your specific requirements before you
board. Air stewards knowing that you’re
dehydrated because your wearable has
notified them.
Driving the ‘industrial
internet’ and the
‘internet of things’
Machine to machine communication
allows for real-time control.
Driverless cars and internet enabled
jet engines are examples.
Know yourself better
than ever before
23andMe allow you to trace your lineage
back 10,000 years and discover your history
from over 750 maternal lineages and over
500 paternal lineages.
https://www.23andme.com/
Data and personalisation continue to be a big theme this year.
So far we’ve seen data being used to count calories on your
Fitbit to controlling your heating via Nest. So what’s next?

Data vs personalisation = the value exchange
Brands will need to justify requesting personal data with
rewarding consumers with helpful personalisation.
As consumers we’ll question whether what we’re
being offered is valuable to us.

WHAT DO
YOU VALUE?
VALUE?

PRIVACY
_
Snowdon. Assange. Google.

A concern for all of us
Where is the line drawn between what should be considered
private and what should be monitored by governments for
public safety or state control?
At the moment, software we use on a daily basis – for browsing
the web, sending emails and interacting on social networks,
fail to deliver privacy and security, whilst other more technical
programs available may cover these off, they are cumbersome
and unintuitive to use.
There is such a density of tech businesses in Sillicon Valley, it
means that we’re all sending our data to the US. The NSA’s
access to data is therefore a global issue.
Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Google’s Eric Schmidt
all spoke at SXSW about the NSA and the privacy of our data.

“How is it that the internet
that everyone looked upon as
perhaps the greatest tool of
human emancipation there had
ever been, had been co-opted
and was now involved in the
most aggressive form of state
surveillance ever seen?”
Wikileaks’ are going after
organisations that accumulate
knowledge and “putting it back
into our common intellectual
record, our common history…
and that empowers us”.
Julian Assange
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMZzPCFJ8xw

“The NSA is setting fire to the
future of the Internet”.
The tech community are the
firefighters. So many of the services
we all rely on are not secure by
default. Services need to be secure
out of the box. The next WhatsApp
and the next Twitter should have end-
to-end encrypted communication.
Call for a new business model?
The likes of Google want access
to your email content, so that they
can provide you with ‘relevant’
advertising. Data doesn’t need to
be stored indefinitely however.
Edward Snowdon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIhS9aB-qgU

“The new model for a dictator
is to infiltrate and try to manipulate
it (the internet). You’re seeing
this in China, and in many
other countries.”
“Countries like Iran also want to
separate themselves from the net.
They want their own intranet...
People are currently working
on encryption tools that are
so powerful that this won’t
be possible.”
“We’re pretty sure right now
that the information that’s
inside of Google is safe from
any government’s prying eyes,
including the US government’s...”
Google’s Eric Schmidt

FIREFIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS!

PERSONAL
DEVICES
_
In a few months time there will be more mobiles on the planet than desktops.

Mobile is more important now than ever before.
Brands are experiencing the ‘mobile moment’
50% of Facebook ad spend is mobile, essentially saving
their IPO. We see this trend through the analytics for our own
clients too, hence our recent investment in apps and our
continued commitment to responsive design of websites
so that they’re accessible on mobile.
Mobile is becoming core to how brands are
communicating with consumers.
People gravitate to content on mobile. Instagram and
Vine feeds are seen as compelling entertainment,
rather than advertising. This is where brands need to be
investing vs display advertising.

CRM is really important
Most apps typically die within
a 3 month period, so if you’re
launching a new app, it’s
important to know what you’ll
be doing moving forwards to
keep users engaged.
“Its about having a
customer engagement
strategy in a digital
world, not just a
digital strategy.”
Steve Haro, Director, Brand Marketing,
Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Instagram Whatsapp Tinder Uber Nike+
Mobile is disrupting industries

Focus on: Jelly
Co-founder of Twitter Biz Stone talked about his new
platform, Jelly. Here’s a roundup of his thoughts.
Smartphones are huge hyperlinks between people.
Humanity is moving towards being the most connected
it’s ever been, and it’s questionable why we are.
The true promise of a connected society
must be people helping each other.
Jelly is essentially the human-powered search engine.
“There is an expressed intent
when you ask something
through Jelly... Google
has made a lot of money
introducing people to
something they are looking
for... If you can help people
on Jelly really well then you
can give us money.”
Stone on monetisation
Find out more at Jelly.co
Brands have already jumped on the bandwagon,
ASOS’ star spotting is shown on the left.

The very definition of mobile is in flux. It’s no longer just phones
– wearable tech and sensors are fast becoming a big deal.
These platforms create a deeper connection with consumers.
Owlet
(baby care)
Glass
(eyewear)
Jawbone UP
(fitness)
Koubachi
(plant health)
Motorola Moto 360
(smartwatch)

Post-screen design
Wired led an interesting session talking
about post-screen design and UX, here are
some of the points that caught our attention.
Interaction design is moving beyond the screen.
Good UX is immediacy.
More context leads to less complexity.
It is about the anticipation of an experience
as much as the experience itself.
A great example of post-screen design is Cone.
Cone is the music player
that learns your tastes and
seamlessly streams the
songs you want to hear.
Find out more at Aether.com

ALWAYS
TURNEDON

OMNICHANNEL
RETAIL
_
Everything. All the time. At the same time.

What is ‘omnichannel retail’?
Consumers want to use all channels simultaneously, or in
conjuction with one another. Browsing online before heading
into store, or checking out options on their phones and
tablets whilst instore.
For this to work we need one database of consumers, products,
prices and offers that all collerate regardless of channel.
So what are the challenges for retailers and consumers?
The following are some highlights from an open table
discussion with retailers at SXSW.

The issues
Separate P&Ls for online and physical stores
results in ecommerce vs brick and mortar.
Legacy systems make it hard for instore to
integrate with online.
Physical stores receiving returned goods from online
shoppers feel that their bottom line is being affected.
Are third-party discounts negatively affecting
brand image or sales?
How do we track social ROI?

Potential solutions
Maybe both channels should be getting 50/50 credit?
Many consumers browse online and then shop instore.
Rolling out iPads to staff, allowing them to order online
when a consumer can’t find what they’re looking for instore.
Specific store/staff codes could be used for attribution
of the sale if commission is an issue.
Social monitoring and reviewing site referrals can give us some
idea of how social is playing its part in commerce.
Not every piece of content is a straight forward sales tool and
can therefore typically be split into the following types:
A. Acquisition
B. Monetisation
C. Engagement

Potential solutions
If selling through 3rd party channels as well as your own
physical and online stores, make sure you keep and highlight
some lines as exclusive to your owned channels.
This gives consumers a reason to buy directly from you as
they’re getting something they can’t get elsewhere, whilst
keeping your 3rd party revenue stream alive.
Consumers are looking for:
1. Value (not necessarily price)
2. Convenience
3. Emotional engagement
We’re moving towards providing consumers with a
personalised experience of the above.

Focus on: iBeacon
Tiny sensors placed in physical spaces like retail stores
Consumers need to download retailer specific
apps and switch on their Bluetooth.
Consumers will receive location-based
information and offers.
Check out the video to see it in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrsHBjzt2E8

Omnichannel is as much something that needs
to be achieved internally in business as well as
externally to improve the consumer’s experience.
If your retail team is segmented from your
ecommerce team, omnichannel experiences will
be a lot harder to achieve.
Those retailers ready to develop a new
culture will reap the rewards.

YOU REAP
WHAT YOU SOW

HEALTHCARE
_
The big industry about to face disruption

Wearables like Fitbit, Fuelband
and Jawbone are empowering
consumers to look after their own
fitness better.
Fitbit.com/uk
Scandu allows you to monitor your
temperature, blood pressure, heart
rate, Oximetry, ECG, HRV, Stress
levels and urine.
Scandu.com
Doctorondemand.com allows
people in the US to access medical
advice from their smartphones.
Doctorondemand.com

The very question of us needing
doctors’ offices came into
question in one session, with
people self-diagnosing or data
pre-empting illness, what did that
mean for the role of the doctor
moving forwards?
A two-year-old of the
future whose health is
tracked in detail “will
have more medical data
in the cloud than any
adult alive today,”
Dr. Leslie Saxon, University of Southern California’s
Center for Body Computing.

PREVENTION
IS BETTER
THAN CURE

STORYTELLING
& CONTENT
_
Make me care.

People gravitate towards content and can be
blind to display ads.
The internet offers the first, global interactive medium for
storytelling. Stories can have a 2 way narrative that includes,
or is driven by the consumer.
User-generated content can form the story.
People are creating their own stories,
through their social channels.

Ridley Scott Asssociates (RSA)
Whilst it’s not the end of TV advertising, online audiences have exploded.
Instead of gatecrashing the party, online content is the kind that is invited in.
Jaguar: Desire
RSA produced a mini-move funded by Jaguar to promote the new F-Type.
Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis starred, with a soundtrack by Lana Del Ray.
Adam Smith and Casper Delaney talk about the planning,
shooting and distributing of the short:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YEeAAIOQ06k
View the trailer:
http://www.rsafilms.com/project/rsa-uk/name/jaguar---desire/jaguar-trailer-5224
Prometheus
RSA produced a series of viral videos, which included a 2023 TED talk,
a real telephone line providing unsuspecting consumers with exclusive content,
product ads on Mashable and outreach to technical experts on LinkedIn.
They won a Gold Lion for Best Integrated Campaign,
in the Branded Content & Entertainment category.
Case study:
http://www.rsafilms.com/project/rsa-usa/name/prometheus-campaign/--case-study-5207

Scott Free Films
Life in a day. Christmas in a day. Britain in a day. Japan in a day.
To date, these are the biggest crowd-sourced films of their kind.
Life in a day
People around the world were asked to film their lives and answer a few simple questions.
The film looks to capture a specific day in history for future generations and is the first
of what led to a series. They received 4,500 hours of video from 192 countries.
All of it shot on a single day.
Produced by Ridley Scott and Directed by Kevin Macdonald.
Watch the film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaFVr_cJJIY
Christmas in a day
Life in a day’s popularity led to Sainsbury’s commissioning their seasonal campaign –
Christmas in a day with Scott Free. The film was an experiment to reveal how Britain really
celebrates Christmas. Sainsbury’s let Scott Free have creative control and what was initially
only intended for online audiences, ended up being used for their TV advertising also.
Watch the film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od1WIDxl44Y

DarkRye.com
This is the Whole Foods’ online magazine, whereby unbranded
insightful and inspirational videos and articles about everyday people
living interesting lives are broadcast.
Dark Rye boasts it’s own team of full time directors and producers.
Copy and art direction of the site delivers real personality, drawing the consumer in.
Check out the site
Darkrye.com

Birchbox.com
A subscription based sampling service for beauty and cosmetics
products, Birchbox uses editorial content to draw in new audiences
and keep current customers interested.
10 facts from Birchbox Editorial Director, Mollie Chen
01. Birchbox has 600,000 subscribers.
02. 16% of all traffic comes via content.
03. 18 editors in New York and others scattered
around the globe.
04. They see content as a way to empower business,
04. create engagement and add value to products.
05. They produce 12 videos a month and 5 blogs a day.
06. Content is split into the following categories: informational,
06. utility, insider tips and entertainment.
07. Their team internally is curated to reflect the range in their
consumer base.
08. Content shouldn’t have a dead end and should deepen your
08. relationship with your audience.
09. Birchbox regards itself as an ecommerce business, however
09. has the approach of a friend who recommends
09. and provides samples.
10. The Birchbox editorial team also write all the shop site copy.
Check out the site
Birchbox.com | Birchbox.co.uk

what’s
your
story?

VIRTUAL
REALITY
_
Not just gaming. Film, education and communication are all about to change.

Oculus Rift
The vision: Immersive virtual reality
technology that’s wearable and
affordable. $2.4 million in funding was
raised via Kickstarter, with enthusiasts as
well as game studios getting their hands
on DK1. DK2 has just been opened
up for pre-order, boasting some great
improvements for gameplay. Oculus now
belongs to the Facebook family.
Find out more on the Oculus site: http://www.oculusvr.com/dk2/
Project Morpheus
Sony are also trying to
get in on the action with
their own headset.
Find out more on their blog:
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/03/19/
introducing-project-morpheus/

Tesco goes virtual
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08S86X_5Crs#t=20
Despite the gaming world
being most openly excited
about this, there are lots of
future opportunities for film,
education, architecture, retail
and communication in general.
Developers specialising in all of
the above are currently working
on VR projects.

SEEINGISBELIEVING

FOOD
TECHNOLOGY
_
You are what you 3D print.

“Your dinner’s in the printer”
Maybe this is what we’ll be saying someday soon. 3D printing’s
making an impact in every industry including food. Here are a few
examples of brands experimenting with the tech.
Oreo
Oreo tapped into the trend and used 3D printing tech alongside a
bunch of other key trends such as customisation to produce their
Trending Vending experience at SXSW. Check out the
tech behind-the-scenes in the video below.
#eatthetweet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdvKcWTokoI
ChefJet
One of the largest makers of 3D printers, 3D Systems were handing
out multi-coloured sweets printed by their line of “ChefJet” printers
at SXSW.
ChefJets are due to be available from the second half of the year,
priced below $5,000 USD. The printers are designed for bakeries,
cake shops and events.
The company had previously announced a collaborative
partnership with Hershey.

Food technology
We hear it all the time – one day in the near future we won’t be able to produce
enough food to feed the world’s population. SXSW gave a platform to food
technologists passionate about biochemistry, food processing and biotechnology,
in a bid to improve our food beyond its natural state. This will have fundamental
implications on all of our health and work towards combatting food shortages globally.
Modern Meadow
Developing new ways to grow meat
and leather, no need for animal
slaughter and much lower inputs of
land, water, energy and chemicals.
http://modernmeadow.com
Beyond Meat
Focused on perfectly replacing animal
protein with plant protein. Their vision
intends to change the future of “meat”.
Investors include Bill Gates and the
founders of Twitter.
http://beyondmeat.com/
Hampton Creek Foods
Taking eggs out of the equation, their first
product is a mayo made from yellow peas.
They also want to ensure products cost less
than their egg-based equivalents.
Again, BIll Gates is an investor.
http://hamptoncreekfoods.com/

Eating’s cheating
So who was it that told us we needed to eat at all?
Soylent
For some people food is a hassle, especially if
you’re trying to eat well.
Soylent is a liquid formula personalised for different
body types and customised for individual goals.
You’re able to experience the health benefits at a
low cost.
https://campaign.soylent.me/

FOODFOR
THOUGHT

ROBOT
WARS
_
A threat to society?

They’re coming!
Humanoid robotics are currently expensive but robots that serve a real purpose in
everyday life do not have to be. A useful robot is affordable and easy to use, so maybe
it won’t be so long until we’ve all got robots at home and in the workplace.
Finch and Reactive presented
‘The Most Powerful Arm Ever Invented.’
Aimed at making technology emotional and innovative-cool at the same time.
The interactive robot arm was fueled by Facebook for the non-profit organization
Save Our Sons. Needing to bring more attention to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, they
wanted the Australian government to make research a priority. With over 32,000 Australians
ultimately signing their petition, The Most Powerful Arm has become the most successful
health-related petition in Australian history.
Check out the case study here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afR-7F31Tco
“People who embrace robots will see their
salaries increase, whereas those that don’t
will see their salaries drastically decrease.”
Google’s Director of Ideas, Jared Cohen

SOCIAL
GOOD
_
One for all and all for one.

More connected than ever before
With the advent of social networks, we’ve become more
connected to each other than we’ve ever been, so it makes you
wonder, what can be achieved now that wasn’t previously possible.
Chelsea Clinton on “Harnessing the Power
of Tech and Data for Development.”
Clinton challenged us to improve the use of tech to do good. She highlighted organisations
like M-Pesa, a mobile banking startup based in Africa and Sproxil who work to check that
drugs are legitimate – who are actually funded by the Clinton Foundation. She also went
on to talk about how all innovation doesn’t necessarily have to be brand new, we should
embrace technology we already understand to make positive changes – an example being if
all money was tracked by RFID, it would have a significant impact on corruption.
She finished by encouraging us all to use our online networks to have a voice
and make a positive impact on the world.
Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS –
the One for One company.
For every pair of shoes TOMS sell, they also donate a pair of shoes to a child in need.
For every pair of glasses they sell, they restore somebody’s sight. And now, as revealed
at SXSW, for every bag of TOMS coffee that is sold TOMS will provide financing for a
week’s worth of clean water to a person in need.
TOMS is a for-profit company that has built social good into their business model and Mycoskie
emphasised that it is this more than anything that has resulted in their ongoing success.
www.toms.com | www.toms.co.uk

WHATWILL YOUDO?

DISRUPTORBEDISTRUPTED
WHAT DO
YOU VALUE?
VALUE?
FIREFIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS!
#Disruption, #Change, #Agile
#SXSW14, #SXSWINTERACTIVE
TRENDS CHEAT SHEET
#MobileFirst, #Responsive, #Wearables
#VirtualReality, #VR, #OculusRift #3Dprinting, #Biochemistry, #Biotechnology #Robotics #SocialGood
#Retail, #Omnichannel #Heathcare, #Data #Content, #Storytelling
#Data, #Personalisation, #ValueExchange #Data, #Privacy, #Encryption
YOU REAP
WHAT YOU SOW
PREVENTION
IS BETTER
THAN CURE
what’s
your
story?
SEEINGISBELIEVING
FOODFOR
THOUGHT WHATWILLYOUDO?
ALWAYS
TURNEDON

thank you
Steve Haro, Boeing
Jared Cohen, Google
The team at Urban Airship
Richard Ting, R/GA
Julian Assange
Edward Snowden
Eric Schmidt, Google
Biz Stone, Jelly
Cliff Kuang, Wired
Tim Lakin, Sketchers
Caspar Delaney, RSA Films
Jack Arbuthnott, Scott Free
Mollie Chen, Birchbox
Chris Saint-Amant, Netflix
The team at Proof
Vince Maniago, Mint.com
Tim Hayden, TTH
Palmer Luckey, Oculus Rift
Chelsea Clinton, The Clinton Foundation
Linda Boff, GE
Blake Mycoskie, TOMS
Kevin Bacon
Mindy Kaling, The Mindy Project
Don, Dan and Kristin at Brownshoe
Chade-Meng Tan, Google
Pete Cashmore, Mashable
Liz Harper, GM TBWA
Pam Scheideler, Deutsch LA
Mike Lowe, The Golf Channel
Jonathan Nielsen, Backcountry.com
Joanna Coles, Cosmopolitan
Olivier Fleurot, MSLGROUP
Kerry Bodine
Mike Norman, Genuine
This doc’s been written by Ashika Chauhan.
Apologies to any references I’ve missed off by mistake.
If you’re reading this, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this
year’s trends and tech, say hello @ashikachauhan or @wearebig.
A big thank you to all the speakers, panelists and
people we met throughout this year’s SXSW.