AUSTIN — Beyond the layers of posters, offers of free beer, snacks, branded T-shirts and water bottles thrust upon attendees at SXSW by eager street marketers, here are five cool brand activations to look out for at SXSW.
General Electric. SXSW is not just about the tech, film and music – food is a major draw of the event and a special "Southbites" food tech track has even been added to this year’s scheduling. Tapping into this theme, General Electric has set up a BBQ R&D Lab, which will insert some science into the fervant debate about how to create the perfect BBQ. It will feature an on-site "Super Smoker" for the perfect brisket as well as a lineup of speakers and foodies, including artist Questlove and Aaron Franklin, founder of Austin’s famous Franklin BBQ.
Lego. Lego is always a popular brand on the SXSW agenda, and this year it has rolled out an brand activation that will prove popular with its army of superfans -- a Lego version of the Kwik-E-Mart.
Mophie. Mophie is coming to the rescue of SXSW attendees, with Saint Bernard dogs carrying much-needed battery chargers. Festival-goers who tweet a screenshot of their dying battery to @Mophie using the hashtag #mophierescue will be sent one of the mountain rescue dogs.
Roku. People suffering SXSW FOMO will be able to watch content from the tech, music and film festival from the comfort of their own homes. Through a partnership with Roku, SXSW has launched it first content channel, streaming 24-hour footage from the event that available to users of the over-the-top TV device in the US, UK, Canada and Ireland. The content will also be streamed on YouTube.
Equinox. Tapping into the Internet of things and quantified self movement, the gym chain Equinox has set connected bikes in Austin, so fesitval goers — the ones without hangovers — can get data on their performance through data visualizations. The activition, by R/GA, promotes Equinox's, "The Pursuit" studio cycling experience.
