SXSW 2024 Activation Reviews. Day 1 & 2.

A small team from GPJ UK are at SXSW 2024, trend-watching, exploring the melting pot of some of the most exciting brand experiences, and generally having a great time. Here are some quick thoughts on what they've seen so far.

Each brand took great ownership of the space and designed them in a way that made sense. Lots of photo opportunities promoted the brand with various IPs.

It was refreshing to see little mention of AI in the activations as this seems to be a major theme through the current world line-up. Brands using personalised guest engagements really stood out and made a bigger impression on us than those that didn't.

Creativity was high and brands were really imaginative in attracting guests attention in a noisy SXSW environment.

Prime x Fallout?

Consisting of a digital scavenger hunt Prime's Fallout activation encouraged you to explore the space. It was simple but highly impactful. ?

The experience offered multi-faceted engagement through multiple touchpoints, providing clear direction on activities like the bottle top collection that tied into the featured video game. The overall scenic design excelled at truly capturing the essence of the game and its intellectual property, bringing that fantastical world to vivid life.

Method actors inhabiting characters from the game contributed an extra layer of immersion, staying in-character as they interacted with and kept the audience on their toes. Between the hands-on gameplay elements, the fully-realised environment, and the committed performers, attendees could feel transported into the video game's universe through a coherent and multi-dimensional experience.

Audible

The experience centred around the Audible Ferris Wheel?which meant a fun evening at an amusement park.

The experience presented a fun, clear theme with strong brand awareness, and the overall production quality was high. It struck a nice balance by interweaving joyful, lively moments with calmer moments that allowed you to connect more deeply with the brand through listening experiences.

Consumer engagement was highly prioritised through the inclusion of hands-on, analogue activities that made the experience truly immersive for attendees. The varied pacing and multisensory elements merged in an environment that felt energetic yet allowed space for people to absorb the brand's identity.

Tide

One of the best thought through activations, (in our opinion!). The location and overall space felt really connected to an overall story; alluding to a 50s style laundrette - its heritage of how it becomes part of every American's daily life and culture.?

The storytelling was a well executed with a simple touch of a human element, (staff explaining product and providing demos) that made it real really personable and brought the product to life. Strong direction and product connection meant the consumer could be passive which made for a good experience when compared to the other brand houses.

Overall a really beautiful finish.?

Porsche

Their concept was a ‘full car service’ inviting the consumer to explore all products and learn about the different identity of each car.?Guests were invited into the service station and entered via a car wash.?

‘Full service’ was prominent in the whole execution. Brand house was highly stylised, capturing the dream of the open highway on a road trip across the states - made for a really connected and luxury experience.

We loved the tactile, open door engagement piece. Porsche cleverly introduced their partners, providing them with a presence which was not unnoticed, although subtle and in keeping with their brand.?

The careful monitored and limited capacity for guests highlighted the luxury feel.

Paramount+

Stepping into the ski lodge-themed activation, guests were immediately immersed in a high-value, IP-driven environment buzzing with energy across its three levels. The multiple hospitality areas and rooftop spaces overlooking bustling Rainey Street created a vibrant, social atmosphere.

The experience achieved its goal of piquing interest through quick engagements without requiring deep dives, generating hype around the streamed content through these memorable vignettes. The sustainable giveaway of a one-month Paramount+ subscription served as an attractive incentive, making this an immersive showcase of the platform's latest offerings within an inviting lodge setting.

Netflix?

A simple activation that really aimed to provoke interest and promote a new show. A multi story transparent LED with the use of smoke, made the tech disappear and the AI stylings of the film really pop. A use of multi beam lighting, with the outdoor and skyscraper backdrop made the preview feel really atmospheric?

A lot of suspense and anticipatory emotion was evoked with countdowns. And it was only around for one day, which was a clever FOMO tactic for those who have the fear of missing out!

?It felt like a real red carpet moment.?

Sharpie x Papermate House?

The perfect destination for the true creatives amongst us, not only for the fact that they had many coloured sharpies as giveaways but because of the many layers of available interaction points, simple quizzes, sunglass customisation, draw your own cocktail and a photo op, being just a few.? And they had the best music!

The final word.

Brand houses were about giving back, inspiring and entertaining the SXSW audience -?staying true to the festival atmosphere that SXSW needs to retain to stay true to its own roots.

That's it for the first SXSW 2024 roundup!

We'll be posting updates throughout the week and there are more images of these activations on our Instagram Stories, which you can find here.