HD Alliance SXSW Event Wrap

The Day Show

2007-03-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

The HD Radio Alliance day party at SXSW went off without a hitch and was by all accounts we've heard, a smashing success!

The venue was perfect. Indoor space as well as covered and uncovered outdoor space allowed for plenty of room when the club got packed (which it did repeatedly), allowed us to have artists perform on a side stage so there was never any downtime (keeping people in our event longer) and a place to enjoy the sunshine when the rain finally burned off.

As you can see in the photos, we draped the exterior of the building with huge colorful signange from the HD Alliance, and this was a key draw. 6th street in Austin becomes about as busy as Burbon St. on Mardis Gras during SXSW, so having such clear, bright signs was really important.

We also retained the services of a street marketing company to hand out over 2,000 invitation cards at the convention center registration area and in front of other music events on 6th St. Those things along with an aggressive email blitz before the event resulted in a really strong turnout! Over 1,000 people came thru the event during the 6 hours which for SXSW, where at any given moment there are about 2000 other entertainment options, is outstanding turnout!

Some Video Highlights

2007-03-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVlqRvFIRd8

The Crowd

2007-03-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Great crowd - ebbed and flowed inside and out.

The event was extremely well attended. Like all SXSW events, people stroll 6th street and pop in and out of clubs. By having our event on Wendesday we were able to target a time just before all the major parties kicked off thereby getting a better turnout than we might otherwise have later in the crowded week.

Sampling and Listening

2007-03-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

Probably the most amazing thing was watching people at the listening stations and seeing them finally understand what the side channels are all about. And seeing people in this younger demographic (21-34) respond positively to what they were hearing was a great thing.

And BOY did they want to win those HD Radios! In order to qualify to win, one had to take the demo at the listening station and were then given a ticket. In between each band on the main stage tickets were drawn. You had to be present to win and we just kept drawing over and over until all the radios were given away. People were coming from down he block asking "how do I win an HD Radio?" and saying they were actually missing bands they wanted to see at other shows in hopes of winning one :)

Indoor and Outdoor Stages

2007-03-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

Bands played with no interruption in the music. The indoor main stage was home to 9 acts over the course of the day (Noon - 6pm).

And the outdoor stage kicked in to allow a 10th artist to perform, and for early performers to play again for the later crowds.