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Trends and Insight in association withSynapse Virtual Production
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Using Immersive Experiences to Win the Race for Users At SXSW

29/04/2019
Experiential Marketing
London, UK
102
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Zara Kerwood, digital innovation lead at George P. Johnson, checks out how big brands are doing battle at the epic annual festival and conference mash-up that is South By Southwest

SXSW took place in Austin on 8-17 March, where we saw brands stepping up their game with elaborate immersive experiences.

As the streaming platforms continue to do battle over users and new entrants to the market like Disney+ apply even more pressure, we see the rise in them exploiting experience marketing to tell the world about their original content and reach new audiences. This week at SXSW we’ve seen Netflix and Amazon doing just that. 


Netflix – The Highwaymen House


This interactive experience saw one of the Rainy Street’s bars transformed into a 1934 inspired speakeasy filled with immersive storytelling. Your mission was to try to find out who the ‘Lumberjack’ was, talking to actors and helping the Sheriff to find clues in the bar gained you points logged on an RFID wristband which you could spend in the general store. Making deals, gambling and finding out the character’s secrets was the name of the game. This experience gave you an insight into the film but kept you wanting that little bit more.


Amazon Prime Video – Good Omens


This experience gave you a sneak peak of the Good Omens series launching in May with the “Garden of Earthly Delights” – pick either heaven to experience angels giving massages or hell to discover the most delightful Hellbound puppy pen. This was a fabulous execution with attention to detail to die for. 


Game of Thrones – Bleed for the Throne

As well as the streaming platforms competing we also saw the likes of HBO creating experiences. To celebrate the final series of Game of Thrones and all of the blood shed throughout the seasons they partnered with the American Red Cross encouraging the audience to give blood after fully immersing you in the story.


The verdict

The power of experience marketing was certainly evident at this year’s SXSW. By tapping into experiential, streaming platforms and networks have brought their stories to life, using an immersive approach to increase customer engagement and raise brand awareness, all in the name of ultimately getting viewers to tune in.

Brands in highly competitive markets can gain a competitive edge by following in these buzz-building footsteps.

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