SXSW is a globally recognized festival spanning music, film & TV, comedy, and innovation. For their 2026 pre-festival rollout, social content was designed to build anticipation across SXSW’s 600K+ Instagram audience through a single emotional driver: FOMO, a.k.a. the fear of missing out.

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Using illustration-driven graphics built from artwork by Josh Cochran, alongside the identity system created by Overstory, story and carousel posts transformed programming announcements into shareable moments tailored to each festival vertical. Through expressive layouts and platform-native pacing, the campaign positioned SXSW as something audiences needed to experience in real time. The rollout generated 12K+ engagements, including 3,100+ shares and reposts, expanding organic reach and reinforcing SXSW’s cultural momentum ahead of the festival.