Branded Storytelling: Turning Culture into Business Impact

Event ID: PP1162943

Sun, Mar 15, 2026 | 8:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Venue: Red River Ballroom (The Thompson Hotel Austin)

View on Official SXSW

Summary

Culture doesn’t just influence what people watch — it shapes what they do next. In this fireside chat, NBCUniversal and Taco Bell unpack how premium storytelling, live experiences, and cultural relevance are shaping marketing strategies and driving real business outcomes. Through real-world examples, they’ll explore how the brand is challenging traditional approaches, breaking category conventions, and showing up boldly and authentically to build brand love in moments that matter. Attendees will leave with practical insights for translating cultural engagement into measurable impact.

Contributors

Raw Event JSON

Large nested arrays are compacted for page readability. Full payload remains in dataset files.

Open JSON payload
{
  "id": "PP1162943",
  "track": "Brand & Marketing",
  "focus_area": null,
  "category": "Fireside Chat",
  "event_id": "PP1162943",
  "event_type": "panel",
  "format": "Fireside Chat",
  "genre": null,
  "subgenre": null,
  "name": "Branded Storytelling: Turning Culture into Business Impact",
  "presented_by": "NBCUniversal",
  "publish_at": "2026-03-04T16:15:00.000-06:00",
  "reservable": true,
  "reservable_id": "PP1162943",
  "reserved": false,
  "date": "2026-03-15",
  "end_time": "2026-03-15T15:30:00.000-05:00",
  "start_time": "2026-03-15T15:00:00.000-05:00",
  "message": null,
  "image": {
    "alt_text": "Branded Storytelling: Turning Culture into Business Impact",
    "credit": null,
    "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/h8nsiYoY97DYrAmMmjMI9YznqUg=/950x633/images.sxsw.com/187/05bc0b41-704e-1531-9ef2-0a42f477d171/pp1162943"
  },
  "credentials": [
    {
      "name": "Music Badge",
      "type": "music"
    },
    {
      "name": "Platinum Badge",
      "type": "platinum"
    },
    {
      "name": "Innovation Badge",
      "type": "innovation"
    },
    {
      "name": "Film & TV Badge",
      "type": "filmtv"
    }
  ],
  "contributors": [
    {
      "id": 106950,
      "company": "NBCUniversal",
      "credential_types": [
        "filmtv",
        "innovation",
        "music"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2279246,
      "name": "Kristina Shepard",
      "speaker_types": [
        "Speaker"
      ],
      "title": "EVP of Ad Sales and Partnership",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Kristina Shepard",
        "credit": "",
        "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/TnRVfaIysCMCUhwEtKbtPYnUvSg=/0x0:1179x1179/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/57781f83-0097-4b13-af3a-16adf83b6f0c/pcid-1641693"
      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": null,
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    },
    {
      "id": 102561,
      "company": "Taco Bell (U.S.)",
      "credential_types": [
        "filmtv",
        "innovation",
        "music"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2270140,
      "name": "Luis Restrepo",
      "speaker_types": [
        "Speaker"
      ],
      "title": "Chief Marketing Officer",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Luis Restrepo",
        "credit": "",
        "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/bI4WCm_2TP2TjsIdAQMtGl033ws=/521x37:1502x1018/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/47eae90d-875b-41d4-b45d-bdf892d98e22/pcid-1653629"
      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": "Luis Restrepo serves as Chief Marketing Officer, U.S., for Taco Bell, where he leads efforts to strengthen consumer connection, build cultural relevance, and grow market share through breakthrough marketing platforms and bold product innovation. Since stepping into the CMO role in September 2025, Luis has advanced the brand’s category leadership and value strategy, including the recent launch of the Luxe Value Menu — a bold redefinition of value delivering elevated, flavor-forward options at an accessible price point.  \r\r \r\rLuis previously served as Vice President of Brand & Product Marketing after joining the company in December 2023. In that role, he oversaw Taco Bell’s product pipeline and brand marketing efforts, guiding the team behind game-changing innovation such as Cheesy Street Chalupas and setting the foundation for his promotion to U.S. CMO. Prior to Taco Bell, he held brand leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, where he developed a strong foundation in brand management and consumer-driven growth strategy.",
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    }
  ],
  "venue": {
    "accessible": false,
    "age_policy": null,
    "floor": null,
    "id": "V2208",
    "indoor_outdoor": null,
    "mixhalo_url": "https://translate.mixhalo.rocks/435?venue_id=435&partner=true",
    "name": "Red River Ballroom",
    "parent_id": "V2151",
    "parent_venue_name": "The Thompson Hotel Austin",
    "venue_entry_info": null,
    "formats": null,
    "location": {
      "address": "506 San Jacinto Blvd.",
      "lat_lon": [
        30.2667947,
        -97.7409874
      ],
      "city": "Austin",
      "postal_code": "78701",
      "state": "TX",
      "name": "The Thompson Hotel Austin"
    },
    "root": {
      "id": "V2151",
      "name": "The Thompson Hotel Austin",
      "mixhalo_url": null
    },
    "events": "[omitted 5 venue events]"
  },
  "description": "Culture doesn’t just influence what people watch — it shapes what they do next. In this fireside chat, NBCUniversal and Taco Bell unpack how premium storytelling, live experiences, and cultural relevance are shaping marketing strategies and driving real business outcomes. Through real-world examples, they’ll explore how the brand is challenging traditional approaches, breaking category conventions, and showing up boldly and authentically to build brand love in moments that matter. Attendees will leave with practical insights for translating cultural engagement into measurable impact.",
  "experience_level": "Intermediate",
  "audio_url": null,
  "accessibility": [
    "Closed captioned"
  ],
  "accessible_venue": false,
  "add_bcl_url": false,
  "add_slido": false,
  "after_midnight": null,
  "age_policy": null,
  "american_sign_language": false,
  "apple_url": null,
  "audio_description": false,
  "caption_url": null,
  "captioned_qa": false,
  "closed_captioned": true,
  "cpe_credit": false,
  "event_status": "none",
  "has_subtitles": false,
  "hash_tags": [],
  "high_sensory_experience": false,
  "live": false,
  "long_description": "Culture doesn’t just influence what people watch — it shapes what they do next. In this fireside chat, NBCUniversal and Taco Bell unpack how premium storytelling, live experiences, and cultural relevance are shaping marketing strategies and driving real business outcomes. Through real-world examples, they’ll explore how the brand is challenging traditional approaches, breaking category conventions, and showing up boldly and authentically to build brand love in moments that matter. Attendees will leave with practical insights for translating cultural engagement into measurable impact.",
  "meeting_url": null,
  "meeting_url_live": false,
  "mentorly_url": null,
  "mobile_audio_url": null,
  "open_captioned": false,
  "playlist_tag": null,
  "rebroadcast": false,
  "recommended_ids": [],
  "search_conversions": null,
  "short_program": false,
  "slido_url": null,
  "sort": "BRANDED STORYTELLING: TURNING CULTURE INTO BUSINESS IMPACT",
  "source": "Official",
  "squad_up_url": null,
  "stream_embed": null,
  "stream_id": null,
  "stream_url": null,
  "strobe_warning": false,
  "subdiscipline": null,
  "summit": null,
  "summit_display_name": null,
  "tags": [
    {
      "id": 1094,
      "name": "Branding",
      "created_at": "2016-11-28T14:54:15.982-06:00",
      "updated_at": "2022-02-14T12:07:45.213-06:00",
      "sort": "BRANDING",
      "alpha": "B"
    },
    {
      "id": 950,
      "name": "Storytelling",
      "created_at": "2016-11-04T11:43:51.305-05:00",
      "updated_at": "2024-02-05T16:58:21.488-06:00",
      "sort": "STORYTELLING",
      "alpha": "S"
    }
  ],
  "talent_attending": null,
  "title_only": false,
  "track_display_name": "Brand & Marketing",
  "trailer_id": null,
  "trailer_url": null,
  "video_on_demand": null,
  "vimeo_id": null,
  "vod": false,
  "xr_project_type": null,
  "youtube_id": null,
  "related_events": [],
  "related_sales_client": {
    "id": 2249417,
    "type": "brand",
    "name": "NBCUniversal",
    "company_headline": "A CENTURY OF REINVENTION, A FUTURE DRIVEN BY INTERACTIVITY ",
    "company_bio": "For 100 Years, NBCUniversal has delivered stories and moments that spark fandoms, build communities, and invite audiences into the worlds they love like Bravo, SNL, TODAY, and Sports across World Cup, NFL, NBA and MLB. We continually invest in content and technology to shape a more interactive future with an unmatched viewing experience and ad innovations that maximizing reach and engagement for brands across all our portfolios.\r\r\rJoin NBCUniversal at SXSW. Please see session details below.",
    "location": "The Thompson Hotel",
    "logo_url": "https://images.sxsw.com/qnlevw5Zb0Vj8myNKxCz4Tk9BaM=/32x36:1972x1976/950x950/images.sxsw.com/192/29695950-bbc7-49db-a010-e20af0bca897/SalesClient-8690",
    "image_url": "https://images.sxsw.com/ycM55OiMMODrealeJnUxd0L7K2g=/163x3:1778x1080/950x634/images.sxsw.com/193/b253f735-8740-4241-bb16-dc1161973abc/SalesClient-8690",
    "events": "[omitted 6 related events]"
  }
}