(Disclaimer: I’m sharing this first-hand account as both a reporter for No Proscenium, and as one of the organizers of this panel.)
When my business partner, Rachel Walker, first suggested the idea of producing a panel for SXSW to me, I thought, “Sure, whatever. Sounds fun.” At the time, we’d been on a string of festival visits for our various day jobs and since we were already planning to attend the festival the following year, this seemed like a perfect fit. We had also recently launched our experiential events company, Interwoven Immersive, Inc., so it seemed like a nice chance to combine our passion for the industry with some networking among our respected peers. We figured we’d maybe get a handful of marketing folks to attend the panel at best.
We set out to assemble our ideal group of panelists. It was incredibly tough narrowing it down to the festival’s four-person maximum requirement but ultimately we landed on an excellent group of industry leaders from multiple areas: Taylor Katai (Giant Spoon), Justin Fix (JFI Productions), Niyia Mack (NM Mgmt), and filling a double role as both moderator and panelist, Dasha Kittredge (actor and creator). With these folks all on board, we submitted our proposed panel and crossed our fingers…
When our panel was selected, it was exciting! That was all the encouragement we needed. There was an interest in our topic! Little did we know just how much interest…
The first time we noticed just how many “favorites” the panel had gotten on the SXSW website, we were delighted. It had been “favorited” 100+ times. If even a fraction of those folks showed up for our panel, it would be a success! We’d occasionally check back in as the festival got closer, seeing over 300 favorites, then over 500, then over a thousand, wait… that couldn’t be right. It was when I noticed the panel had over 2,000 favorites that I texted Rachel anxiously. Was this accurate? Surely, there was a glitch on the site. We knew we had a great panel assembled and we (of course) believe strongly in the subject, but we had no idea just how popular a subject this would prove to be.
Still, how many of those folks would actually bother to show up? I personally favorite dozens of panels and events on the schedule every year and rarely make it to most of them. Yet, if even a percentage of those folks were to attend… and how big was our presentation room again?…
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On the day of the panel, we assembled in the green room for final preparations and set off down the hall, following after our designated SXSW panel volunteer. As we passed a winding lineup of people snaking all around the JW Marriott hallways, I turned to the panel volunteer and asked, “What are all these people lined up for?” “Uh… they’re here for you guys’ panel.” She politely responded.
Video courtesy of JT Swierczek
We were speechless. I was so stunned that I didn’t even think to film this labyrinthine line (and I film everything!) Thankfully, JT Swierczek had the presence of mind to get some footage of it and send it to me. (Thank you, JT!) We were later told that they had to turn away tons of people at the door.
In response, the kind folks at SXSW invited them, and us, to return later that day for an encore presentation of our panel in a larger venue. Even still, some people waited in the standby line for the chance at the “one in, one out” spots that might become available. We were absolutely astounded when we heard about that the next day. It was a surreal and gratifying experience.
Regardless of the crowd turnout (for which we were very grateful), ultimately it was the insight these wonderful panelists were able to shed on a topic we’re so passionate about that made this event truly a success in our minds.
So, without further ado, I present the first of two presentations of the SXSW 2019 panel, Immersive Marketing: Beyond the Instagram Palace.
View all of our SXSW coverage.
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