Once the industry’s most inspiring week, SXSW 2025 leaned too heavily on AI and left creativity to the sidelines. If it wants to stay relevant for brand and agency leaders, it’s time to refocus on substance over spectacle.
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All AI, no 'aha': Has SXSW lost its creative spark?
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SXSW: Five days that make Black Mirror look like Bagpuss
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Some mind-boggling presentations at South By Southwest left Joint’s Damon Collins, a regular attendee, feeling excited but also a little nervous.
Why LGBTQ+ programming dwindled at SXSW this year
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Discussions about transgender inclusiveness disappeared at the Texas-based festival as programming avoided wading too deeply into the most hot-button issues facing the LGBTQ+ community.
At SXSW, creatives and technologists clashed over AI
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Technology leaders reflected a state of ‘irrational exuberance’ for AI, while creative industries prioritised protections.
‘I don’t want to be the villain’: Dylan Mulvaney calls for brands to protect talent and celebrate trans joy
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Nearly one year after facing hate for a partnership with Bud Light, the trans influencer discusses healing through humor and putting safety measures in place for diverse talent at SXSW.
From platform power to people power? Navigating Web3 hype at SXSW
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Being back at SXSW after a three-year Covid-19 hiatus is a joy, and we should be proud of marketing industry representation.
3 out-of-the-box brand activations at SXSW
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From an immersive Game of Thrones world to a 'tree' that serves beer from its branches.
SXSW is growing a tech conscience, so why isn't the ad industry?
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Discussions are no longer about technology itself but about its human and societal impact. So why is the ad industry not yet asking the same tough questions?
SXSEast: China looms large in Texas
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Amid the smell of BBQ food and Texan drawls, one word keeps popping up at this year’s SXSW: China.
Why a Japanese startup consultant is opening in the US
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TBWA Hakuhodo
TBWA Hakuhodo's Quantum hopes to connect more startups to Japanese corporations through an operation in San Francisco.
From SXSW: Giddiness and terror over AI
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Takeaways from the conference, contributed by a team from JWT.
Panasonic aims to lighten the pull of its legacy
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The 99-year-old company is working to implement a culture of open innovation. It’s no easy feat, but is an important step to re-energising the brand.
Brands should pay attention to what people are trying to shut down
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How brands and agency creatives can learn to spot the subcultures that might be the next big thing.
Technology mindfulness and the ethics of data: SXSW takeaways
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SXSW is an absolute beast of a festival, gathering over 18,000 people from around the world for the SXSWi element alone. With hundreds of sessions over five days, and daily painstaking decisions about what to see (first world problem), here are four points that struck Evelina Lye of SapientNitro.
Engaging SXSW day three: Content, content, content
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AUSTIN, TEXAS - Highlights from day three at SXSW touch on how brands need to think about getting their content distributed as well as strategies for effective content collaboration.
The maker revolution: A movement fueled by the wisdom of crowds
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Dispatch from SXSW: Probing the impacts of the 'maker' revolution on brands, manufacturing and the foundations of consumerism itself.
Engaging SXSW Day Two: Making data accessible
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AUSTIN, TEXAS - Day two at the 2014 SXSW Interactive Festival highlighted current trends around data, data visualisation and user-experience design.
Engaging SXSW day one: Innovation
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AUSTIN, TEXAS - The big takeaway from the first day is that technological innovation is at its most effective when it manages to bring brands and consumers closer together.
Wellness technologies feature at SXSW 2014
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A handful of startups are promoting wellness concepts that go beyond how many steps you walk in a day.
IN PHOTOS: Scenes from SXSW
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James Quinlan, director of social media with DDB Group Sydney, shared these random but arresting photos from his trip to SXSW, which took place from 8 to 17 March in the US. Please see the related link below for Quinlan's musings on the event.
Photos from SXSW 2012 by DDB's James Quinlan
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Photos from the 2012's SXSW (South by Southwest) interactive festival held from March 9 - 18 in Austin Texas. The images were shot by James Quinlan, social intelligence manager and senior strategic planner, DDB Sydney.
OPINION: Why you should skip Cannes and go directly to SXSW
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Back from SXSW, James Quinlan (@jayjayquinlan), social intelligence manager and senior strategic planner for DDB Sydney, explains why the advertising industry needs to attend the Texas event, which started as a music-industry gathering but is now so much more.