PR takeaways from SXSW 2025

The latest insights on AI, personalization and more.SXSW took over Austin, Texas, for its 38th year. Stars like Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey and Cookie Monster all visited to promote new products; companies staged elaborate activations to grab attention, from free blowouts in a makeshift street salon and cutting-edge digital art and free Dubai chocolate.
But inside, many of the panels geared toward PR and brand professionals focused not on the large-scale and flashy, but instead on the per