The definitive Digiday guide to what’s in and what’s out at SXSW

Digiday is at SXSW giving you the latest industry news out of the festival at Austin, Texas. More from the series →

SXSW has lost some of its luster. Mega-events typically follow a trajectory in which they reach great heights before an inevitable decline. SXSW’s height was probably Barack Obama coming to speak in 2016. Agencies have curtailed their contingents, brands aren’t as hot and bothered, and few are looking for the next startup darling to emerge in Austin, Texas, this weekend. Still, the ride can be fun.

Here’s our take on who will be up, who will be down and who will go sideways at this year’s edition of SXSW Interactive.

More in Marketing

After watching X’s ownership issues play out, marketers brace for TikTok whiplash in 2026

TikTok’s ownership drama has echoes of X (formerly Twitter), but ad performance has kept marketers for fleeing—for now.

‘There’s no room for purists’: Generative AI is altering the agency junior talent search

AI is altering agency business models. It’s altering the skills they’re hiring for and where they’re hiring them from, too.

For platforms, here’s what’s not going to happen in 2026

Rather than the traditional platform predictions, this is a list of what Digiday believes won’t happen next year.