UK Advertising Announces Blockbuster SXSW 2024 Programme

Over 40 UK companies join forces through UKAEG to showcase at the international creativity & tech festival.

London, February 20, 2024: The UK Advertising Exports Group (UKAEG) will return to SXSW, Austin, marking its third consecutive year showcasing the very best of UK Advertising. From March 8-16, over 40 influential UK companies will converge at UK House @ SXSW with a dynamic programme dedicated to supporting the global growth of UK Advertising.

This year, UKAEG has doubled the number of participating companies, underscoring the growing importance of SXSW for the UK advertising sector – all backed by a partnership with the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade. Additionally, UKAEG is unveiling its 2024 narrative, ‘UK Advertising Takes You Places,’ to highlight how UK Advertising pushes boundaries to help brands grow worldwide.

To accommodate an expanded programme, UK House has relocated to a larger venue (Downright Austin, East 10th St & Red River St, Austin) following the enormous success of 2023, where over 10,000 people engaged with UK creative companies and artists.

UKAEG will offer over 20 events at their UK House @ SXSW venue, including:

• Innovation Day (Saturday 9th): UKAEG is hosting its first activation at SXSW with Disguise, the next generation visual entertainment platform in their Immersive Studio, to create a thrilling experiential ADventure with leading electric Motorcycle company, Arc Vehicle. The immersive experience will bring to life the ‘UK Advertising Takes You Places’ campaign and spotlight UK Advertising’s leadership in innovation, through collaboration with UKAEG companies including Chrome, Cube, Experience 12 and Preevue. Continuing the bike theme, the day will also feature a series of talks including with Brompton Bikes and UK export, Ad Net Zero US.
• Sports and Fan Engagement (Sunday 10^th): In another first, the UKAEG programme features the England vs Ireland 6 Nations rugby clash, ahead of the Rugby World Cup’s arrival on American soil, to underscore the profound impact of brand engagement in sports moments. With exclusive commentary from Olly Barkley, former England Rugby player, this event sets the stage for brands to harness the power of sports partnerships and captivate audiences in immersive experiences.
• Creative Effectiveness and Strategic Solutions (Monday 11^th): In a returning collaboration for 2024, UKAEG will host an exclusive roundtable with the American Advertising Federation (AAF) discussing how to ‘ensure advertising remains at the boardroom table’, featuring American companies looking to collaborate with the UK. The day will also feature discussions on creative effectiveness, including a masterclass in long-term strategy from multi award-winner VCCP and Cadbury.
• Sustainability: A Good Omen for Creativity (Tuesday 12^th): Finally, BADSTAR Studios will wrap up four days of leadership content with a masterclass on how sustainability can ignite innovation.

Over on the SXSW Main Stages, UKAEG members Creature London, Experience 12 and Storythings will also feature and UKAEG has three talks selected for the programme such as The Brand Battle Royale, Beyond the Score, and Scaling up without Screwing up. The full line-up of UKAEG events can be found here.

Aisling Conlon, International Trade Director, Advertising Association said:

“UKAEG’s presence at SXSW has significantly expanded, with twice as many UK companies joining us, highlighting the event’s growing importance in our industry. Our 2024 theme, ‘UK Advertising Takes You Places,’ underscores our commitment to innovation and delivering unforgettable brand experiences globally. Throughout the event, we’ll lead audiences on a four-day exploration spanning London, Twickenham stadium, and beyond, showcasing the best of UK Advertising. This year’s curated lineup by UKAEG appears to be our most ambitious and promising yet, setting the stage for what promises to be an extraordinary milestone in our SXSW journey.”

Alex Wills, Chief Experience Officer, Disguise said: “Disguise sits at the heart of this explosion of virtual production adoption for advertising and we are thrilled to be collaborating with UKAEG at SXSW this year to bring visitors a taste of the future. The Disguise platform is being used on some of the world’s largest and most complex visual experiences across advertising, music, film and television with our expertise lying in bridging physical and virtual worlds. This year at SXSW our activation with UKAEG shows how technology and innovation can unlock unforgettable creative storytelling.”

Any companies interested in finding out more about SXSW or wanting to attend with UKAEG this year, should contact Aisling Conlon, International Trade Director.

See the full line-up at UK House here.