Velocity Global at SXSW
Turning a global HR tech brand into an experience people actually wanted to spend time in.
Overview: To increase brand visibility and create deeper connections with customers, prospects, and partners, Velocity Global launched a multi-day activation during SXSW in Austin, Texas.
The experience blended executive thought leadership, curated networking, hospitality, and immersive brand moments — designed to position Velocity Global as a modern leader in the future of work.
As the Senior Brand Manager, I led the strategy and execution of the activation from concept through launch, partnering across creative, events, executive leadership, and external vendors to bring the experience to life.
Role: Senior Brand Manager
Scope: Experiential marketing, brand strategy, executive engagement
Led: Creative direction, experiential strategy, messaging, production oversight, vendor management, executive stakeholder alignment, onsite experience design, budget management, and cross-functional execution.
The Challenge
Velocity Global wanted to expand brand awareness beyond traditional B2B channels and show up in a way that felt culturally relevant, premium, and human.
The challenge was creating an experience that balanced executive credibility with hospitality and energy — while standing out in the noise of SXSW.
The Strategy
Rather than approaching SXSW as a sponsorship opportunity alone, we built an integrated brand experience designed to create meaningful conversations around the future of work.
The activation strategy focused on:
Executive thought leadership
Relationship-building with customers and prospects
Brand visibility within the tech ecosystem
Elevated hospitality experiences
Content and social amplification opportunities
Every touchpoint was designed to feel intentional, modern, and distinctly human — reinforcing Velocity Global’s broader brand positioning.
464 unique SXSW landing page visits; 5+ min avg time on page
+20% bump in organic traffic to velocityglobal.com during SXSW week
+93%spike in organic traffic on March 15, 2023; day after activation ended
Web and Social
The Impact
The SXSW activation became one of Velocity Global’s most visible brand moments following the launch of the “Team Everywhere” rebrand.
Over five days, the Global Oasis Lounge welcomed 3,000+ attendees and created space for conversations around distributed work, global hiring, and the future of work culture.
The activation generated:
67 qualified leads
172K+ promotional impressions
5,600+ Workplace Revolution track page views
a 20% increase in organic website traffic during SXSW week
and a 93% spike in traffic immediately after the event concluded
The accompanying panel session drew 275 live attendees and was favorited more than 1,600 times in the SXSW platform, extending engagement beyond the event itself.
More importantly, the experience helped reposition Velocity Global from a traditional B2B SaaS company into a brand that felt culturally relevant, human, and experiential.
