The first day of SXSW Interactive Festival included a presentation by Geoff Moore, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Circuit of The Americas. You may remember our chat with him at Innotech technology conference last year (if not, here's the video). Geoff was back to talk about the science behind F1 racing.
If NASCAR is about speed and power and drivers, then F1 is about precision, engineering and difficulty.
He went past the COTA venue presentation to get into some neat technical details of the sport. The Austin Chronicle was in attendance and posted a great recap of his preso, so check it out if you missed the live event. Geoff also shared some great photos from a recent visit to the McLaren Technology Centre in Surrey, England, and you could tell he really enjoyed the behind-the-scenes visit.
It was an honor to host the first official F1 Meet Up at SXSW this year. SXSW chooses current issues and topics that are relevant to conference goers and offers a casual networking meet up to foster the conversations. This is another example of how Austin embraces innovation & pop culture on a global scale, particularly during this time in March. The Hilton Hotel & Conference center was the venue, and kudos to them for providing a class act conference setting for not only our F1 Meet Up, but hundreds of official panels, keynotes, presentations and more. It was exciting to meet F1 fans & newbies from Turkey, Spain, the UK, Australia, San Francisco and more. Excitement filled the room as ideas & business cards were exchanged! Thank you to everyone for coming out.
It was also a pleasure to join Social Media Club again this year at SXSW. We spoke with Caitlin Muir, who knows a thing or two about Formula 1 (BTW, 3 cheers for female F1 fans!). Enjoy this video:
Already looking forward to doing it all again in 2013!
This was my first year to truly embrace the Interactive portion of Austin's annual South By Southwest Film, Music and Interactive Festival. It was quite a change for me as the past 7 years I've attended the music portion only, while venturing into a couple Interactive panels last year and participating in the Film portion for our work with SENNA Movie's two screenings in 2011.
For some reason I thought Interactive would be, well, easier - afterall, how much energy would it require to sit in conference rooms all day listening to the game changers of technology and innovation? WRONG! Four straight days of 9AM - 6PM conferences is appealing at first glance, but the work that goes alongside it is what got me: perusing the 112-page "Pocket" Guide to plan (and revise; and revise again) my schedule, coordinating with prospective contacts, Tweeting, fielding emails, scheduling outside meetings, networking, status updating, re-charging (mind, body and devices), and most importantly, transporting, with only 15 minutes between sessions (if you want to insure you have a seat in that session) took it's toll on me. Throw in three straight days of rain and voila - you have SXSW 2012. It was all worth it for the content and connections.
//Transformation
Nokia Lab at SXSW 2012What I really enjoy the most about SXSW is how our city transforms to welcome the world. I extended my evening runs down Congress Avenue and into the heart of the Warehouse and Convention Center districts to see the transformations taking place. On Tuesday night, Nokia was transforming a vacant parking lot across from The Cedar Door into a 3 part inflatable igloo - aka "Nokia Lab." The winter wonderland housed a mix of gadgets, games, good music and fun in the middle of a 70' "Austin winter" day (the rain helped).
Last year, GE built a solar-powered carousel, aka "Carousolar," in the vacant lot across from SIX Lounge. This year, Nike took over the space and hosted a "hackathon" tied into their newest product, the Nike Fuel Band, by changing our iconic Frost Bank Tower into a larger-than-life Nike Fuel Band display, changing it from it's normal blue and white tones into hyperactive red, orange and green tones.
Niek Fuel at SXSW 2012While we realize it may take a few years for our Formula 1 race to transform the downtown Austin area on this scale, these are perfect examples of how Austin embraces social and technological change and showcases it so well in our city.
//Festival Fever
"Festival Fever" Presented by Leadership Austin, KXAN News and 44 Doors
Back in February, Leadership Austin put on a panel entitled "Festival Fever," featuring Geoff Moore of COTA, Hugh Forrest of SXSW Interactive, Jon Roberts of TIP STrategies and Lisa Hickey of C3 Presents. It was neat to hear different perspectives from these community business leaders and their thoughts on how large-scale events impact Austin. More importantly, their comments on planning for future expansion did not fall on a deaf ear. You can read more about the event recap here.
SXSW 2012 Interactive Campus Shuttle Map
One final note on the success of SXSW: the transportaion logistics utilized during the Interactive portion made it possible to navigate between 14 different campuses in a grid-locked downtown Austin. The shuttle was provided free of charge to Interactive registrants and ran every 5-10 minutes at each stop on the route. There were four different routes and the shuttle drivers were friendly, courteous, and provided clean and classy shuttle service. Hats off to SXSW on pulling this off. Another logistic they have completely nailed down and we hope, for your sake, will be emulated during F1 week in November.
In less than 48 hours, all trend-setting eyes will be on Austin for the 26th annual South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference & Festival. Comprised of three varying components, the series offers the unique convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies. Fostering creative and professional growth alike, SXSW is the premier destination for discovery.
Here, take a look:
Last year Austin welcomed 49,126 registrants from 76 countries and an additional 49,681 single admission tickets to film and music events, showcased 2,098 music acts across 92 stages and screened 140 feature films with 1,116 screening filmmakers in attendance, and that's not the half of it. These numbers cover the official registrant stats; countless attendees participate in Austin's largest discovery event without a SXSW badge.
This time last year we were pulling together the final touches to help sell out both showings of the award-winning SENNA movie at Austin's gorgeous Paramount Theatre and welcome Asif Kapadia to Austin.
This year we're also doing our part to keep the F1 buzz growing in Austin. On Monday, March 12 from 5:00-6:00PM I'll host the official SXSW "F1 Meet Up" at the Hilton Austin Downtown. If you're a registered attendee of the SXSW Interactive festival, join us for an hour of networking, brainstorming and idea-building as we discuss the next big thing to transform Austin later this year.
On Sunday, March 11, Kevin and I will again join Social Media Clubhouse as they broadcast live from the IBM Social Lounge in the Austin Convention Center via their Ustream channel at noon. Social Media Club is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing social media education to more than 300,000 members across 52 countries. Last year we had the amazing opportunity to discuss how social media played a role in the distribution of the SENNA movie with director Asif Kapadia. This year, Kevin and I will share our thoughts on the role of social media in the sport of Formula One, especially in the United States in anticipation of our inaugural race this November.
There are countless sources to learn more about the SXSW experience. CNN News broadcast live from the event last year and will be back again at the CNN Grill, apparently with a US presidential candidate in attendance this Friday. There are numerous SXSW-themed information boards on Pinterest. Austin-based advertising agency GSD&M has a fun online "SXSurvival" guide.
The ultimate resource, however, continues to be the official website, which is www.SXSW.com.
Here are a few quotes about SXSW that capture its essence:
Every March, thousands of young, jeans-wearing techies, filmmakers and musicians descend upon Austin, Texas, harboring dreams of getting noticed and hitting it big. They come not just for the balmy weather or the Tex-Mex food but for South by Southwest ("SXSW"), a collection of conferences and festivals that's considered one of the most influential happenings on the annual cultural calendar ...
... It's a massive crystal ball for pop culture. Whatever people are talking about at SXSW - the movies, the bands, the apps - are the things that will really hit it big in mainstream pop culture in six months to a year down the line."
CNN, March 10, 2011
What SXSW has always been about is people. It is the single best place in the creative innovation world to build relationships and get to know people. I have friends from all over the world that I've met over the last five years thta I can't wiat to see in Austin every year.
Fortune
SXSW's creators never conceived of the festival as the massive, three-pronged assault by the latest in music, film and technology that it is today when they launched the original, music-only event in 1986, with 170 bands in 12 clubs to an attendance of about 700. But they've been smart enough to keep an eye to the future all along - first in the music programming, then in the bringing togeterh of music with film and computer-age "interactive" components in 1994 and, this year, by combining all three trade shows into one giant mass that recognizes that all three sides of SXSW now feed and feed off each otehr."
The Toronto Star, March 15, 2011
Twenty-five years after the South by Southwest Music festival emerged as a showcase for new bands, it has become as big and eclectic as pop culture itself with spotlights on movies and, increasingly, high-tech.
Reuters, March 22, 2011
After the festival we'll share our discoveries with you and reflect upon what we learn in anticipation for our November race, which is slated to be three times the size of this production. Until then, enjoy the show.
An aerial view of Austin's annual Austin City Limits Music Festival in Zilker Park. Image Courtesy of austincool.com
Austin City Limits Music Festival + South By Southwest Film, Music and Interactive Festivals + The University of Texas at Austin football games + Republic of Texas Biker Rally + more = over 17,000,000 visitors to Austin annually. How will Austin continue to evolve as an international destination?
Austin's major event organizers and business leaders will address this topic in an upcoming panel hosted by Leadership Austin, titled "Festival Fever." The panel is not free, but it is open to the public and will take place over breakfast on February 7.
Geoff Moore, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer for Circuit of The Americas, will be one of four panelists discussing the impact of large festivals in Austin. Austin event veterans Hugh Forrest (SXSW Interactive Festival), Lisa Hickey (Austin City Limits Festival), Jon Roberts (Former Director of Business Development for The State of Texas) and Mr. Moore will discuss the pros and cons of being a festival target city and trade-offs between economic impacts and quality of life.
Here's an introductory video to Geoff, filmed at last year's InnoTech Austin conference.
Many Austinites know this isn't our first rodeo, but we look forward to an engaging discussion from festival veterans and learning how to "Keep Austin Weird!" while evolving as an international destination.
Click here to register for the Leadership Austin Engage event on February 7, "Festival Fever."
Seating diagram of Main Grandstand provided by Circuit of The Americas.
This evening COTA announced a waitlist-style deposit option for "Select Seating" at the circuit, and released a seating diagram for the Main Grandstand. Though the details provided by COTA are relatively vague as to the location of these seating options There are still many details yet to be released, but fans are able to place a deposit of $100 through the Circuit's Paypal account to reserve their position in the waitlist for these future purchase opportunities and "seating licenses."
Detailed information about location and pricing of these seating options are not specific, and no seating chart or map has been provided but the seating diagram helps to understand the general locations and types of options available. Additional information was provided by COTA to John Maher at the Austin American-Statesman:
The seat licenses will be for all racing events at the circuit for the next 15 years. A license does not include the price of tickets for those events. The price for the seat license varies according to the proximity to the finish line and the amenities offered.
In the main grandstand, which will have 26 rows, those amenities will include stadium seats, in-seat food and beverage service, priority on-site parking and a direct view of three big video boards. The main grandstand features a view of the start/finish line and the pit area.
There will also be select seating available at two spots that figure to provide some of the most dramatic views of the race — Turn 1, and Turns 15 and 16.
The seat license does not include the price of tickets, though from the FAQ it says it will be refunded if you decline to purchase later. It does not indicate whether or not the $100 seat deposit purchase will eb applied towards any future monies spent with COTA.
The newest rendering from Circuit of The Americas, released Jan. 21, 2012The most interesting part of this story is the ticketing portion of the timeline which goes well into the summer of 2012. The priority based waitlist system went active at 10:00PM January 21, 2012 and lasts until Febuary 13; after that, the website indicates, a survey will be sent out and then sales representatives will contact individuals who made deposits in order to process transactions beginning March 1, 2012.
Those fans hoping to lock in Grandstand tickets before they make travel arrangements will likely be quite frustrated as those tickets are not expected to go on sale until Summer 2012. Details on regular grandstand tickets and general admission have not been annouced as of yet.
We will continue to update you with progress as more details are released.
// UPDATE 01
We received a more-detailed seating diagram, posted it above and updated the article to reflect this information.
Austin Music Legend Stevie Ray Vaughn basks in the sunny delight of a January afternoon along the shores of Lady Bird Lake in Austin, TexasAustin is known as The Live Music Capital of The World, but an alternate description might be "The Get-Outside-And-Do-Something Capital of The World."
Public festivals, performances and showcases pack our social calendars, and our 75' F temperatures in January make it nearly impossible to stay indoors for a long period of time. (Yes, it's actually 75' F or 24' C in Austin right now.)
With that in mind, we wanted to share a new feature on our website, a free resource calendar for Austin community and motorsport events.
The calendar contains a diverse collection of events that we think you will enjoy in our fair city. Additionally, all Formula 1™ race weekends are plugged in for the 2012 season, and we'll also list MotoGP™, V8 Supercars™ and other motorsport events (because they will be in Austin in 2013!).
Just like our Pinterest site, the calendar will be updated frequently, so continue to check back for updates (or subscribe via the Google Calendar button in the lower right corner). The calendar currently has events listed through March 2012.
If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to email us at Calendar {at} TheAustinGrandPrix {dot} com.
