By James Manning, Alisha Buaya and Jasper Baumann
There was no shortage of ideas, innovation, and inspiration on the agenda for day four of SXSW Sydney. Mediaweek was on the ground – here’s what happened on Thursday, October 17.
Why YouTube is the best social platform for marketing with Jordan Barclay
Jordan Barclay, CEO of Spawnpoint Media, spoke to audiences how to capitalise on YouTube’s ability to capture and hold of viewers for much longer in comparison to other social media platforms. He noted that the video viewing platform can retain audience for two to three minutes in comparison to seconds on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
“If we look at what’s happening on TV, YouTube is now making up the most of streaming on TV compared to every other platform. It’s not Netflix, which is crazy, and that’s really because of this death of traditional TV.
“We have an increase in streaming costs, we’ve got a longing for community, and especially for our content, where we’re making family-friendly content, parents now want to be involved in seeing what their kids are watching because the internet’s a pretty dark and evil place.” – AB
Jordan Barclay
Igniting Cultural Sparks: Shaping the Future of Mobility through Connection and Innovation
With the launch of Cadillac in Australian shores Heath Walker, director, marketing – General Motors ANZ, Scott Cullather, president and CEO of INVNT Group and Adam Harriden, group executive creative director of INVNT Group APAC, sat down to discuss what drives the auto industry forward and what trumps importance – storytelling, emotion and experience, or the cars themselves.
They discussed the future of the automotive industry as a catalyst for cultural change and the human emotion shaping the narratives of legacy brands like Cadillac on the Tech and Innovation-fuelled Discovery Stage at SXSW Sydney.
Cullather said: “Cadillac is a brand of creators, innovators, they’re designers, technologists; there’s now an incredible opportunity for brands that are moving in this space to create what used to be visceral utilitarian pieces of equipment that we used to have and turn them into an actual experience.”
The key takeaway? Emotional connections are still at the heart of driving cultural progress and brand loyalty. Brands should look to leverage innovative experiences and evocative storytelling to transform consumer perceptions beyond mere products. – AB
Adam Harriden, Heath Walker and Scott Cullather
Labelium, Ryvalmedia & 1000heads SXSW takeover: Jean Kerboul and Simon Ryan on agency investment
Last year Mediaweek reported on the Labelium acquisition of Simon Ryan’s startup agency business RyanCap. Labelium is a Paris-based global digital performance agency owned by British private equity company Charter House Capital.
The three key brands in the business Ryan founded are independent media and communications agency Ryvalmedia, marketing data and technology specialist Foxcatcher and the scaleup consultancy tightrope.
Labelium and Ryvalmedia sponsored a midweek SXSW morning session. Also taking part in the SXSW takeover, held at Alex Hayes’ Clear Hayes House, was 1000heads, a global social transformation company that Labelium acquired in 2022.
Hayes, Ryan and Kerboul
The heavy hitters of the morning were Jean Kerboul, Labelium CEO APAC, Simon Ryan, RyanCap founder & CEO, with Alex Hayes from Clear Hayes posing the questions.
Hayes started proceedings with each of the guests introducing themselves.
Kerboul began talking about Labelium’s presence in 19 markets. The company wanted to replicate the success they had in France into other markets. And Australia was identified as a key area for expansion.
Ryan talked about how from day one of RyanCap in 2020, there was an unrelenting focus on growth. That fast track saw them winning substantial numbers of clients every month. JM
Day 4 in the ARN House: Convergence of Tech & Audio with Kade Robinson, Daily Aus podcast
ARN creative director Kade Robinson peeled back the curtain of “traditional radio” to explore two ways digital audio advertising uses technology to unlock innovation; Dynamic Audio for contextual relevance at scale, and Binaural audio for immersive commercial experiences.
An hour later, The Daily Aus live podcast recording drew a crowd. TDA hosts Sam Koslowski and Emma Gillespie recorded a live podcast that delved into the intersection of youth, politics, and media consumption in the lead-up to the November 4 US Election.
The session offered an insightful exploration of how Gen Z Americans are accessing and interpreting news about presidential candidates and campaign issues, how Brand Harris and Brand Trump are trying to get their attention, and some predictions ahead of an Australian Federal Election in 2025. JM
The Plausible Future of Trust
Michael Schneider, MD at Bunnings took to the SXSW stage to discuss the importance of trust in leadership in branding, highlighting Bunnings’ long-term success as a widely-trusted Australian brand.
He emphasized the “four H’s” of honesty, humility, helpfulness, and happiness as core values in the business, as well as Bunnings’ consistent pricing strategy, community engagement through barbecues, and digital transformation, are all key points in how Bunnings maintains trust amongst customers.
Brands can learn from Bunnings that trust is earned through consistent, values-driven execution over time. Brands that can balance innovation with tradition, while also being quick to own up to mistakes and demonstrate changed behaviour, helps maintain trust when things don’t go entirely to plan.
“We work very hard to make sure that our team member value proposition is as strong as our customer value proposition,” he said.
“Unlike most retail businesses, we work on permanent employment as opposed to casual, which creates job certainty. We work hard to pay well above the award and collectively, across Australia, our team members earn about $100 million a year, more than if we simply put them on the retail award.
“If I come back to one central thing, just do the basics and do them well. Don’t over-promise to deliver. I think the world’s pretty sceptical about high promise, low execution, and if we just execute consistently with quality, then that’s a good bet for trust.” – JB
Rise Above Collaboration Saturation with Co-creation that Counts
From the original Louis Vuitton x Supreme collection to the Pokemon and Van Gogh Museum tie-up, brand collaborations have traversed the sublime to the surreal over recent years.
CEO and co-founder of Humanrace Rachel Muscat took the SXSW Sydney audience through her pioneering work driving collaboration in the streetwear, sneaker, beauty and lifestyle sectors, including her journey founding Humanrace with Pharrell Williams. EssenceMediacom curated and hosted this panel, with EssenceMediacom chief of creative futures Chris Hitchcock hosting a Q&A with Muscat and Frunch Nazarri, managing partner at Archetype and Luke Anton from Penfolds.
To do a good collaboration, Muscat said: “I always try to learn and understand who the partner is and what challenges you’re trying to solve. When I worked with Kanye [West], [on Yeezy] early on, he was very much in the mindset of being a producer and what that you know it was like a self-discovery, how does a producer work and I found out they try a lot of different things.
“You can turn a sample of a song around within a day but product is much harder so it was about bringing him on that journey of the comparisons of the industries. Doing that research of who your collaborating with at the start is really important.” – JB