SXSW Interactive was bigger than ever this year—festival organizers reported over 24,000 registered attendees--but we know not everyone can brave the crowds and make the trip to Austin.
That’s why FH Boston brought a little piece of Texas back to the Bay State for our second annual Austin2Boston event. Unfortunately, we learned that street tacos and Texas BBQ don’t travel well…but our A2B guests enjoyed apps and drinks at the Back Bay Social Club, heard from our panel of smart folks who shared their key takeaways from SXSW2012, and networked with peers from brands and agencies alike. Attendees shared their thoughts on Twitter throughout the evening using #Austin2Boston.
Our excellent panelists, who grabbed the mike to share their thoughts were:
• Adam Cohen, SVP of Digital and Social Media at Fleishman Hillard
• Jessica Paar, Sr. Public Relations Manager, Boston Beer Company
• Lauren Vargas, Community Management Strategist at Aetna
• Margot Bloomstein, Principal of Appropriate, Inc.
• Jim Storer, Co-founder and principal at The Community Roundtable
2. Jim Margot Lauren Jessica Adam
Storer Bloomstein Vargas Paar Cohen
Co-founder Principal of Community Sr. Public SVP Digital
and Appropriate, Management Relations and Social
principal at Inc. Strategist at Manager, Media at
The Aetna Boston Beer Fleishman-
Community Company Hillard
Roundtable
@mbloomstein @vargasl @samadamsbee @adamcohen
@jimstorer r
#Austin2Boston
3. BRANDS: TO WIN MAKE YOURSELF…
Valuable, Useful and Entertaining
@adamcohen
4. • Innovate
• BEWARE: Official vs.
Unofficial
FOR BRANDS • It’s not for everybody
IT’S
BECOMING
MORE
D I F F I C U LT
@adamcohen
5. • Engagement is king
• This all still applies to B2B, Financial
Services and other industries
• “Surprise and delight” customers is
Keep It never a bad approach
• Go back to the beginning:
REAL Start with insight about the
audience
@adamcohen
8. • Manage the gray of
personal/professional boundaries –
Build and socialize governance
documents
Legal-Up • Encourage workforce to embrace
(culture change community manager responsibilities
through education – 3E’s via @Oxfam: Educate,
- without inciting Entertain, Engage
fe a r )
• Understand legal, compliance and
privacy policy and guidelines
@vargasl
9. • Encourage transparency and
context of industry-regulated
policies and guidelines
• Develop processes that amplify the
humanity of an organization and
scale social media as a customer
Walking the Talk
service tool (not just marketing)
“It’s hard to be a rabid
fan of a process.” – Debra • Explore the meaning of intellectual
Askanese (@askdebra) property in a social organization
• Don’t be afraid to say “No.”
@ va rga s l
12. 1. Community builders on the
brand side are getting tired.
2. Serendipity happens, but not
The Small Frye if you’re focused on your phone.
3. Work/Life Balance? How
about Life Balance?!?!
@jimstorer
14. “Now you can do something
useful on Facebook for once.
Help make a beer.”
“…this is pretty much one of the
most brilliant uses of social media
in the beverage business I have
seen so far.”
“Well, consider this my
official request that the
beer be brewed year-
round, bottled, and sold in
six-packs. Sam Adams sent
me a bottle of the beer to
“The final brew, B’Austin ale sample, and man, is it
was a big hit during the Girl good.”
+ Guy Interactive party on
Saturday night.”
Crowd Craft Project: B’Austin Ale
Stay true to yourself and to your audience.
@samadamsbeer
15. • There’s a lot of noise. You have to be
creative, not just look shiny, to actually
engage the audience.
• Focus on local. Bringing a little piece of
Boston to Austin resonated.
• Relationships move the needle. Great
Crowd Craft Project opportunity to network with smart,
creative people.
Other key learnings • Measurement is tough.
from SXSWi
@samadamsbeer
16. Continuing the • Customer engagement is key.
Dialogue Continue to engage in a
dialogue with drinkers.
• Partner with the right people.
• Leverage social media tools to
share, broadcast, and curate.
@samadamsbeer
21. Layers > novelty • Don’t expect anything new—even
you, Billy Corgan—but embrace what
Embrace, enrich, you have.
enhance, & engage • Enrich what you know or suspect.
• Enhance relationships by layering and
adding contexts.
• Engage with your audience and
community.
@ mbloomstein
22. What now, what next? • Grow up. Now is the time to mature
our thinking, processes, and budgets.
• Invest in core communication goals
before chasing new channels.
• Fight FOMO in platforms and parties.
Be where you are.
@mbloomstein
23. Jim Margot Lauren Jessica Adam
Storer Bloomstein Vargas Paar Cohen
Co-founder Principal of Community Sr. Public SVP Digital
and Appropriate, Management Relations and Social
principal at Inc. Strategist at Manager, Media at
The Aetna Boston Beer Fleishman-
Community Company Hillard
Roundtable
@mbloomstein @vargasl @samadamsbee @adamcohen
@jimstorer r
Thank you! #Austin2Boston
Notes de l'éditeur
Stop with the interruption-based, flashiness – “KEEP IT REAL”, focus on engagement and don’t force a sales pitch down people’s throats. For example, can we put a call out for a ban of BOOTH BABES?First and foremost be there to assist festival goers with some basic needs.Based on analysis of people attending SXSW, Chevy completed it’s 3rd year as a major corporate sponsorActivations:Chevrolet Sound Garage – Indie Music Series“Secret Walls” graffiti artist competitionChevrolet MyLink – Use smartphones to try out Chevy’s new MyLink infotainment systemDrive a Chevy – Test drives- about 1000 last yearInfluencer program that included a Tweethouse event and sponsoring the Allhat annual partyVolt Recharge Lounge – 5,524 people vs (5,119 last year)“Catch – A – Chevy” This year, a fleet of 45 cars and SUVs (with QR codes inside). This year 22,328 passengers (last year 11,106)“Samsung captured the buzz,” but Chevy was the “love winner.” -NetbaseDuring SXSW 2011, Capitol Chevy became the 3rd most visited dealership website in the country, with the dealership in the 32nd DMA in the country Searches of small cars, small car competitors, and Chevy from Austin IP addresses resulted in ads directing consumers to Capitol Chevy
Success will come when you stay true to yourself and to your audience.Don’t try to be something you’re not. We make beer, not satellites.Authenticity