Like all good things, my SXSW story began in a pub.
I’ve wanted to go to SXSW since I was a music-obsessed 13 year old. ‘South By’ was where the best brands ‘broke’ (into collective cultural awareness). It was also - I later discovered - where AdLand’s best gathered.
When my agency at the time offered to pay the SXSW expenses of any employee who got a talk accepted, I had a way in. There was only one problem: I had nothing to talk about. A drunken chat changed that.
Screw Email! Why the clever comms are handmade
The alcohol-soaked inspiration came courtesy of a friend, who ran a handwritten marketing company. He informed me that people were up to 3300% more likely to open a hand-penned envelope than an email.
Six months later, my Art Director and I spoke in the 1,000 capacity Grand Austin Ballroom about the marketing stopping power of handwritten letters.
The 60 min presentation featured original interviews with ad-land legends Rory Sutherland (see below) and Steve Harrison, as well as 2 rising start up stars.
Our talk was covered by several media outlets, including The Dot. We also received overwhelmingly positive feedback on our talk's Twitter hashtag #ScrewEmail.
Some people even sent us handwritten thank you letters, which you can see, along with the Twitter feedback below:
