Porter Novelli to Showcase Emerging Communications Technologies at the 2010 South by Southwest Interactive Conference and Festival

NEW YORK, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Global communications leader Porter Novelli will be showcasing a trio of new technologies and services at the South by Southwest Interactive Conference and Festival (SXSW) beginning later this week. Taken together, they provide a compelling glimpse into the future of earned media and influencer communications.

SXSW Interactive features presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, networking events hosted by industry leaders and a lineup of special programs that showcase the best new Web sites, video games and start-up ideas. It begins on March 12, 2010 in Austin, Texas.

At SXSW Interactive, Porter Novelli will debut innovations in social media analytics and engagement, augmented reality and location-based services. Porter Novelli has been the agency of record for the South by Southwest Interactive Conference and Festival for the past six years.

"In recent years, the big news in digital and social media has emerged from the unique gathering of talent that is South by Southwest," said Gary Stockman, Porter Novelli's CEO. "It's the perfect venue to showcase our latest digital thinking, and to collaborate with our partners to demonstrate exciting innovations."

Analytics and Engagement

Porter Novelli has formed an alliance with three software innovators -- Crimson Hexagon, Spredfast and Traackr -- to develop a comprehensive service that will allow marketers to analyze the sentiment of conversations taking place about brands, identify current and future influencers, manage outreach and assess campaign results -- all from one interface that is simple-to-use and navigate. Demonstrations of this service will take place in the Porter Novelli booth, 931/933, at SXSW Interactive.

"The world of marketing communications has fundamentally changed, with consumers now controlling when, where and how they will engage with brands," said Stockman.  "As such, clients need a comprehensive but simple solution that can analyze, predict, engage and assess influence.  Together with these three innovative partners, Porter Novelli will bring new intelligence to the conversations that influence behavior and drive desired outcomes."

Augmented Reality

Chief among the technologies that are transforming communications is augmented reality (AR), in which real-life experiences are enhanced with an overlay of digital content.  To showcase the potential of AR, Porter Novelli has teamed up with Metaio, an AR pioneer and developer of visual interactive solutions, to create ScavengAR, an interactive mobile experience that leverages augmented reality technology. ScavengAR is a game in which users collect three-dimensional game clues while also leaving virtual text messages for friends. Players score points by visiting geo-tagged locations across Austin and the SXSW Interactive conference, as well as by snapping photos of unique visual tags that reveal 3D objects placed into the real world.

"Augmented reality is an emerging technology that has the potential to transform interactions between brands and consumers," says Stockman. "We're exploring how these technologies affect things like location-aware communications, visual proximity and virtual advertising.  AR will revolutionize engagement, and ScavengAR demonstrates how this technology can create new, personal and immediate ways for brands to connect with and influence stakeholders."

Location-Based Services

Location-based services (LBS), which offer information and entertainment through mobile devices based on where the device is located, are the newest and hottest technologies driving digital media interaction. Together with PayPal, Microsoft and Studiogood, Porter Novelli will launch Check-In for Charity at SXSW Interactive, in which attendees can check in on Foursquare – the location-based Web service that lets users alert friends of their whereabouts via their smart phones - at designated locations.  Every time you check-in on Foursquare or use #sxswHaiti on Twitter, Microsoft and PayPal will make a donation toward Save the Children's Haiti Relief Fund.  

For more information, visit www.porternovelli.com/SXSW.

About Porter Novelli

A global public relations leader, Porter Novelli was founded in 1972 and is a part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC). Porter Novelli is the large agency making the biggest impact — and generating the most buzz — in the social media space. With 100 offices in 60 countries, Porter Novelli helps clients achieve Intelligent Influence — changing attitudes and behaviors by having the right conversations with the right people at the right time.

SOURCE Porter Novelli