Unlocking the Power of Community in the Post-Social Era

Event ID: PP1162218

Wed, Mar 18, 2026 | 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Venue: Waterloo Ballroom 3 (Austin Marriott Downtown)

View on Official SXSW

Summary

The marketing landscape is in chaos. As attention spans contract, audiences retreat to private digital spaces and ad costs rise, traditional playbooks are becoming obsolete. Sara Wilson identified this shift in 2020, coining “digital campfires” in Harvard Business Review to describe Gen Z’s move toward intimate communities. In this talk, she shares her community-powered marketing framework—shaped by years at Instagram and advising Fortune 500s—showing how prioritizing relevance over reach by tapping into organic communities drives attention, loyalty, and ROI.

Contributors

Raw Event JSON

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