SxSW

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Interrogating the Intersection of Technology & Sport

As a planner you’re consumed by consumers, obsessing over culture and

behaviour. In a digital age, the key trends - Internet, Social & Mobile - have rapidly

shaped the way we think, act and operate. Change has been dramatic and it’s

here to stay. What’s more, we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg on how

technology will transform our world. If you’re reading this, you’ll have seen the

impact it has had on our industry in a short space of time.

Here at Octagon, sports fans fascinate us. Why are fans, fans? How do they

consume their passions? How can we help them get closer to the things they love?

It’s paramount to stay on the pulse of change and SxSW in Austin, Texas provides

the perfect platform to stay enlightened. I was fortunate to be there last weekend

so I’d like to share with you what I found relevant and refreshing. Below are four

themes that have got me thinking about how we can deliver harder working

solutions for our clients.

1. Neuroplasticity Hey Human’s Dan Machen and Felix Morgan talked about our brains dealing with

our increasingly cluttered digital lives and the impact of information overload. We

look at our phones alone 200 times a day. They argue that with smart devices we

think we’ve become better multi-taskers when really we’re just task switching -

jumping from one thing to the next, distracted by the simple ping of an email or

social media notification.


It has us asking, how do you connect with a time poor, attention poor sports fan?

What utility and value can you add to a fan’s existing way of working? How can our

clients be more relevant when demand for attention is out-stripping cognitive

supply? These are all challenges we should address as we help our clients deliver

the high-performance solutions that cut through the noise.

2. Activations with Balls It’s not just the talks by some of the most intelligent minds on this planet that make

SxSW great. It’s the people you get talking to in a shared Uber and the corner bar of

the JW Marriott. And, surprisingly, also the activations that popped up all over Austin

- everything from Mophie using St. Bernard Puppies to carry phone chargers, to

MasterCard’s Priceless elevator pitch or testing your sword wielding skills at the

Game of Thrones’ exhibition!

http://uk.businessinsider.com/mophie-had-st-bernard-puppies-and-free-beer-at-sxsw-2015-3

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/game-of-thrones-sxsw-interactive-festival-1201451001/


However, it was National Geographic Channels’ “Life Below Zero, Escape the Cold”

experience that stood out. Their space gravitated around two pods that simulated

the icy conditions of Alaska. Inside, with 20 minutes counting down on a large LED

clock, you’re challenged to work together as a group to solve the clues in order to

find the key to escape. We gave it a go and it’s not easy! Many fail to escape (not

Octagon of course, smashing the SxSW escape record by a healthy minute!) and

that’s the interesting bit. We are always on the lookout for bragging opportunities to

populate our digital iteration; from the great places we’re experiencing on

Instagram to celebrating the small wins on Facebook. #LifeBelowZero wasn’t

another fun activation, it was challenging and intense and the payoff of escaping

felt fantastic. Within minutes my win was on social media for all to see.

3. Augmented Reality + Virtual Reality With the fame of Oculus Rift of 2014, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality took

centre stage at SxSports. Former NFL Vikings punter Chris Kluwe suggested players’

helmets could be installed with clear plastic visors to augment their environment.

Similar to that of fighter pilots, information could pop up in front of them such the

next play. Or to help understand what went wrong on the last play.

Stanford created a virtual reality experience to aid their American football team.

Using pre-recorded footage players are able to run through routes to help prepare

for up-and-coming games. Putting on the headset you had a 360 view of what was

happening and could flick between different positions on the field to get different

perspectives on the play. I think this is a really interesting use of the technology and

can see it being applied across many sports, for example Formula One drivers could

put on a headset to help memorise every corner of a track before race day.

It’s all still in its infancy but we’re already seeing uses that add value. Rather than

doing digital for the sake of doing digital.

4. Gamifying Data Everywhere you looked someone was sporting a wearable. Fitbits locked tightly

around wrists, Pebbles ensured a Twitter favourite was not ignored, and few even

sported the very expensive and withering Google Glass. All of which fuels the hot


topic that is Big Data, or more acutely, using data streams to deliver performance

and insights.

Industry chat is typically reserved to helping our brands deliver business results but

some sports brands highlighted there’s a lot of fun you can have sweating out the

data too. Equinox, Soul Cycle at the Spotify House and CrossFit all had a presence

providing fitness classes and a master class in digital-led experiences. Participants at

Equinox’s pop-up enjoyed an immersive competitive spin class called The Pursuit, in

which data from each bike is collated in real time and creatively visualised on

screen. Spinners were not just motivated by a shared experience but a competitive

one too.

Other highlights:

Meerkat was all the rage, as people were able to stream their live

experiences into a Tweet (that’s until Twitter blocked access to its social

graph!)


UFC’s Ronda Rousey raised the roof with an inspirational conversation on

women kicking arse in sports and not letting society define who you should or

shouldn’t be Martine Rothblatt blew minds with her vision on mind clones and how our

conscious self will outlive our physical bodies. She’s had a prototype since

2010 called Bina-48 that replicates the consciousness of her wife. Other

achievements include setting up a pharmaceutical company to save her

daughter’s life (as well as 10,000 others to date) and building an artificial

body to ensure lungs are kept pristine during transport The internet of things will be more than just your fridge telling your slow cooker

to stop cooking. Interesting ideas included street lights that brighten as the

visually impaired explore the city and pedestrian crossings times that increase

for the elderly

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SxSW