2016 SXSW Event: U.S. President Obama Also Speaks at 30th Anniversary
The South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, a hybrid event for music, film, and technology, was held in Austin, Texas, USA, from March 11 to 20. The Interactive segment, in particular, has gained recognition from media and advertising professionals as an event rivaling Cannes Lions and CES in importance. This is largely due to the successive emergence of services and technologies like Twitter, Foursquare, and Meercat, which achieved global penetration following their debuts at SXSW.
This year, SXSW celebrated its 30th anniversary, and U.S. President Barack Obama took the stage for the keynote address on the first day of the interactive section. He spoke with the editor-in-chief of the local Texas Tribune newspaper about citizen participation in society against the backdrop of technological advances. This was the first time a sitting president had participated in the event. On the 16th, First Lady Michelle Obama appeared alongside Missy Elliott and Diane Warren at the keynote address for the music category.
In the "ReleaseIt" award, which targets newly launched products and services, Dentsu Inc.'s "MotionScore" became the first Japanese company to be named a finalist. This technology converts the movements of CG characters and robots into musical notation, allowing them to be controlled to any tempo and music, expanding the possibilities for virtual dancers and robot dancers in live music performances.
(Related article: 'MotionScore' Technology Transcribes Human Movement into Sheet Music[March 9, 2016] )
Tadaaki Tada, the Dentsu Inc. CDC creator behind the work, shared his experience at SXSW: "It was my first time, but it was incredibly interesting. Our booth was well-received, with many people telling us, 'This was the most interesting booth!' Musicians visiting the event's music section especially liked it, frequently asking, 'I want to use this—where can I buy it?' Unfortunately, since it was a technology showcase, we couldn't sell it."
Mr. Tatara further analyzed, "It was an experience that tested the startup-like resolve of 'Can you commit to this service?'" He continued, "The place was buzzing with passion: 'We're going to make money with our service or product and change the world!' At pitches and booths, people genuinely enjoyed our technology and eagerly initiated discussions, saying things like 'I want to do this!' or 'You should partner with this company!' That respectful passion and creativity is precisely the force changing the world today." SXSW also featured other major competitions this year, including the large-scale startup contest "Accelerator" and the "Interactive" awards, which helped launch Twitter's popularity. Numerous services and technologies from around the world entered these competitions.
The official event "Japan House" was held again this year following last year's event. This year's theme was "Extension of Humanity," featuring Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University, a world-renowned robotics expert. The event included stage sessions and a demonstration of autonomous voice dialogue technology using "Geminoid HI-4," an android modeled after Professor Ishiguro, developed in collaboration with NTT.
While SXSW has garnered attention as a hub for incubating cutting-edge technologies, particularly startups, some point out that it has become harder for the "next Twitter" to emerge. Jason Schlossberg, CCO of PR firm Kwittken, wrote in an Ad Age contribution that in a world where the IoT trend enables seamless connectivity and cloud integration, technology is becoming increasingly fragmented while individual technologies are becoming "harder to see." He explains that this is why installations conveying a worldview, like those by 3M and Hewlett Packard, are increasing instead of simply promoting individual products.
Meanwhile, amid the city-wide festivities, the promotional efforts of major global companies, including event sponsors, have scaled up significantly. Brands like Mazda, McDonald's, and Gatorade captured the attention of both media and attendees with their elaborate initiatives.
Source: Ad Age
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