UKG Lights Up the Sky at SXSW

by Alyssa Tigue, Group Account Director at Zambezi

UKG wanted to show up in a big way this year at SXSW and our media team at Scale by Zambezi was ready to deliver. Not only did we have a blast with our clients, it was a great experience to be there with a team who put so much time and passion into this sponsorship. Complete with a buzzing activation space, insightful panel discussion, and drone show that lit up the sky, the partnership with UKG & Zambezi just keeps getting better!

Here’s a little recap…

As a leading provider of HR, payroll, and workforce management solutions (and one of the largest private software companies in the world) it only made sense for UKG to sponsor the Workplace track at SXSW, which was made all the more fun with a custom mini golf course. Plus, we had a crossover moment with our client TaylorMade!

After a few rounds (and no hole-in-ones), we met up with clients for some photo booth fun — who doesn’t love props?!

The UKG experience continued, and the night was bright with a drone show over the Colorado River downtown. That’s 400 drones choreographed in perfect unison to bring UKG’s brand purpose and elements to life.

Day two culminated with an amazing panel conversation moderated by CEO of Great Place to Work, Michael Bush, with UKG Chief People Officer, Pat Wadors, CHRO of AbbVie, Tim Richard, and VP Corp Comms of Adobe, Erica Warren. They discussed what it means to create a great place to work for all people.We also came away with some learnings after day two.

The advertising agency presence was lower than I expected, with fewer agencies participating in panels, activations, and sponsorships. When talking with some long-time SXSW goers, they lamented about missing the days when agencies would show up in big ways bringing the weird, wacky, and interesting moments to Austin that often only agencies can do. But the other side of that is a great keynote by Jay Shetty about how to stay open and connected in relationships. The room was packed, and we were interested in whether he would address the latest questions about the validity of his background, but he didn’t.

SXSW is a networkers haven. People are there to meet, greet, cocktail, and pitch. If you're invested in playing the long game in relationship building, it's a great place to grow your LinkedIn connections and stay in touch after the conference is over.

It’s also a great place to bond with your team and clients. Learning together and experiencing the thrill of seeing your work come to fruition in real-time.

Last but not least, if you want to see a Ryan Gosling screening, you should be planning your day around it. But you may be lucky and still get a glimpse of his Kenergy.