From ChatGPT to smarter soaps: key takeaways from SXSW 2023

This year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) marked a return to form, if wider reviews are anything to go by. Some said it felt like the ‘SXSW of old’, others enjoyed sessions from Manchester band New Order, there was a keynote from NASA and Robert Downey Jr. taught us a thing or two about cybercrime. But onto the key marketing takeaways, where we focused our visit to the annual, world-renowned business-meets-culture-meets-creativity festival in Austin, Texas.

The Human Factor

AI was a recurring theme at this year’s event, with one of ChatGPT’s founders, Greg Brockman, speaking to a packed audience. He focused on the positive changes brought about by the technology and how it would free up us humble humans’ time, so we can focus on the work that AI can’t quite do just yet. 

But here’s the thing - in efforts to cultivate an enhanced user-experience, there needs to be a stronger, renewed focus on the people behind the screen. Fast-growing start ups are focusing on the opportunity and risks AI brings to the table more than ever. By aligning talent around a shared culture of values and visions, the user experience reflects a stronger commitment to a future that might be powered by AI, but which must also be dedicated to the human experience.

Innovative Brand Loyalty

Brand loyalty shifted up several gears, innovating through Web3 and AI technologies. Unilever showcased how it’s using artificial intelligence to make smarter soap, helping our skin to react to ingredients that can boost its own natural immunity and how AI has helped it find a vegan alternative to red carmine. It’s a popular lipstick ingredient but it takes 1,000 crushed beetles to make it - for just one tube of lipstick. People are looking for a greater sense of purpose and fulfilment - this thinking is influencing their everyday lifestyle choices, and they are opting for brands that can demonstrate this commitment.

Personalisation: a Double-Edge Sword

We’re all racing to be the first to get to customers wherever they are but that’s just the start. Brands don’t just need to know how their customers want to engage, or predict what their customers want before they do, they’ve also got to deliver this in unexpected and entertaining ways. Think Starbucks, brought to you by an Uber Eats driver or a hotel check-in becoming an experience rather than a formality, basing actions on your needs at that particular time. Personalisation can help brands exceed expectations and tailor experiences, but while this hyper-personalisation is good, it comes at the cost of discoverability, and companies must toe this line adeptly. Too much personalisation can become intrusive and have the effect of alienating, rather than engaging.

Travel Redefined

When we think about travel now, what is it we are obsessed with? It’s certainly not the weather. Increasingly, we want to be wowed by unforgettable experiences, by doing something memorable, by immersing ourselves in culture - the number two vacation driver.  It is what people are seeking and companies will need to foster it authentically. Hyper-personalisation has a part to play here too - by knowing your guests before they arrive, you can create a collaborative relationship, helping them to shape and create their experiences, empowering and involving them.

It’s Shopping, But Not as We Know it

We got treated to a new definition for food-on-the-go, with Mavi.io’s ‘On My Way’ in-car e-commerce experience. If you’re one of those people who dread the drive-thrus where you are shouting out a food order at an incessantly-bleeping intercom, worry no more. With Mavi’s tech, you can order food - as well as groceries and everyday essentials directly from the dashboard of a connected vehicle. It might be the laziest - or speediest form of shopping ever but it’s a sure sign of an increasingly ever-connected world and brings a whole new consumer touchpoint into the equation.

Tackling Climate Change

Should we give up flying for the sake of the climate? It’s a difficult question to pose post-pandemic, with people keener than ever before to take to the skies. So it was refreshing to see a brand like Virgin Atlantic highlighting practical ways to approach sustainability. Beyond the tangible choices of manufacturing and fuel, sustainability has become a day-to-day consideration in the consumer and talent journey – from the dietary offerings on flights to the cultural immersions for each route.