SXSW is an annual conference held in Austin, Texas, bringing film, media and music together to innovate and entertain audiences from all around the world. This year did not disappoint; in fact, for the travel industry we saw tourism brands such as Canada, Scandinavia and Germany, to name a few, active throughout the festival.
We had the pleasure of working with Tourism Australia for the second year in a row to bring a bit of Australian culture to the Australia House, presented by G’Day USA. Our challenge was to provide a personal engagement to such a large audience. How did we do this? The experiential and account teams within NJF and MMGY collaborated with the Tourism Australia marketing team to curate a walkabout experience for festivalgoers during the opening BBQ on Sunday, March 10, 2019.
Attendees were able to experience the oyster shucking from Tasmania as well as great food and cuisine presented by chefs Jock Zonfrillo and Matt Stone highlighting the Western Australia Gourmet Escape. Many attendees stopped by the Queensland selfie station to practice their best surfing moves and sipped on fantastic wine from South Australia. We were able to provide a great scenic background highlighting the unique d’Arenberg Cube, which is a multisensory wine experience in South Australia.
In addition, guests could drink traditional Flat White coffee while they walk around and view graffiti art. We also curated an augmented mirror experience for guests to choose their own Australian accessories or to have a friendly koala to snap a photo with and share on social media.
As a memento, we curated an art walk can be found throughout the northern territory. Festivalgoers were able to select an Australian piece of art and then add their own artistic twist to it to then have printed on a tote bag as a gift from the Australian House.
Our team accepted the challenge of creating a personal experience for festivalgoers and breaking through the clutter that SXSW can bring. Until next time!
