SxSW 2020 Schedule: WGSN Top Picks

The ever-expanding SXSW returns in 2020 with a strong emphasis on the future. Taking place across 10 days, the festival and conference added a new track specifically dedicated to tomorrow, dubbed ‘Fantastic Future’ which will showcase future-forward themes such as touchless interfaces and quantum computing. We analysed the dense programme to share our top picks to save to your schedule.

Your Future Self/Your Future Consumer

Our very own Carla Buzasi returns to SXSW with a new presentation on ‘the New ’20s’. This session will unveil the changing consumer landscape including how they communicate, dress, work, and travel.

Mar 17, 11:00am-12:00pm

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP100713

How the Internet Broke America

The New Yorker’s Andrew Marantz dives into his new book Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation to discuss the divisive landscape we are living and operating in.

Mar 16, 12:30pm-1:30pm

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP1137279

Real Retail: Life Experiences & Female Collaboration

Nordstrom’s Olivia Kim and Ariane Goldman of HATCH will dissect what it takes to build brands that resonate with customers and break through the retail noise. The session will touch on the power of partnerships, creating community, and the impact that motherhood and being female leaders has had.

Mar 13, 11:00am-12:00pm

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP94974

OK Boomer, Here’s the MFT on TikTok

With all talk surrounding TikTok, this featured session will dissect the short-form video app hearing directly from TikTok stars and the company’s Director of Creator Community.

Mar 14, 11:00am-12:00pm

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP1137599

Oxygen’s Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project

In what will no doubt be a jam-packed session, Kim Kardashian West joins #cut50 co-founder, Jessica Jackson to discuss the star’s segue into the legal world. The celebrity’s recent efforts in fighting for criminal justice will be featured in her upcoming documentary for Oxygen, Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project, which will be the focus of the conversation.

Mar 14, 9:30am-10:30am

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP1138162

Your 2030 Self: Every Experience Personalized

This session predicts life in the post-screen world where consumer experiences will become increasingly personalised and integrated in a way we haven’t yet seen. Hear from L’Oreal’s Guive Balooch and Bose’s Rachael Schwartz who will chat about scaling customisation to the masses.

Mar 16, 11:00am-12:00pm

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP103723

How to Avoid Purpose Fatigue

As brand purpose becomes an overused and abused strategy, pioneers in cause marketing such as Ben & Jerry’s and S’well take to the stage to discuss the longevity of purpose and how to sustain it in a meaningful way.

Mar 15, 11:00am-12:00pm

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP1138164

2020 Election: A Deep-Dive into Data & Digital Tactics

A team of political experts will use data from modern communications agency, Bully Pulpit Interactive to surface insights into candidate’s strategy including targeting, messaging and spend. Hear from Google, NextGen America, and Crowdpac who will also discuss more general trends shaping this big year in politics.

Mar 15, 5:00pm-6:00pm

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP1130387

A Code to Measure the Value of Experience

Marc Schumacher, managing partner at Liganova GmbH, has found a way to measure the value of experience. Designed for retailers, the team, which are known for driving the interaction of people, brands and products in connected spaces, has developed a new model that enables brands to assess the value per cubic metre, and what that means for all types of businesses.

Mar 17, 11:00am-12:00pm

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP1131438

Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change

Hear from Patagonia’s Paul Hendricks, the Regenerative Organic Alliance’s Elizabeth Whitlow, and Conservation Lands Foundation’s Brian Sybert who will offer solutions to removing carbon from the atmosphere. By tapping into forests, wetlands, and farming, they believe that nature can provide immediate and actionable tools to tackling the climate crisis.

Mar 13, 11:00am-12:00pm

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP1137410

Immersive Entertainment in Autonomous Vehicles

Speakers from Warner Bros. and Mercedes-Benz discuss the convergence of autonomous cars and the entertainment industry, linking the time saved driving to what activities consumers will turn to. The film giant will also share details on its immersive entertainment concept car, the first-ever created.

Mar 17, 2:00pm-3:00pm

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP1129171

Defining Times: Evolving Word Usage & Definitions

Social media has drastically changed language and our dynamic in using it. This session will feature a lexicographer and editor of Dictionary.com who highlight the shifting definition of existing words to new slang in popular culture.

Mar 17, 12:30pm-1:30pm

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP102539