ATX Fest With a Hint of Social Media
If your one goal in life is to find the ONE person who can match, if not out-do your TV-nerd-fandom-ness, then you were probably at this year’s ATX Festival. For one weekend a year, hundreds of TV nerds descend upon the lovely city of Austin, Texas to celebrate the wonderful world of television.
From a marketer’s perspective, there were several things that the ATX Festival did right. I applaud their use of smaller venues for intimacy, personable moderators (loved Ben Blacker!), intriguing panels and an array of buzz-worthy premiers including, Reckless(CBS), Legends (TNT) and The Strain (FX). However, the social media person and Millennial in me found something to be lacking. A social media lounge. Or a lounge in general for that matter.
Before heading into the festival, I assumed that there would be a designated place or places for attendees to congregate to mix and mingle in between panels and screenings. I was sadly disappointed. Again, there isn't much for me to criticize about the ATX festival. Nonetheless, here are 4 reasons why the ATX Festival could benefit from a Social Media Lounge in season 4. 1. Sponsorship Dough
No one ever turns down more sponsorship dollars, right? Offering another space to be branded up the yin-yang is music to sponsors ears. The design and implantation of the space can get your sponsors creative juices flowing. For example, FX could sponsor again next year and incorporate creative ads involving its new fall lineup. I’m sure ATX attendees wouldn’t mind seeing two minute exclusive features or behind the screens interviews with producers and writers. Or let a local coffee house sponsor and set up a coffee bar to hand out free samples or dare I say...FREE COFFEE (coffee enthusiast rejoic!e)! OR Let T-Mobile or AT&T sponsor and set up charging stations (my phone died 2 out of the 3 days) and activation kiosks for guest to peruse while waiting for their next panel or screening.
You get the idea here. 2. BRANDING, BRANDING, BRANDING! In the off chance that you don't have a sponsor, you still have the opportunity to put your brand in front of attendees. Re-engage everyone with your brand in the social media lounge by putting out content that you want them to see. This content can be exclusive content or general housekeeping rules that may not be appropriate to disseminate before a panel or screening. Another option is to display all of your branded social media on multiple TVs with a live tweet cast for the unlucky few who got turned away at the door. And don’t forget to provide a merchandise table for those lovely ATX Fest shirts! Whatever goes in the lounge needs to reinforce all aspects of your brand. Content rarely goes wrong with that goal in mind. 3. Its Celebrity Photo Opp Time!
The creatively-designed social media lounge can serve as the official "After Party” spot for every panel and screening. Panelist would be ushered to the social media square (where an ATX branded backdrop would be waiting) for both press and fans to take photos of the panelist. Thanks to the internet, I know something like this was already in place; I just have no idea where it was located. It may have been a press only thing. However, opening this opportunity up to attendees will help spread the word about the ATX Fest due to the flood of tweets and Instagram photos.
4. Central Hub for Even More Nerdy-ness
Instead of stalking the Stephen F. Austin hotel lobby to catch a glimpse of their favorite actors, attendees could find their favorite actors and writers hanging out in the social media lounge, take a selfie or two and still feel less like a stalker. Not only could attendees get the opportunity to meet their favorite actors, they also get the chance to mix and mingle with the future writers and producers of the next crop of TV hits for the next generation.
