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"AUSTIN \u2014 Forget social media. The real marketing battle at South by Southwest Interactive takes place in real life, and is pretty close to real-time.\nPosters, perhaps the lowest-tech form of marketing ever devised, are alive and well at SXSW, as some of the world's most tech- and social-media savvy brands battle with staplers and oaktag. Companies using posters include Discovery Network, the apps Hater and DirectPass, as well as the infamous Bang With Friends. \nAs marketers post over competing messages with abandon, posters at one location can change within the hour. \n\"We starting posting first thing in the morning, and it's a fight for space kind-of-deal,\" says Jesse Thomas, founder of Jess3, an ad agency whose posters showed up on columns outside the Austin Convention Center. \"No restrictions, kind of like a college town.\" \nMTV, which is promoting its Woodie Awards at the festival, has contracted The Syndicate, a New Jersey-based guerrilla marketing agency, to replenish its posters several times a day. \"It's definitely been part of the culture for the past few years,\" says Chris Elles, co-owner of The Syndicate. \"It drives people to parties and events. You need a ground message.\" \nKate Keough, senior vice-president of marketing for mtvU and MTV2, says the posters augment a digital campaign: \"We have all these people walking around Austin ... Getting in their faces is just as effective.\" \nPerhaps the best example of how effective postering can be is from Australia's Posse, a self-described \"broke startup\" that lets you map out your favorite places in various cities. Posse put up a few versions of the following poster on Saturday: \n\nRebekah Campbell, founder and CEO of Posse, says she printed 100 posters for $39. By the end of the day she had 1,500 new signups, a nice portion of the estimated 25,000 people who attend SXSW. However, such results may be an isolated case. Campbell says she noticed that the posters stayed up for an unusually long time. \n\"They seemed to last okay,\" she says. \"People probably felt bad, and didn't post over them. They didn't read what it said.\"\n\n\nMashable at SXSW 2013\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGuests at the Mashable House visit with Internet meme Grumpy Cat\nPhotos by Live Box Photography. http://liveboxphoto.com/ \u00A9 2013 Live Box Photography\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGuests line up for a chance to get a picture with Internet meme Tardar Sauce aka \"Grumpy Cat\"\nPhotos by Live Box Photography. http://liveboxphoto.com/ \u00A9 2013 Live Box Photography\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTaskRabbit was on the scene with a rabbit-car\nPhoto by Mashable\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA replica of the Webb telescope\nPhoto by Mashable\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMashable CEO Pete Cashmore visits with Internet meme, Scumbag Steve at the SXSW Mashable House \nPhotos by Live Box Photography. http://liveboxphoto.com/ \u00A9 2013 Live Box Photography\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNASA STEM\nPhoto by Mashable\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCongressman Lamar Smith (TX) visits SXSW\nPhoto by Mashable\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDesigner Kimberly Ovitz visits the Mashable House at SXSW\nPhotos by Live Box Photography. http://liveboxphoto.com/ \u00A9 2013 Live Box Photography\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-13\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-16\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-15\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-14\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-17\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-12\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-11\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-10\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-9\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-8\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-7\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-6\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-5\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-4\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-3\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13-2\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmash-house-sxsw-13\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nImages via Posse and Mashable"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/03/11/sxsw-posters/>