By Dan Best, SVP Clients, DAIVID
Have you been to SXSW London yet?
No, neither had I until this year. Well, why not? Good question. Partly because there’s a lot of competition for my time and money on the events calendar, and if I’m honest, I wasn’t exactly sure where it fits in my schedule or whether it was really for me.
The closest comparison I’ve got is early AdWeek, when the programming went from useful to what the hell is this? That felt like the spirit here. AI was the predominant theme for my sessions, no surprise, but I also took a few random turns into more leftfield territory including a session called Last Night a DJ Saved My Night, with Cameron Leslie from Fabric, DJ Jodie Harsh, and Charisse Beaumont, CEO of BLiM, who I hadn’t heard speak before and found really impressive.
They were talking about nightlife as a serious cultural and creative force, and how badly it’s struggling right now. Not exactly a subject on the adtech radar, but as an ex-clubber who cares about UK culture, it hit the spot.
The is the kind of session you won’t find at a more targeted event when everyone’s busy discussing outcomes.
So this isn’t a typical adtech and media event, and it’s not trying to be. For people working in content, the creator economy or anything culture-adjacent, I’d recommend it, especially if you’re early in your career. There’s a real opportunity to hear from an eclectic mix of thought leaders, plus a wide range of mentoring and workshop sessions alongside the main stages.
For me, though, it was uneven.
The AI sessions I attended were good rather than groundbreaking. A celebrity investor discussion promised provocation and didn’t quite deliver. The startup competition was a highlight, a riff on Dragons’ Den, nothing adtech-focused, and exciting to see AI being applied to saving lives rather than solving ad fraud.
Access tiering was an issue, particularly early in the week and at the higher-profile sessions. Premium pass holders got first refusal, which meant joining a queue and hoping and in my case, not getting in.
I know, I should have paid for the upgrade. But it does mean the serendipity that defines an event like this is in danger of being a VIP only feature.
Should you go? There’s a genuine case for sending teams (or attending with clients) for a day (or week!) of inspiration. There’s an incredible amount to see and hear, and if culture (and especially music) more broadly is your thing, there’s live programming here you won’t find anywhere else on the calendar.
Would I sponsor it? It depends on your goal and your audience. If you want to be associated with something culturally credible and are thinking long-term about brand positioning/building, get in early and help shape it.
Looking at the current sponsor list, management consultants, software companies, agencies, Snap and Uber Eats, it’s a broad mix, which tells its own story. But if you’re looking for a short-term return from meetings, client conversations and bumping into people you know, it’s not really there yet.
I didn’t run into a single person I knew. Make of that what you will.
One thing worth saying is that the programme variety isn’t a criticism. We’re in a world where short-term hard business results dominate every conversation, which arguably makes events like this, where your mind gets opened up by something completely outside your day-to-day, more essential than ever.
A client might leave a more focused sector event nodding in agreement. They’re more likely to leave SXSW London laughing at a shared cultural moment they weren’t expecting, and that can stick longer and foster deeper more interesting relationships.
The editorial challenge is balancing both by keeping it varied and surprising enough to be exciting, while also giving the CFO enough of a reason to sign it off. That’s not an easy brief, but it’s the correct direction if you want to bring the industry along.
The foundations are strong, but right now it feels more like a consumer experience than a business event, more Wired than Cannes. One to watch.
