Amy Webb is a renowned American futurist, author, and founder and CEO of the Future Today Institute. She’s also a star of SXSW, with must-see presentations every year, and is heading down under as keynote speaker for the inaugural SXSW Sydney.
“It’ll be my first time in Australia. It’s also my birthday so I will be in Australia on my birthday!” laughs Webb, speaking to Mediaweek on the ground in Austin, Texas.
Amy Webb at SXSW Austin, 2023
Each year in Austin, Webb reveals the Future Today Institute’s Tech Trends Report, a deep dive into all the tech trends you’ll need to follow in the year ahead. When asked if she’s planning to do something similar in Sydney or whether she’ll be straying from her usual path, Webb says that Sydney “is going to be something different.”
“We’ll be midcycle on the Trend Report, so I won’t be ready to do a Trend Report at that point.
“We’re going to do something different, it will be very much focused on questions like what’s the future? What’s coming? I think there’ll be a healthy amount of dystopian predictions! I think it’ll be similar tone wise, but it’ll be a different experience.”
Having been involved with SXSW for “about 20 years now”, Webb reflects on her time with the conference by saying that “It really is just a magical, amazing, week.”
Amy Webb encouraging visitors to head to SXSW Sydney
“This is one of those events where the panel sessions are good, and they’re important, but it’s much more than that – you walk out onto the street, and you can get hit with 10 ideas just because there are so many different people here and so many opportunities to see something new.
“I’ve been doing this so long that I actually know the audio visual team, I’ve become friends with them over the years. I can’t say that about any other conference that I go to, and I go to a lot of conferences to speak every year.”
At the heart of SXSW is the people who attend and make the conference the place that it is.
“This is just a really special community, and Sydney is going to have that community too,” says Webb. “This is the first year, and year after year as it grows, that same vibe will come to Australia and APAC.”
See Also: From AI to Deep Fakes: Amy Webb talks to Mediaweek about tech changes for media industry
See Also: Road to SXSW Sydney: What SXSW Austin taught Fenella Kernebone about bringing the conference to Australia
You Little Ripper: How Tourism Australia’s CMO is selling Australia to the world
One of the highlights of South by South West Texas every year is Australia House, located in the heart of the action on Rainey Street. Australia House functions as an all-encompassing Australian experience featuring technology showcases, music performances, keynote speakers, and interactive displays by some of Australia’s leading experts in the film, music, creative, and innovation sectors.
Presented by the American Australian Association (AAA), the multi-day schedule included a host of opportunities to engage in panel discussions as well as unique food, wine, and tourism experiences.
One of the founding partners of Australia House is Tourism Australia, which was represented in Texas by its Chief Marketing Officer, Susan Coghill, who spoke with Mediaweek about the value of SXSW and Tourism Australia’s new Come and Say G’day campaign.
Susan Coghill
Coghill said that with this being the fourth year of Australia House, the concept was just getting bigger and better.
“South by Southwest is the perfect mix of creativity, technology influences, and people that will carry our message and will influence other people’s travel decisions. We love to be a part of that, we love to be a part of that energy, and we love to be part of showcasing the best of Australia. We feel that is our job every single day anyway, but doing that with somebody like South Australia, and to be doing that with the Australian American Association – that relationship between our two nations informs everything we do. It’s really taking advantage of an incredible media moment, and a cultural moment within America to showcase the best of our country.”
Bringing digital brands to life: Why in-person experiences matter more than ever
By Frank J. Cortese, Canva’s Global Head of Brand Media
In an increasingly digital world, it can be easy for us marketers to focus on delivering more for our customers virtually and enhancing our products. But my recent trip to SXSW threw into stark relief the importance of bringing those experiences offline, and giving people something to get their hands on.
While sessions and keynotes about AI, creators and brand building were prevalent this year (with ChatGPT the ever-present topic of conversation), for me the real magic lay in the creativity and collaboration on display in the experiential activations.
Frank J. Cortese
As our team explored Austin, we found a plethora of examples from brands you’d expect to see there like Slack and HBO to those you may not, like Shell and Avocados From Mexico. There is a lot of competition for attention, but two activations really stood out for me: the Paramount Plus Lodge and the TikTok For You Festival.
Birdman in the Bistro goes to SXSW Austin Texas: From fine dining to BBQ
Greg Graham’s Birdman in the Bistro column has been in food recovery since jetting back from SXSW in Texas. He has edited his exhaustive notes and we present the best that Austin has to offer.
This is a cut-and-keep column if you are getting tempted about a trip to the original Austin SXSW in 2024.
SXSW Sydney: Independent Industry and Academic Advisors announced
SXSW Sydney has announced its Advisors ahead of the event kicking off on October 15.
Independent Industry and Academic Advisors share their time and expertise by evaluating the proposed sessions which have been submitted via SXSW Sydney Session Select.
With voting now closed, Session Select is SXSW Sydney’s platform for individuals and groups to submit proposals across multiple conference programming tracks.
According SXSW, of the proposals received, almost half explore ideas around convergence and almost 30% focus on Tech.
Including Mediaweek’s own Greg Graham, the list of 2023 Advisors can be seen below.
SXSW Sydney announces the first Session Select programme
South by Southwest Sydney 2023 (SXSW Sydney) has announced the first Session Select programming to be featured at October’s futurist conference.
The sessions shared today are just a sample of the results of the SXSW Sydney 2023 Session Select intake, a key part of SXSW Sydney’s 2023 conference format. Over 1,400 submissions were made from the global creative community, which garnered over 100,000 votes from members of the public.
SXSW Sydney’s inaugural Session Select programme is made up of local and global talent, exploring and reshaping the very-near and distant futures, answering tomorrow’s issues today; featuring topics to rewire thinking, redirect sustainability policy and change the way you work.
Colin Daniels, SXSW Sydney managing director, said: “Known as PanelPicker at SXSW in Austin, it’s a highly anticipated tradition for the conference, offering industry professionals the chance to tell us what they want to hear about.”
SXSW Download: Free event set to unpack biggest SXSW topics
The popular SXSW Download event returns on May 23 with a trio of festival veterans sharing insights from their time in Austin. The head of content for SXSW Sydney will also be taking to the stage to share a sneak peak of what to expect when it debuts in October.
Mediaweek columnist and industry stalwart Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham, Legends & Leaders founder Adrianne Nixon, and founder of Clear Hayes Consulting Alex Hayes will be dissecting the big topics discussed at the mammoth event in Austin this March.
Speakers including Open AI founder Greg Brockman, future trends forecaster Amy Webb, and relationships expert Esther Perel were among a line up of hundreds of international thought leaders, with topics ranging from AI and the metaverse to relationships, building audiences and the future of data heavily discussed.
They will be joined by head of conference programming for the upcoming SXSW Sydney event, the first time the festival has left Austin, Fenella Kernebone, will be giving a sneak peek at some of the sessions and topics which will be discussed at the week-long event in mid-October.
The free event is being hosted at Akcelo’s offices in George Street, Redfern on Tuesday, May 23. Get your free tickets at this link.