Sessions at SXSW Interactive 2012 of type Core Conversation about Community

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Saturday 10th March 2012

• Entertain or Fail: Brands As the New Publishers

  by Allen DeBevoise and Anthony Batt

  Brands today have more consumers at their fingertips than any TV show or magazine could ever offer thanks to an abundance of multi-connected digital platforms. But entertaining those consumers on multiple platforms is a role that brands have never had to play before. The opportunities are turning brands into this generations publishers. This is the next evolution in content creation -- when brands fully take on the role of publisher and entertainer. And the brands that do this successfully will win.
  Playing the role of publisher and content creator means moving beyond old-school push-message advertising. It means creating engaging content that invites the consumer in to make the experience their own, and it means allowing the consumer to be the copywriter in some cases. It also means that brands must constantly evaluate if their content is fresh, engaging, provoking and causing a reaction in their audience. It means that brands must entertain … or fail.

  • Brands
  • Community
  • Content
  • Engaging People
  • Entertainment
  • Publishing

  At 9:30am to 10:30am, Saturday 10th March

  In Capitol View North, Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol

• Crowd Sourcing Community Projects Like Tom Sawyer

  by Dave Olson

  Customers are part of your culture. By inviting them to participate in your campaigns and community, you can speed progress, gain candid market insight, and have some fun. This conversation will share tips about wrangling your passionate users to help with specific tasks for mutual benefit. The tips and tactics will include: understanding motivations, providing rewards, setting boundaries, understanding types of volunteers, organizing disappearing task forces, avoiding "cat herding,” and thwarting confusion and conflicts.

  Practical examples will include: crowd-sourcing a multi-language software translation project; organizing citizen reporting at an Olympic Games; creating participatory contests to produce content and assets; identifying perpetrators and looters in a riot; raising relief money under difficult circumstances; and, rapidly helping victims in disaster zones.

  From the examples, we’ll discuss methods for channeling the passion of audiences into tangible results in much the same manner as Tom Sawyer recruited his fishing pals to help whitewash his fence.

  • Citizen Journalism
  • Community
  • Crowdsourcing
  • Journalism
  • Marketing

  At 12:30pm to 1:30pm, Saturday 10th March

  In Capitol View North, Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol

• Your Marketing Sucks: Why You Need to Think Local

  by Mike Merrill and Tiffany Monhollon

  Every consumer is local. They live in a community. They’re engaging and interacting in their favorite places, online and offline. And much of today’s marketing misses the mark when it comes to connecting with local consumers online. In this session, we’ll share practical strategies about how any business - from start-ups to local businesses to national brands, agencies, and franchises - can think local in their online marketing and connect the dots between their digital strategies and their physical presence.

  Why does local matter for every brand? 86% of consumers use the internet to find a local business. 20% of all searches on Google have local intent. 1 in 3 mobile searches is local. Google map use is 40% local. After looking up a local business on a smart phone, 61% of users called the business and 59% visited. 100% of consumers are local.

  It all starts with picking the right strategy for your business type. We’ll share ideas and examples of thinking local from a strategic brand perspective: Content Strategy, Search, SEO & Keyword Strategy, Local Listings, Social Strategy, Online Advertising, Reputation Management, Ambassador & Engagement Strategy, and Mobile Strategy.

  • Brands
  • Community
  • Local
  • Marketing

  At 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Saturday 10th March

  In Assembly Room, InterContinental Stephen F. Austin

  Coverage slide deck

Sunday 11th March 2012

• Community Regenerati​on Through Digital Literacy

  by Carolyn Hassan and Michael Trice

  Imagine turning one of your city's most beleaguered and notorious neighborhoods into the home of some of the country's most innovative media projects. This panel examines how the Knowle West Media Centre in Bristol achieved just that. The KWMC's University of Local Knowledge project has inspired astounding community growth and regeneration through collaborative media. The KWMC created 800 videos about local crafts and skills; then they brought professionals together with local experts to learn from one another about everything from cars to photography to horse whispering. The project was organized through a green, world-class media centre established in one of the more troubled parts of Bristol. The panel examines how the project directors used digital media and digital art to make the ULK project a success in engaging and teaching digital literacy, as well assisting in community regeneration.
  This process involved a creative use of public space, media centre space, wikis, blogging, videography, computer classes, and sound mixing studios to combine the physical and digital into one cohesive learning environment. KWMC Director Carolyn Hassan will explain the process and answer question about the use of collaborative media for successful community regeneration.

  • Community
  • Digital
  • Education
  • Literacy

  At 11:00am to 12:00pm, Sunday 11th March

  In Room 8A, Austin Convention Center