SXSW Interactive Ramps up for March Sessions and Keynotes

South by Southwest Interactive kicks off in Austin, Texas on March 8. There’s plenty in store for those interested in all things web, tech, mobile and new media at the 5-day show, including some sessions that are especially relevant to those in and around the Digital Signage/DOOH industries.

Below are five featured sessions our readers will want to check out, one for each day of SXSW Interactive.

The New Screen for Marketing
Friday, March 8, 5:00PM - 6:00PM

This panel will take an in-depth look at how new media is changing the face of advertising, and how marketers are being challenged to keep up.

Presenters:
Douglas Stovall, Exec VP, Hipcricket
Jim McArthur, SVP, Digitaria Interactive

Mobile Saturday: Seamless Customer Experiences
Saturday, March 9, 5:00PM - 6:00PM

This session will cover how to create a seamless customer experience across the device spectrum of smartphones, computers, TV and tablets. Attendees will find out how they can connect the screens to reveal the right picture every time a customer engages their brand.

Presenters:
Jeremy Black, Dir, Business Dev, Xtreme Labs
Kevin Murphy, Sr Dir of Business Intelligence & CRM, Beyond the Rack
RJ Taylor, Vice President, Mobile Products, ExactTarget

Physical & Digital Collide: Retail Rewired
Sunday, March 10, 3:30PM - 4:30PM

This session will bring together a digital marketing innovator with experience working with the world's biggest brands and a seasoned retail architect to discuss how digital and physical are colliding to change the consumer in-store experience. The presenters will discuss how it's essential for the two disciplines to work together to guarantee success for brands.

Presenters:
Barry Bourbon, Principal, Gensler
Dan Shust, VP, Resource Interactive

Interact with the TV: Say it, Wave it, Take it 3D
Monday, March 11, 12:30PM - 1:30PM

Technologies such as voice recognition, gesture recognition and 3D are opening up new opportunities for content models and enhancing the entertainment experience. This session will discuss how advanced user interface technologies are transforming the connected device landscape, the role of consumer and social behavior in their evolution and how this impacts what consumers expect their gadgets to do for them tomorrow.

Presenters:
Aaron Sheedy, VP of Mobile Products, Nuance Communications
Tom Woods, VP User Experience, Rovi Corporation
Yaniv Vakrat, Exec VP Worldwide Business Dev & Americas Sales, PrimeSense

Omnipresent: When Virtual Meets Reality
Tuesday, March 12, 3:30PM - 4:30PM

Augmented reality is being used to enhance real world experiences, including interactive training, real-world simulation, design, architecture, manufacturing and medicine. This panel explores new advancements in Virtual / Augmented Reality and the short and long-term impacts AR may carry. It will also explore the not-so-distant future, highlighting the creative opportunities that exist for the development of new AR solutions, standards and enabling technologies.

Presenters:
BC Biermann, Visiting Asst Prof of Media Studies & Studio Arts University of Missouri Saint Louis, The Heavy Projects
Blair MacIntyre, Assoc Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
Christine Perey, Spime Wrangler, Perey Research & Consulting
Jay Iorio, Technology Strategist, IEEE


SXSW has also announced that Vice President Al Gore will return to SXSW Interactive this year to discuss the six critical drivers of global change explored in his new book, The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change.

Gore will speak on Saturday, March 9 at 3:30 pm in Exhibit Hall 5 of the Austin Convention Center. The Future can be purchased at the SX Bookstore beginning March 8, which comes with a reserved spot in line at Gore’s book signing. The book signing will begin at 4:30 pm on Saturday, March 9, immediately after his session concludes.

Interviewing Vice President Gore will be Walt Mossberg. He is the author and creator of the weekly Personal Technology column in The Wall Street Journal, which has appeared since 1991. Mossberg is also the co-creator and co-producer of the D: All Things Digital annual conference.

Click here for more information about Al Gore's speech.

Click here for more information about the keynote speeches.