Stewart Turner and Ashton Tuckerman dive deep into the highlights from SXSW Sydney 2025, exploring what made the festival valuable and examining the broader questions facing marketers as we head into 2026. From AI fatigue to the importance of staying curious, this conversation offers a refreshingly honest take on where the industry stands right now.
Key takeaways
- AI is everywhere, but execution matters: The festival reinforced that "created with AI is fine, but created by AI is boring" - tools should enhance human creativity, not replace it
- Cross-industry learning delivers the biggest value: The most impactful sessions came from speakers completely outside marketing, like film director Paul Feig sharing insights about creating psychological safety and avoiding trend-chasing
- Strategic thinking remains your strongest defence: In an era of rapid technological change and economic uncertainty, good strategy developed through experience and curiosity still provides the best competitive advantage
- Diversification beats following the crowd: Moving beyond the "Google and Meta mafia" to experiment with platforms like Reddit, Spotify, and Pinterest can deliver better engagement rates
- Human connection and critical thinking are more important than ever: As tools make execution faster, the focus should shift to slowing down and thinking more carefully about the 'why' behind decisions
Notable quotes
"By the time you've done it, it's no longer popular and it has a really short shelf life... against chasing trends."
"All bosses do is collect talent... the people that he's worked with seemed to come back and work for him again and again."
"We become more of who we are, the more we learn."
"Success is just what makes you happy... unplugging from the idea of success coming from a marketplace or a hashtag or a chart."
Summary
Ashton's SXSW Sydney experience highlighted a key tension in today's marketing landscape: while AI capabilities are advancing rapidly, the most valuable insights came from human-centred approaches to creativity and leadership. The festival's theme of curiosity proved particularly relevant, with speakers like Tyra Banks introducing the concept of "twisting" - borrowing inspiration from completely different industries to spark innovation.
The conversation reveals a broader industry shift away from tool-obsessed execution towards more thoughtful, strategic approaches that prioritise human connection and genuine value creation. As we head into 2026, the focus should be on diversifying beyond dominant platforms, maintaining curiosity, and remembering that technology should enhance rather than replace human creativity and critical thinking.
Listen to the full episode above.