Inside 5 SXSW brand houses and activations

SXSW is bustling with people in its second year back after a two-year COVID hiatus—but brand activity at the Austin, Texas tech, media and music festival has still not reached its pre-pandemic level, according to experienced attendees. “It’s crowded, it’s busy, stuff’s going on,” said Trevor Guthrie, co-founder of Giant Spoon. Wesley ter Haar, Media Monks co-founder, concurred: “Everybody's back meeting in person, doing the dinners, doing the parties.” See all of Ad Age's 2023 Agency A-List winners here While plenty of big brands have on-the-ground marketing activations, the buzz around so-called brand houses is a bit muted. Giant Spoon, which specializes in experiential marketing, fielded questions from brands interested in doing something impactful at SXSW—but many of the requests came in too late, said Guthrie. He speculated that the economy played a role in the tardy decision-making, with brands still trying to figure out budgets. Still, some brands erected eye-catching activations. Below, a sample. Roku The Roku House was themed around Roku City—the streamer’s default screensaver—with the activation meant to resemble the on-screen design. Those attending the VIP opening on Friday night were greeted by “Alice in Wonderland” characters and shepherded into a Roku-branded beauty salon for the opportunity to get a makeover complete with stick-on face gems and purple heart-shaped glasses. Upstairs, Roku created a love lock bridge, where attendees were given locks to write on and affix to the bridge. A rooftop VIP party included sparkling purple drinks, purple cupcakes, and a purple Roku Diner, which took reservations for meals throughout the weekend.Also read: Data marketing news from Fox, Roku and more The TV streaming company pressed forward with its SXSW marketing even as it dealt with fall out from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, where it held $487 million. Planned Parenthood The organization held its first-ever SXSW activation via a food truck parked near the Austin Convention Center. While Planned Parenthood president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson gave a SXSW 2022 keynote speech, “the Dobbs decision definitely prompted us to be here in a major way,” said Shantelle Dockett, director, corporate and culture engagement at Planned Parenthood, referring to the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. The “Care Cafe” food truck offered coffee and doughnut holes—as well as condoms, feminine hygiene products, and more. The coffee ran out early in the day on Friday. “We’re here to educate and inform, but then also to re-acclimate and let folks know that we're here to stay, and we will continue to provide care no matter what,” Dockett said. Lush Cosmetics brand Lush is known for its bath bombs and other personal care items, as well as a reputation for corporate activism. What is lesser known is its “ethical hardware, or OpenSource, or the fact that we built our own … apps and websites, and that we've been releasing new tech and digital products,” said Annabelle Baker, Lush’s global brand director. Those tech innovations are a large part of why Lush decided to do a house at SXSW this year. Dressed in cool, calming colors that contrast the Austin heat, the Lush house included a wall of Lush products (such as bath bombs) where, after downloading the brand’s app, visitors could scan a camera over a package-free product and have all the information that would usually be on packaging pop up. A bath bot—a speaker floating in a big basin of water—played music. There was also some sort of AI fairy you could have a full conversation with on a screen.Read more: How Lush does corporate activism The Lush House, Baker said, is an effort to bring “main character Lush energy” to the U.S. As a brand founded in Europe, Baker said, Lush hasn’t had that energy in the U.S. just yet. “We want to bring all the concepts and designs and things that I think the consumer in the United States has been desperate for. [U.S.] customers that know the brand well know that they haven’t necessarily had the full experience of Lush yet, and that's really what we're looking to bring now.” Amazon Prime Amazon Prime rented not one, but two hotels on South Congress’s main drag. Its main activation was in the Hotel San Jose, where hotel rooms and outdoor spaces were themed after nine of its titles, such as “Daisy Jones & The Six,” “The Boys,” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” The latter title was perhaps the most impressive activation at San Jose, as Prime somehow made the hotel look like Cape Cod—hydrangeas and all. Hotel San Jose’s luxurious pool was transformed into the show's beachside pool. Tucked away to the side of the pool is a pie stand, where the pie one picks corresponds to a favorite character in the show. Read more: Behind Clairol's nostalgic pact with ‘Daisy Jones’ Prime’s Austin Motel activation was even more immersive, letting visitors step into the world of the Donald Glover thriller “Swarm.” Those waiting in line to enter the show’s mini-mart can see the car used in the actual show, which debuts this week. Upon reaching the front of the line, attendees got a lottery ticket and a bloody five-dollar bill. A cashier scanned the lottery tickets for prizes such as a Swarm-branded T-shirt or bucket hat. Also watch: Olivia Wilde directed Amazon Prime's new ad Paramount+ Paramount+’s house, which it called a lodge, was kind of all over the place—in a good way. Themed around the streamer’s “mountain of entertainment” concept that it has plugged with Super Bowl ads, each level of the Clive Bar on Rainey Street felt vastly different from the next. The first floor featured a ski lodge-style room, complete with leather chairs, a roaring fire, and a bar. The lodge had plenty of features including a car with the word “Grease” on the side of it. People lined up to put on pink jackets like those worn by the Pink Ladies from “Grease” and in Paramount+’s upcoming “Rise of the Pink Ladies” show. A popcorn stand was set up alongside the car. To promote CBS Sports, the Vince Lombardi Trophy—the trophy awarded to the Super Bowl's winning team—was roped off into something that resembled a VIP section on the bar's top floor. There was also a bar on the roof themed around “1923,” the prequel show to the hit series “Yellowstone.”Also read: TV upfronts—why marketers are being cautious Subscribe to Ad Age Sign up now for the latest industry news and analysis Click here

Inside 5 SXSW brand houses and activations

Featured Stories