Picking Apart the SXSW Music Schwag Bag

(Looking at the third of 3 SXSW Gift Bags – One for each festival.)

The music bag is always the heaviest when it comes to schwag. This year’s was no different. And much of it was just clutter, plain and simple. For instance: tons of tons of CD samplers. I personally am not a fan of them, unless they’re mixed by friends. But I do love the annual Japan Nite CD sampler, which is a great sampling of the Japanese bands that showcase every Friday night of SXSW at the club Elysium.

There was some gum from ubiquitous advertiser Dentyne, who I think covered every possible medium and location during the festival to get their gum out. There was also a sample snack size of Zone Perfect nutrition bars. The pack of playing cards from DirectTV was a nice gesture, but anyone who plays cards religiously could tell right away that they were really cheap.Perhaps the strangest item was from BestofBands.com: some kind of plastic “Casper the Friendly Ghost”-like thing with a blood splatter on its “head.” None of my friends or I could figure out what this thing was. It looks like it has a “tail.” Or is it a cape? Is it supposed to clip on something? Oh well, too vague to maintain any interest. And since it’s an election year there was a Rock the Vote button, but no other call to action on it. No voter registration stations or even a website. Local Austin diner favorite Kerbey Lane included a surprisingly thin pad of Post-It notes, with their website address only. Kerbey is great: it’s one of the few places in town open 24 hours. I feel like this was an opportunity missed.

I liked the intention of Last.fm‘s offering: a small guide to all the bands playing at SXSW. The reason I like the intention is because it’s obvious they wanted to make something kind of useful, but still branded. It’s not a bad strain of logic, but the follow-through really doesn’t hold up at all. A dozen websites do this better (and also link to calendars).

For straight up design aesthetic, no one is doing it better than British Music at SXSW. Under the banner name “British Music Embassy,” the printed guide to all music British was impeccably produced, even down to the details like rounded corners. They did an equally impressive brochure last year as well and once again they’ve done the seemingly impossible- they’ve made a brochure I actually want to read. Cheers to that.The final piece of schwag was the favorite of my group of friends. “Sgt. Solo” from Armed Forces Entertainment. I’m not exactly sure why, because it’s just a green army man figurine with an acoustic guitar instead of, say, a flame thrower. I suppose my friends just liked throwing it at each other or stacking it on top of dishes at restaurants. But a small, completely portable piece of schwag that can break up a few minutes of monotony is always a good idea.

Vampire Weekend

The convergence of bands, record execs, media watchers and tastemakers have turned SXSW into a perfect, yet bizarre, laboratory for the study of rock band promotion. In this maelstrom it seems like every year a handful of bands rise above the background noise and get singled out as the next big thing. As you’ve probably heard by now, Vampire Weekend, an indie pop band comprised of fresh-faced college kids who wear boat shoes, is this year’s must- see act. This band’s rise to SXSW superstardom displays an incredibly calculated awareness of music trends. In many ways they are the most purposfully, intelligently and agressively marketed bands of the last few years.

This band is almost aggressively uncool. Sure, there is some irony, but they proudly flaunt the fact they’re a bunch of foppish ivy leaguers. They are utterly non-threatening; their press photos show clean-cut, unremarkable dudes with tucked-in shirts and flip-flops. It’s preppie-pop with some world music influences. They sound a little like a few dorky Paul Simon fans who got way into a stack of bizarre, late-period Sting albums. This is not edgy rock. My mom likes this band. So why are they selling out clubs?

Knowing this, I got in line about an hour early, which it turns out wasn’t close to early enough, since the line was already 200 deep. My place on 4th street was near enough the stage door to see the band load in: beardless nerds in pink pants and blazers. Resigned to the fact I wasn’t getting into Antone’s, I played roving reporter and talked to the other doomed show goers to try to find out why they were cool. An alarming number of people in line had never heard this band, and came just to see what the hype was about. Also notable was people who mentioned that they enjoyed this band “because of who they are” or “because they’re Ivy Leaguers.” When I pointed out that an Ivy League education was not very rock and roll, no one seemed to mind.

At some level, they seem to be a reaction to the insider rock culture that dominates the Internet and SXSW. For example: the continuing trend to write music reviews in obscure, subcultural jargon; SXSW’s increasingly exclusive parties and high-velocity buzz bands are all relatively recent developments. These trends arose, at least in part, from the mainstreaming of the “hipster” archetype that dominated so much pop culture the last several years. The image of the scenester Adonis was carved out of bad haircuts and silly bandanas that are marketed so aggressively (yet cheesily) that a few years from now it’s going to have the same kitsch as an 80’s movie.

Like all bands, blowing up is part luck. Vampire Weekend having their producer on the Pitchfork Media staff (as disclosed in their 8.8/10 review) doesn’t hurt. But even more than their predescessors, Vampire Weekend is a carefully calculated product manufactured by people acutely aware of the type of marketing and branding required to stand out from the crowd. Their squeaky clean image is a big part of it. Lyrics about sitting around the quad and summering on the Cape are subtly confrontational. Rock kids get riled up to imagine the yuppie beach-house set invading the gritty world of indie college rock. Also, there has long been much talk about the materialistic hip-hop scene, but there is an aspirational quality to Vampire Weekend’s music. Their lyrics paint a picture of an easy, comfortable life that is specifically not that of a rock star. One music video shows them sailing on a yacht! But beyond that, I think fans aren’t looking for music to be dangerous anymore. Vampire Weekend is safe, scrubbed rock and roll, that feels subversive enough to get the indie stamp of approval. Whether or not they live up to the hype remains an open question for me, and the other 400 people shut out of the showcase last night. But honestly? Seems unlikely.

FXFU: Do Not Advertise Here

There aren’t too many places left at SXSW that are genuinely marketing free. Most events are pretty blatant promotional vehicles. Others work hard to seem authentic and non-corporate and mostly fail. Some, though attached to a brand, really aren’t trying to sell you anything except a good time. But for the last decade there is one party in Austin, still going strong, that is guaranteed to be an oasis of marketing-free, old-fashioned punk rock ethos: F*ck by F*ck You. And how can I tell? Because its the only SXSW party in town that has a goat.

Once upon a time, though it’s getting harder and harder to remember, all you needed to throw a show here was a P.A. You didn’t need Fader and Red Bull to build massive complexes full of flat screen TVs and Guitar Hero. You didn’t need to give away your email address and phone number to get a laminate. FXFU is a SXSW tradition of throwing shows the old fashioned way. The venue is basically a sandpit with a rickety porch and a homebuilt stage. It’s also the home of Bryan Nelson’s Australian Cattle God record label, a fiercely independent local imprint that promotes bands and sells albums the grassroots way. It’s also home to an adorable pygmy goat. And on Saturday, it was home to 300+ old punks, babies, hipsters, drunks, stoners, record excs, moms, dads, out-of-towners and anyone else who heard about it having the time of their lives.

So here is the problem. The organizers of FXFU (and many of the attendees) are the genuine freaks, weirdos and lunatics. People who are not ruled by fashion or trends. The artists. The risk-takers. The true tastemakers. These are the people SXSW advertisers dream about selling to. And people like this exist in every scene and in every city. Obviously this doesn’t mean advertisers should bring their promotional koozies and bottle openers and candleholders to FXFU. The only way for an advertiser to reach this profoundly influential group is to stop thinking about advertising and start thinking about what makes events like this work: a sense of community. Large corporations are not necessarily the problem, but as someone smart at Google once said: “Don’t be evil.” Think about local markets. Think about communities. Think about being green. Don’t do it just to move product, but do it because it makes sense, for both your business and your customers. These are the tenets that have always been vital to the “DIY scene,” be it the punks or the hippies or the hackers or whoever. And the DIY scene has been steadily gaining momentum and is not going away. When businesses as a whole reflect these values, advertising becomes less of a one way street and more of a dialouge. And successful, quality products and sucessful quality marketing build sound companies and loyal customers.

FXFU started as a response to the increasingly corporate feel of SXSW, but it survives as perhaps the most relevant SXSW event there could ever be. It’s the one party that’s not about brands or dollars or the record industry. It’s just a bunch of people who love rock music and who love bringing people together and actually care enough to make it happen. It’s refreshing, as it is every year, to see something so genuine at this festival.

Ray-Ban, Rachel Ray and Fader Forting

So I finally made it in, and the Fader/Levi’s Fort was as cool as everyone made it out to be. The Fort itself had a bunch of different rooms to check out, and that was smart because it encouraged lounging around with some of the Fader magazines laying about. Ray-Ban did a confession booth that also took your picture and printed them out with an access code to see your confession online—that was an excellent way to get people to access the Ray-Ban website.

Before the Fader Fort, we went to the Rachael Ray Party at Beauty Bar, officially called the Feedback Party Hosted by Rachael Ray. They posted flyers everywhere for that party, but enforced their RSVP list, which made for a long, attention-getting line. Inside they were extremely well-organized and served amazing food while heavily promoting (and pouring) the new Rose’s Mojito mix.My camera was out of batteries, so I couldn’t take a picture, but one of the funniest things I’ve seen at SXSW was a sign outside of a bar advertising “free food, gift bags, and beer,” written in marker on a white paper plate, taped to a parking meter. What?! At least take the time to make a poster at home!Again, not as much schwag today. But here’s a look at the final tally of all the free stuff I received at SXSW:

No Sidewalk Chalk?

When it comes to SXSW 2008, I’ve seen a lot of the typical brand promotion strategies. We’ve seen the posters. We’ve seen the bottle replicas serving as posters. Every type of beverage has a wrapped vehicle (the Monster energy truck I thought was a little different and appropriate for the brand), and if brands don’t have any of the aforementioned, they have street teams to hand out the product. Other than the interactive lounges, I’m a little bored.

So where’s the sidewalk chalk? This is what I really wanted to know when I walked down 6th St. at noon today. Knowing that downtown largely becomes barricaded and patrons are able to walk in the street, I would think that sidewalk chalk would be an absolute hit! 6th is probably wide enough to fit three Weiner Mobiles at least, and that could be a lot of room for chalking your brand onto the ground. I can’t be positive of the cost differences between synthetic posters and an artist with great chalk skills, but I imagine they might not be too far off, making sidewalk works of art quite possible. And who knows, maybe chalk isn’t the only option. I actually saw one solitary piece of sidewalk advertising and that was a poster somehow attached to the ground. There’s nothing to say that posters can’t be put on the ground too, and maybe you could put a great creative spin on it. Maybe it’s just me, but I see a lot of cool potential. So all I can say is, when other brands are looking high, maybe next year other brands should look low.

Where are the Schwag Bags?

We might have hit a few less parties today, but there also seemed to be less schwag—I saw fewer people on the streets weighed down with bags, and I only came away with two free shirts. One of those free shirts was even designed by me! Alternative Apparel set up a Do-It-Yourself booth where they had plain white t-shirts, fabric markers, and stencils at Orchid.

We sipped on some free drinks and ate some free tacos and spent a solid hour on our shirts—which is brilliant marketing for the t-shirt company. Not only did we spend an hour with their product, but then we took them home and are going to wear them purely because we made them!Other stops included the Batanga Party at Habana, which was a lot of fun, but I still don’t know what Batanga is. They did, however, follow what I call the Drink Theory of Branding, which means they branded everything that had to with the free drinks they were passing out.

Other notable sights included: an Izze bike, which made no sense but was painted lime green. I wonder if it stemmed from the Hill Country Ride for Aids and their red bikes all around town, or if that’s just a coincidence?

At the Dell Lounge, which presents a very unified front with the same logo on everything from badges to t-shirts to bags, they featured Blogging Stations where anyone could step up to use the computer. Coupled with good music, free Southern Comfort drinks, and the rare schwag bag, it’s done a nice job of branding itself as a place to be. Paste Magazine was a cosponsor, and they were attempting the Radiohead pay-what-you-will experiment. Which is fine, except that our particular salesperson made sure to outline how much it costs the magazine to print and mail, which was a total guilt trip. If you’re going to offer the deal, take what you get, Paste!

Solar Saucer

So I thought it was a giant sombrero and some visitor thought it’d be an easy way to get gullible Texans over to see whatever it was they were selling, but it turns out that this:is actually a Solar Saucer. Obviously I needed to know what http://www.solarsaucer.com is as soon as I got home, so at 2 am I was up exploring the Solar Saucer. Lesson: giant light-up sombrero-saucers are excellent at attracting attention. The real lesson you can take from that? If you can, build a product that sells itself. The whole point of the Solar Saucer is that it’s powered entirely by the sun, so if you have a giant object sitting in a parking lot at night showing how it is displaying light that’s been stored throughout the day, the product really sells itself.We also went to Moby’s CD release party at Vice, which is sponsored by MetroMix LA. Like Amoeba, I can’t help but wonder why a Los Angeles newspaper wants to advertise so heavily in Austin, but it must be indicative of two things: 1) that they have to promote at the big music events not because of the city, but because of the people that will be there who actually do live or visit LA; and 2) that Austin is a really happening place to be if LA has to advertise here!

After-Hours Marketing

A staple of the SXSW experience are the late night after parties. These affairs are generally exclusive, corporate financed and excessively branded. Last night I finally cashed in enough credibility to get invited to the Red Bull/Facebook Lounge, which was an intense and drunken barrage of extremely aggressive marketing.

To be fair, waking up on a friend’s couch in one’s clothes with a hangover you could sell to science never leaves you with a good taste in your mouth. But this event was excessive, tacky and made me feel a little dirty. The opening shot was the admission pass: a temporary tattoo of distressed art and Red Bull logos. You had to apply the tattoo to enter, and there was a small branded Red Bull “tattoo studio” with a sink and sponges outside the gate. So anyone who wants to party needs to walk around with a logo on their forearm or neck the next few days. Dirty tricks? Maybe. But effective.

Once inside the scene was impressive, albeit sort of tasteless. It was a converted hanger/parking lot with a Red Bull logoed stage that looked like it was left over from the last U2 tour. Performing on it was some guy with a laptop. Across from the stage was an incredibly elaborate two story lounge packed with every ostensibly cool extra a marketer could dream up: white leather sofas, Guitar Hero 3, plasma TVs playing break dancing videos and ubiquitous Red Bull and free booze.

The co-sponsor of this party was Facebook, and near the VIP area was the “Facebook pavilion”, a converted bus packed with computers and Facebook schwag. Amazingly, there was a line of drunk revelers desperate to update their Facebook profiles, no doubt to let their friends know about this sweet party. It was pretty incongruous, and sort of interesting that people’s digital lives were so critical that people would take time out of a real live party to spend time on a computer.

Overall, if a sort of glossy, polished nightclub-like experience is your thing, you’ll love this party. But the fact remains is that as an advertiser, pouring people free alcohol only brings them to your event, it doesn’t sell the product or build brand loyalty. It’s all about how you market to them while they are there. Love it or hate it, Red Bull has very effectively matched a lifestyle to their brand. There is clearly a “Red Bull experience” and events like this definitely help to build it.

Partying in a Parking Garage

Myopenbar.com hosted a party at the Texas Garage, the parking garage at the AMLI building. Naturally, it had an open bar—Dewar’s and ginger beer, Keystone beer—and music. Saucony was there playing shuffleboard and giving out “winner”and “loser” headbands, which is really cool because it’s funny, and because people like labels.

Stella McCartney for LeSportsac was also apparently a sponsor, but there was nothing they were giving out that made any sense, or that was branded at all. They just put out signs that said “LeSportsac” on the tables. Weird.

But the secret to the party was heading upstairs to the very top to the “NYLON/Guess Lounge.” I don’t know why they were sponsoring this, but they had huge floating letters in two pools, which was awesome because they were so huge.

There appeared to be an indoor lounge too, but I couldn’t figure out how to get in there. There was also a photo booth where you could take a picture and have it print out immediately. On the photo, Guess, Nylon, and http://politeinpublic.com/’s logos were all printed as well. Pretty smart, because I love the photo and will keep it for a long time!

Also, here’s a shot of the Guess pool logo later in the night.

The Yaris Interactive Experience

Normally I’m suspect of big events that are obviously promoting of a particular product. They just seem either a little too forced or a little too much. But I really like this one. Yet another interactive branded experience that I like just as much as Ikea, actually. In fact, I like it a lot more.

The setup Yaris has in conjunction with The Current on 7th and Red River is quite impressive. Taking over an empty parking lot is the Free Yr Radio effort which is promoting independent radio (hence the massive stereo atop some of the Yaris vehicles). There, you’ll find a stage for three days worth of live music, a button making station (find a picture in a music magazine and have it made into a button to sport on your bag or jacket), and a parking lot full of Toyota Yaris vehicles. While the vehicles inside the parking lot are for gazing only, you’ll also find a full fleet of Yaris cars parked on 7th St. When I saw one Yaris, I didn’t think much. But when I saw the fleet of Yaris Shuttles (there were, I think, 7 of them), I had to ask questions.A Free Yr Radio Staff member informed me that anyone who needs a ride can hop in and be escorted to South Congress. How cool is that? Not only is there an entire parking lot dedicated to this event, but the two brands co-oped together to make the experience that much stronger and relevant. While I’m not sure if The Current could actually be heard inside the Yaris (The Current is broadcast out of Minnesota), I think this is my favorite event of SXSW. Normally, this type of sponsorship is reserved for “hipper” car brands like Volkswagen, but with a car as fun as the Yaris (I myself drive an Echo, the previous version of Yaris), it makes perfect sense.