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
In Graphic Detail: LLMs keep citing YouTube in search results
The videos getting cited reveal how different AI search can be from traditional Google search.
Marketers have bought into microdramas — but a lack of ROI might make them irrelevant
Microdramas are attracting brand dollars and audiences. The harder question is whether the format can translate that attention into meas.
Some marketers see ‘no ceiling’ for beauty brands advertising in sports
By now, many in the beauty space have wised up to just how powerful a tool athletes and sports are for their brands.