The Three c's that have Helped SxSWi Grow - Hugh Forrest

1. Hugh Forrest
Director, SXSW Interactive Festival
The Three Cs That Have
Helped SXSW Interactive Grow:
Can They Apply to Your Business?

2. • What is SXSW
• Video for SXSW 2015
• Fun SXSW Trivia Game
• Why did SXSW Grow: Creativity
• Why did SXSW Grow: Customer Service
• Why did SXSW Grow: Community
• Conclusions

3. • Happens every March in Austin
• Trade Show, Gaming Expo, Job Fair
• Panels, presentations, networking and fun
• Living / breathing manifestation of Internet
• In our best days, we preview the future
• Great place for great 1-one-1 connections
• Economic impact to city of Austin from SXSW

5. • Pro: Great at giving taste of event
• Pro: Great at showing where we are now
• Con: Doesn’t give much history of the event
• Con: Doesn’t give context on why we grew

6. • SXSW hatched Twitter, Foursquare, AirBNB
• SXSW Accelerator also has impressive alums
• That said, SXSW is not a tech event
• Creativity is what makes SXSW magic
• Creativity is what makes Austin so alluring
• Keep Austin Weird = Keep Austin Creative

7. • In social media world, every business is a customer service business
• Standout customer service creates standout customer advocate
• Why we are passionate about the post-event SXSW Feedback Project

8. • Community often knows your business better than you do
• Community is your best vehicle for promotion and marketing
• Community craves intense consequential connections
• Community (if engaged properly) can be very forgiving of mistakes

9. • Importance of creativity
• Importance of customer service
• Importance of community
• Importance of patience and persistence

10. Dates for SXSW 2015: March 13-17
More information at sxsw.com/interactive
Big announcement coming Monday, October 20th
Reach me at hugh@sxsw.com
Follow me at @hugh_w_forrest