This project was always difficult to start because the initiative required raising sponsorship dollars from a collection of Philadelphia companies, non-profits, and organizations before we could commit to spending on the larger line items in the budget. 

For my role specifically, this meant working on tight timelines and being intentional with what we tackled in the beginning of the project (brand design, merch, the more lightweight programming, etc.) vs. the work we decided to hold off on (booking the national talent, production plans, final print materials, etc.) as we made progress on our fundraising goal.

After months of hard work in securing the fundraising goal and confirming all the programming, brand assets, and print materials, we traveled to Austin to get ready for an early 3am load-in on the first day of our activation that opened at 10am. Throughout the day we worked on rearranging the venue for whatever was next in the run of show as well as pushing out real time photo and video content on socials to keep followers in the loop. The most challenging part of the day for me was the gap of time between the happy hour ending and the start of the official music showcase because it required totally flipping the 2nd floor and soundchecking 7 full bands in a tight window - stressful at times but totally worth it once the event started and seeing local Philly talent have their big moment to a packed house at SXSW.

Since 2016, Amplify Philly has raised over $500,000 to produce the initiative, booked over 100 Philadelphia Artists for performances, showcased over 75 Philly based start-ups at the trade show, and generated over 36,000,000 impressions on social media to promote tourism and attract new business to Philadelphia. Here are a few outlets that have covered Amplify Philly’s activation at SXSW: Philly Mag, Metro Philly, Technical.ly Philly, and the City of Philadelphia.