SXSW is the cultural event of the year. For 10 crazy days in Austin, the world’s most progressive and influential minds come together for conversation, immersive experiences, and great parties. A hot topic in 2023 was a new conference track on “Workplace Revolution,” which is core to the Velocity Global brand, but there was a catch: The track had just one sponsorship spot. You better believe the team and I pulled out all the stops to secure this coveted brand awareness play.

We looked at the madness of South Bys gone by with our agency partner, Red Antler, and thought about how we could stand out in a sea of stimulation for the cornerstone of our sponsorship, the on-site experiential lounge. The answer was Oasis; be the break from the bombardment. Our moment of Zen was so effective, we quickly became the life of the SXSW party.

Results

• Double the projected lounge traffic
• 20% spike in organic traffic to website during activation
• Top-tier press coverage from Forbes and CNBC
• Happy tears from many visitors who saw candy from their home countries, people connected emotionally to the brand’s global expertise
• Standing room only in our packed house speaker panel
• Lounge activation featured in the SXSW trailer played at movie premieres
• SXSW named us “Best Lounge Experience” and created a case study on our activation

Role: Vice President of Brand Experience

• Oasis Lounge Experience
  • Daily Breakfast and Happy Hour
  • Global Candy Snack Bar
  • Interactive Map with Question of the Day
  • Infinity Mirror Instagramble Moment
  • Sustainable Swag
• Thought-Leadership Panel Featuring Velocity Global, the Grammy’s, Best Places to Work, and UpWork
• Conference Center Branding and Pedicab Fleet Branding
• Microsite and Social/Digital Campaign