Mediaweek is on the ground at SXSW Sydney, with coverage brought to readers, listeners and viewers by Ryvalmedia and News Shorts.
Here’s what happened on Wednesday, October 18.
Australia’s Future as a Tech Powerhouse
By Jasper Baumann
In the Pymont Theatre, Susan Travis led Jerry Stesel, Michelle Simmons and Wyatt Roy in a discussion about Australia’s future as a tech powerhouse.
The panel dived into how Australia is going to hand over the next generation of Australians a country with more opportunity and increased living standards, revealing that our country needs to find a new ‘boom’, similar to the economic growth seen by the mining boom.
Tech has proven itself to be most likely to be that ‘boom’, with the panel revealing that Australia already punches well above its weight on the world stage when it comes to our Tech capability.
“To market our country better as a Tech superpower, we just need to market our lifestyle superpower more. But also, Australia is a very large market for GDP, so it’s a smart place to establish your company, get really strong talent, access to capital and have an amazing lifestyle while your here,” Stesel said.
Indies Unleashed: How To Elevate Smaller Agencies
By Tess Connery and Alisha Buaya
At Clear Hayes House, the question was asked: There are over 9,000 advertising agencies in Australia, so why do we only hear from the same ones over and over?
Joining Alex Hayes, Principal of Clear Hayes Consulting, on the panel were Laura Aldington, Co-Founder of Supermassive, Matt Lawton, Managing Director at Five by Five Australia, and Alisha Buaya, Agency Editor at Mediaweek.
“As a journalist I really like writing about human interest stories and I think the independent agency sector showcases that journey,” said Buaya.
“Understanbley the market is saturated with 9000s indies across Australia. There is a lot of competition out there, and while I understand that indies want to keep their talent and work close to their chest, I want to celebrate the industry and what indies have to offer and what they have achieved.”
Snapchat House
By Tess Connery
In the forecourt outside the Chinese Garden of Friendship, Snapchat house is unmissable. Painted in the iconic Snap yellow, visitors to the house can join in on the fun before they even enter.
Outside is a giant AR screen, that visitors can take photos with. Strike a pose, and capture yourself in a far more colourful version of reality.
Inside, visitors can get their makeup done by professionals whilst they have fun with some of the other AR effects that Snapchat offers on screens inside.
Charlie Brooker in Conversation with Julia Zemiro
By Jasper Baumann
It was clear that there were many Black Mirror fans at SXSW Sydney this week as every seat was filled when Julia Zemiro chatted with Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker about his Emmy-award-winning anthology series.
Brooker shared insight into how he gets his ideas for the series as well as the storylines that have stayed with him, the ideas he hasn’t really worked out yet and what he actually thinks the future holds.
“I would describe myself as a worryer. While yes, I can understand the convenience and genuine use of systems such as ChatGPT and other AI platforms to help improve human life, I can’t help but worry, but I don’t think it will replace our nature to be ‘messy people’,” he said.
He also revealed an anecdote about the time he tested ChatGPT that led to an interesting discovery.
“The first thing I did when I used ChatGPT was I asked it to give me an outline for a Black Mirror story and the first thing that happened was a cold spike of fear when the first lines started coming through.
“It was the realisation that I’m being f***** replaced. But as it went on, I started to realise it was just so boring. It was so derivative because all it did was tell me what it thinks a Black Mirror idea is instead of actually coming up with a new idea. It’s pretending to be something it’s incapable of being.
“As a writer, the system is parasitic, and it annoys me.”
From Impressions to Impact: The New Era of Marketing Accountability.
By Alisha Buaya
Lara Thom, the global chief marketing officer of Guzman y Gomez, led a robust discussion on proving the money spent makes an impact on the business’s bottom line.
Joining her on the panel was Andy Ford, Coles 360 head of data intelligence, Andrea Martens, ADMA CEO, and Paul Sinkinson, managing director of Analytic Partners.
The group discussed and unpacked the role of the brand, driving value and quantifying it, the impact of privacy and data changes, and how marketers can demonstrate it to a CFO.
Thom asked the panel to share their thoughts on whether marketing is an art or a science. Sinkinson started by saying that it’s not mutually exclusive and said: “It’s not a science, but it’s definitely an art with a lot of science in it.”
From a data-driven perspective, Martens said: “It is a balancing act of logic and magic, and I think that balancing act is key… The data is there to understand the practical, and it’s the marketers’ role to really be able to see where the important components need to be added at all stages of the creative process.
The Art of Music Discovery on TikTok
By Jasper Baumann
TikTok creator Derrick Gee guided this panel through the stories of three Aussie artists who have grown their fanbase, built community, and found inspiration through TikTok’s FYP.
YNG MARTYR, ASTON and Ben Lee were present on the panel, talking about how the music industry in 2023 has changed so drastically thanks to the popularity of the TikTok platform and how it is easier than ever before to build an audience and interact with fans through comments, duets etc.
Ben Lee is an icon of the Aussie Indie music scene and revealed how he has positively adapted to the new music landscape.
“I feel I’m pretty aligned with the way culture has gone in the past 20 years or so. It’s less precious than it was,” he said.
“I always think there’s two types of artists. There are the work artists where everything they do matters and they work super hard and are sort of perfectionists. Then there are working progress artists who just release their sort of personal journal and that’s who I am. TikTok has been the perfect platform for me to be a working-progress artist.
“When people ask for advice on how to blow up or make it in the industry, I always say that yes I can give you the biggest pep talk and hype you up, but seriously, I can’t tell you to do anything. It’s always up to the person. Too much thinking gets you in trouble, just do.”