Experiential Marketing at SXSW: Branding Austin

Experiential marketing for Grey Goose takes place year-round in Austin.

Experiential marketing activations produced by Javelin for Grey Goose Vodka take place at luxury and influencer events throughout Austin year-round, but the one closest to my former-music-writer heart is South-by-Southwest.  Since not everyone has experienced it directly, allow me to share a slice of SXSW life.

Brands that can authentically participate in their consumers’ lifestyle events will achieve lasting results.

An irresistible draw to the movers, shakers, connoisseurs, and taste-makers of “what’s next”, SXSW is an extravaganza of music, film, and interactive goodies.  For ten days in March, Austin is home to thousands of national and international bands, agents, talent scouts, actors, producers, production companies, tech wizards, entrepreneurs and more who come to attend (and host) events promoting their work – plus the people who come to see them.  This convergence creates a perfect environment to for the right brands to authentically participate in their consumers’ lifestyles.   Enter Grey Goose and yours truly.

Grey Goose Vodka and SoBe Life Water sponsored premiere parties for the feature film Skateland, an official selection of SXSW, set in a 1980’s small town Texan skating rink.  First, guests crowded into Wet Salon for an afternoon of mingling and mixing Grey Goose cocktails.  The stars of the movie, Ashley Greene, Taylor Handley, Heath Freeman, and Shiloh Fernandez, mingled and occasionally gave interviews perched on a Love Sac.

Actor Taylor Handley (center) and friends, in Wet Salon’s hair washing stations

Brand personalization leads to ownership.

Experiential marketing thrives on tailored experiences. Cultivating brand ownership among consumers, bartenders invited guests to design their own custom cocktails using Grey Goose L’Original or one of the Grey Goose flavors: Le Citron, L’Orange, and La Poire. My personal favorite was the Grey Goose La Poire and SoBe Fuji Apple Pear, while not-so-sweet-drink-loving-fans preferred the Green Tea-ni, made with Grey Goose Le Citron and SoBe Green Tea.

Actor Heath Freeman analyzes his Grey Goose and SoBe concoction

Reinforcing the theme of the film, girls on roller skates zipped through the crowd snapping Polaroids of guests.

Girls on roller skates snap Polaroids to set the mood

The party migrated to the legendary Mohawk for ATX EMERGE 2010, an official SXSW celebration of Skateland’s premiere and showcase of Austin’s most adored musical acts.  Patrons queued around the block at dusk (in the rain) to see the twelve scheduled bands. Black Joe Lewis, an up-and-coming Austin phenomenon featured in Reversal Film’s new documentary Echotone, headlined the party.  Props to the production guys for pulling this all together and making it a branded entertainment success!

The stars of the day, Casey LaBow, Haley Ramm, and director Anthony Burns enjoyed the entertainment (not to mention the view) from the comfort of a 10’ tall roller skate atop the VIP rooftop lounge. Complementary Grey Goose cocktails flowed freely upstairs, while nearly 1,000 people downstairs enjoyed specially priced Grey Goose cocktails throughout the night. (Side note to all those in the liquor biz: sponsoring a VIP party in exchange for drink specials at the attached party is a great sales tool. Approximately 50 cases of Grey Goose Vodka were consumed that night, and only 15 were donated for the party above.)

Girls on roller skates walk out of a time machine onto the red carpet

Actor Heath Freeman and actress Kelly Monaco in the green room (literally)

Actress Ashley Greene and actor Shiloh Fernandez

The Grey Goose Vodka activations were a huge success as were a number of other experiential marketing programs I saw, including Bacardi USA’s Level 42 Vodka.  If only I could clone myself; then I could have experienced everything!    The sponsors and clients were equally pleased, and the SXSW action is never to be missed.

Like all good things, SXSW must eventually end.  It’s probably for the best; everywhere you look are exhausted Austinites. House guests crowd the airports. The city is littered with festival aftermath: band fliers, pasted movie posters, and hung over residents. There’s an audible murmur in the air as internal organs everywhere give thanks that nightlife is returning to normal.  It has been exhausting, but fabulous.

Tagged as: 42 Below Vodka, Anthony Burns, austin experiential, authentic participation, BACARDI, Casey LaBow, experiential activations, experiential brand marketing, Experiential Marketing, experiential nightlife, Featured, goose, green tea, Grey Goose, grey goose vodka, Haley Ramm, heath freeman, lifestyle events, roller skates, Skateland, skating rinks, SXSW

This post was written by...

Claire Winslow – who has written 1 posts on Javelin Experiential.

Grey Goose Event Manager, Texas: music lover | flipper of houses | MBA student