SXSW 2025: POV from long-time Austinite and 20 Year Attendee

Well this was supposed to be a LI wall post but LI said I was 7000 characters over the limit and rather than trying to figure out what to cut, I'm moving it over here to the article section. Since I'm not a regular article contributor, please help me share this article especially if you plan to come to SXSW 2026.

Whew, it’s been a packed start to March 2025! For those that are new to following me on LI, this is my 20th SXSW (sadly I had to subtract 2021 when SXSW had to go completely virtual, and we at RED VELVET had NO SXSW activations at all that year).

I’m fortunate to get to see SXSW from two angles - one as an experiential agency through RED VELVET and the other as a trusted supplier partner through Strong Events .

First, I want to call out ALL of the folks I got to personally reconnect or newly meet over the last week. To my out-of-town friends, THANK YOU for making the time to catch up when you visited Austin (it really does feel like time never passes since we last caught up at SXSW). And this year, I get to recognize my longest traveled friend James (Kayliang) Ong who flew in from Singapore and came back to Austin to speak about his book - AI for Humanity. We had the pleasure of working together at Trilogy in the late 90s.? And for all the new LI connections, it was so nice to meet you and get to know you better. I hope we can find ways to keep in touch across the miles/ocean as that’s my favorite part of SXSW. As I am sharing photos of the ones I have on my phone, I’m realizing now how many more I’m missing.

So, as a seasoned SXSW’er, it never fails that people are quick to ask me how I think this SXSW compares to years’ past, so without further ado - here are my thoughts on this year’s festival:

BEFORE THE FESTIVAL:

• Leading into this SXSW, things did NOT feel “normal.” Let me define normal from my RED VELVET lens: typically most brands reach out to us almost immediately after the previous SXSW to get on our radar. This is usually followed by casual conversations over the summer and we go to contract sometime in the Fall with a heavy emphasis on securing the ideal venue; permits; concept; and internal budget approvals.?
• We had no confirmed projects by the end of 2024: This past year, I knew something was off because we had NO signed NEW contracts for SXSW 2025 before we went on holiday break in the winter. This is HIGHLY UNUSUAL - even for SXSW 2022 when things were slowly coming back out of the pandemic, we had contracts.
• Hotels were not close to full occupancy. When I checked in with our local hotels at about six (6) weeks out and learned some of them were at 50-60% occupancy, it concerned me. This was noticeably different as this is not typical either, even with additional hotel rooms in our inventory. FWIW, I have not had a chance to ask my hotel partners where they ended up at their occupancy level the last few days.?

AT THE FESTIVAL:?

• In reality, what I experienced was much better than what I expected. I am the first to say that the energy of those that were attending SXSW (as an official attendee or just a local Austinite) was palpable; attendees seemed to be filled with the excitement that you get when you’ve been waiting to be a part of something bigger than you. And, that energy was positive; first timers were having a great time; even those that have attended multiple times like me were in a great mood; and everyone was just getting along. Truth be told, it has not felt this high of an energy since SXSW 2019.
• The number of activations were on par with years past, but for less investment and activation time. I didn’t do an official count of official vs unofficial events but to me, there were still a decent number of activations HOWEVER what was noticeable is that many of these activations were live 1 to 2 days - it was only a handful of brands that stayed activated longer than that. I personally think this is a bad strategy for those wanting to capitalize from being at SXSW - a reasonable number is 3 days minimum; 4 days ideal; and 5 days if you can (and if it makes sense based on the different demographics attending SXSW). I recommend this always to maximize ROI, as many of these activations are created custom for the environment; take multiple days for load-in and will be dismantled immediately after closing. Once the initial investment has been made, the cost to activate in the same location is nominal and the buzz will work in your favor if you’re looking for organic reach.?
• Knowing Your Options on how to Show Up. Since SXSW grew in popularity, I often get asked is attending or exhibiting at SXSW worth it? And my short answer is yes BUT I always like to clarify what it the brand/attendee’s goal for attending? If it’s to be inspired, to network, and/or to expand your brand’s presence, then it’s a yes in all of these areas. The next usual concern is how much does it cost to be there. If you can’t afford to show up as a brand, at the very least buy a badge and make the time to attend at least 3 days of programming. If you can invest a bit more, decide if it makes sense to be a part of the expo; a formal sponsor; and/or host a private dinner. I have to admit, this year I was a bit disappointed in how the brands showed up to the Expo. Outside of Flodesk (which in full transparency is a client of Strong Events as we helped them custom fabricate their booth - see my personal photo included), I was really only impressed by less than 5 other booths. If you are going to spend the money, take the time to come up with a clever way to show up so you can actually engage with attendees.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2026:?

• Remember the Austin Convention Center will be under construction for its much- anticipated expansion between 2026 - 2028. Therefore we need to rethink how we use our existing Downtown spaces to allow for movement and gathering of like-minded attendees. I strongly suggest we group our existing Downtown areas by interests, and this should hopefully help mitigate how far an attendee would have to walk for a session they want to attend. For example, can you imagine us using all of the bars on E 6th to convert to all the different global houses (e.g., Ireland House, German House, Brazil House, etc)?
• Every Austin Downtown Venue needs to re-evaluate its pricing model for SXSW. From my Strong Events knowledge, we received plenty of requests for rentals/custom fabrications so the interest of being here at SXSW is still high; HOWEVER clients/brands budgets sadly have stayed where they were from 2019. What this means is if venues do NOT bring their prices back down to more reasonable rates (dare I even suggest we go back to 2017 rates), these prospects will take their business to other festivals/city-wides OR continue to activate for 1-2 days which is just not sustainable nor beneficial to those of us who work in the hospitality industry in Austin. I was honestly shocked to see two very popular - and prominent - venues sit dark this year and last year I remember seeing a few as well sit dark when they have been activated in the past in massive, highly impactful ways.?
• The hotels in Downtown also need to re-evaluate what they are charging. Please do not assume I have a bleeding heart as I am very respectful of the bottom line and dynamic pricing HOWEVER if your hotel did not achieve at least 80% occupancy these past 10 days, I would say it’s probably because you were asking for too much because there were so many out of town attendees (many first timers too), and they had to stay where they could because of budget. Many did rent out Airbnbs or even stayed with friends. Attendees have more options now than ever, so hotels would do well to (also) price competitively. We already know attendees, especially first-time attendees, appreciate staying in the Austin CBD area; close to where all the action is.?
• If you are a BRAND, think NOW about how you want to show up in 2026 and start to budget (e.g., CES, SXSW, Coachella, Sundance, etc). The absence of a large convention center is actually a huge opportunity for creating something unique and worth seeking out and standing out. All of the attendees will be roaming the streets of Austin for SXSW 2026 - 2028 so there’s more opportunity to make a new impression. You must trust me on this one, as we’ve done many transformations,from parking lots to bars to even dance studios. If you create the right experience, it doesn’t matter where you are.?
• If you are an agency that works with a BRAND, talk to them now because the best thing to do is make sure your client brand has realistic expectations of what a multi-day activation costs. Also, plan ahead. Not everyone has the same rush fee policy but at Strong Events , any custom fabrication confirmed less than six (6) weeks out has a rush fee, and further more, there were clearly 3 dates that were super popular in 2025 for load-in, and we were essentially “full” on these 3 popular dates by late January. Planning ahead will help you stretch your budget. I know this seems like common sense but I was shocked to see how many complex builds were reaching out without much advance notice - both from agencies and independent planners.

Two examples of immersive experiences at SXSW 2025 were Dubai’s Museum of the Future and Rivian’s Joyride. My personal favorite was Rivian’s riding experience known as Electric Joyride in the middle of Downtown Austin on the man-made dirt track to show how rugged their electric trucks can be. I’m grateful to see two years in a row that the title sponsor of SXSW did not hold back on how they wanted to show up and set the bar for other brands.?

What was your favorite moment at this year’s SXSW? And what are your thoughts on what needs to change for 2026?