SXSW London - A Masterclass in WOW ✨

Hey there,

I am a huge fan of SXSW in Austin, TX. This week long music, film and tech festival wows me every time - a super-diverse schedule with the best speakers possible, like Barack and Michelle Obama, Joe Biden or Arnold Schwarzenegger. The whole city is buzzing and you could easily run into celebrity speakers at the coffee queue - the famous SXSW serendipity.

Can you re-create the magical SXSW experience in Europe? Can this festival in another city attract new fans and not disappoint old ones (many movie franchises fail on this).

The SXSW festival is perfect for Austin, TX, because everything is bigger in Texas. Big ballrooms for the biggest names in business, ridiculously long queues and bold crazy topics.

Trying to copy this formula in Europe would be a sure failure.

SXSW London chose a different path. They sprinkled the festival across awesome fresh venues and tailored the content to London's creative industries.

👍 It worked.

They created a SXSW feeling that perfectly adapted to the new environment and audience.

I love it.

Here's why...

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Shoreditch - an old district where Jack the Ripper once roamed, now buzzing with remarkable Victorian houses and narrow cobblestone streets. Venues like the old Truman Brewery, the cinema Rich Mix, the gothic Christ Church and famous Brick Lane are the perfect places for creative ideas.

BEAUTIFUL COLLISIONS

I love how diverse influences blend to create unique ideas. The program was typical SXSW - huge: talks, startup exhibitions, music acts, movie premieres with celebrities, hands-on creation workshops and art.

🧘 Between intense sessions, we could recharge with yoga, movement and breathwork. Perfect rhythm.

GUIDED THINKING

Instead of just taking notes about what speakers said, I used each session as a guided thinking opportunity - reflecting on my own situation, ideas and challenges through this new lens.

For me the festival was an incredible environment for creative thinking and problem-solving.

🙏 The SXSW London team, like their peers in Austin, went the extra mile to make us feel welcome and create a wonderful experience.

And this is what you want to achieve with your product or service. Be a host for your users and customers. Solve a problem that is important and urgent for them, deliver value and excite them with going the extra mile.

Thank you for being part of this journey. I'm genuinely grateful you're here. 🫶

Let’s discover what makes WOW, together,

Harald

P.S. Want to WOW me?
Forward this to someone obsessed with creating extraordinary experiences.
Let’s grow this community of WOW together.