SXSW 2023

South by Southwest, also known as South By or SXSW, is an annual conference and festival that combines education, music, film, and media. Bringing together an international community of professionals, artists, and musicians, SXSW creates a unique space for learning, discovery, and exploration in Austin, Texas. 

This year, Oliver Wyman kicked off the new Travel and Leisure track on Monday, March 13 at 10:00 AM CT with a panel that centered around the Oliver Wyman Forum's Renaissance report; about the new consumer personas that are at the forefront of 30 critical macro trends disrupting society and organizations, and account for trillions in global spend. 

Boarding Now: The New Consumers Redefining Travel 

Monday, March 13 | 10:00 AM (GMT)

Consumers emerged from COVID newly focused on wellness, the climate, and time with friends and family. They also have a new group of colleagues: Gen Z, the most diverse and educated generation in history. Today’s consumers want to travel, but they expect venues to be cleaner and adventures to benefit their health and the planet.

Join us at SXSW's first event in the travel and leisure track to meet these new consumers and learn from industry leaders about how they match their customers' needs. You’ll learn about travelers like the Virtual Natives working dockside rather than deskside, the Climate Catalysts counting their carbon footprint from travel, and the Wellness Protagonists using tech for self-care. 

These personas are based on more than two years of research and over 150,000 voices. Explore who the new disruptors are and how businesses can adapt.

Audio Boarding Now: The New Consumers Redefining Travel

Our session at SXSW started with a skit featuring three personas: The Virtual Native, The Wellness Protagonist, and The Climate Catalyst who were portrayed by three UT Austin Department of Theater and Dance students.

Is Loyalty Dead?

Tuesday, March 14 | 2:30 PM (GMT) 

Brand loyalty is beneficial for revenue, talent attraction, and resilience during economic downturns, but it may be declining due to a growing number of brands and shifting values. This dynamic discussion will explore the changing shape of brand loyalty, including post-pandemic behavioral shifts, innovation in offerings and experiences, and predictions for the future of travel and leisure.

Audio Is Brand Loyalty Dead 

There are more brands across more categories than ever before, and a seemingly unlimited supply of reviews, recommendations, likes, aggregators, and now chatbots to help us choose.In a world of endless options, why be loyal when there’s so much to explore? 

What does the future of Travel and Leisure look like?

Partner Ana Kreacic sits down with John Ackerman to discuss personalization, brand loyalty, and insights from our session. 

Ana Kreacic and John Ackerman discuss the big themes from their SXSW session, Boarding Now: The New Consumers Redefining Travel, and the new consumer personas that resonated most with them.

What does the airport of the future look like?

Partner Brian Prentice and John Ackerman Executive Vice President of Strategy and Development at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), look to 2050 and discuss the characteristics of future winning airports.

Adopting the latest AI technologies in the healthcare ecosystem while maintaining a patient-centric approach continues to be a key focus for the industry.

Heiyab Tessema and Eric L. discuss how AI showed up on the Health and MedTech track at South by Southwest.

What is the U.S.’s biggest advantage when thinking about great power competition and national security?

Watch Principal Kelleigh Cosentino Bilms share her thoughts from SXSW 2023.

What can businesses do to deliver authentic experiences to their consumers along their travel journey, even if they aren't the final destination?

Alex Lee, CEO of Resy and Oliver Wyman Alumni, and Hannah Kelly, CMO of Resy, discuss their insights from our session at SXSW.