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Of all the important events for brands, entrepreneurs and innovation enthusiasts in the West, South by Southwest (SXSW) is the most media-oriented, futuristic and, at the same time, humanized. To give you an idea: of the more than 2,000 topics discussed in the 2022 edition, none failed to touch on the impact that everything we are building for the future has on the world today - and could have tomorrow.
Around 75,000 people followed as much as they could in person in Austin, Texas, where the event has been held for 35 years. Our CEO Ciro Ribeiro Rocha was one of them. From this incredible experience, he brought insights designed for today's brands and businesses that want to be or remain protagonists. Let's go?
The medium no longer matters
One of the things that is still not very obvious to entrepreneurs, but which is already a path of no return, is the potential competition with any and all brands, even those outside your initial niche. We are in a world full of collabs between brands, including those that are not obvious for a partnership.
"At the end of the day, in this age of such abundance, we need to understand how to capture information. And the medium, be it a tractor or a credit card, no longer matters. It becomes a commodity. What really matters is how I impact people's lives," he says.
We've talked about collabs between companies, but we can go further to illustrate: at any time could ESPN have imagined that it would be a competitor of Red Bull? Well, since the energy brand created its own streaming platform focused on sports and adventure, they have been competing in digital.
Those who think of the brand from a business perspective that is more linked to impact and connection are ahead of the game. "What opportunities exist within your brand to extend the category in a natural way? It's not about going from ice cream to frozen meals, but understanding what behaviors influence what you're talking about," he asks.
Everything has an (ethical) limit
Many people joke that the internet is a lawless land, but that's not the case. As humanity, we are moving towards a place where everything will be interconnected. In this context, the basic raw material is data. And something so relevant cannot be thought about, let alone dealt with, unethically.
"How much am I willing to do? I want the fantastic experience of going into a store, being called by name, the person who attends to me understanding what I already buy and recommending things that are on sale, but at the same time, I don't want to give up my privacy," says Ciro.
What's the limit? Humanity doesn't know yet, but no business that works with data and innovation should take this off the horizon. It's something to keep an eye on from now on.
The issue, which has gained media attention as a result of the sale of works of art for high prices, also brings with it a possible future for the global economy.
Precisely because it is not fungible and therefore irreplaceable, an NFT represents a unique item. And this makes it worth more than items that can be replaced by the same, such as money notes, for example. In practice, this means that its owner will always be entitled to the earnings from the original item. If someone buys a song through NFT, they are entitled to part of the profits from its commercial use in films and series, for example.
Those who sell NFT are able to negotiate directly with those who buy. This is why so many artists and even athletes have sought to finance their projects with the technology. "It's about closeness, affinity, support, exclusivity. If I tokenize a brand or product, take a quota there, I start thinking about contracts in these aspects. This changes the whole market in some way," he says.
The world is being questioned
In practice, this means that beyond utopian questions, people all over the world are mobilizing for a life with more purpose and less negative impact on the world and the people who live in it.
Why is fashion so rigidly gendered? Businesses are becoming popular against this imposed standard. Why do we generate so much waste if it destroys the only planet we have available to live on? There are businesses, projects and actions all over the world trying to raise awareness and find alternatives.
At the same time, you need to act carefully and wisely so as not to fall into the trap of following a trend with shallow discourse. In the case of sustainability practices, for example, those who want to talk the talk can end up falling into the greenwashing - term for "false sustainability" or "lip service sustainability".
"We're having the opportunity to create the world we want by looking at what used to be true and assuming that we can question things. And that's already happening, whether you like it or not," he points out.
Watch the video
Do you want to understand each of the points above better? Check out the full video of the live, with just over an hour of content. Just hit play:
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