![The 10 Most Buzzed About Brands at SXSW [STUDY]](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/archives/00dL3yzfGuHTM8xt9kzM7JO/hero-image.fill.size_1248x702.v1647019708.jpg)
The Interactive portion of South by Southwest has officially drawn to a close, and with it, the opportunity for brands to make a splash with the tens of thousands of tech-obsessed attendees of the annual conference.
So which companies ended up getting the most buzz? Ad Age teamed up with social media analytics firm People Browsr to analyze the number of SXSW-associated brand mentions of specific companies across Facebook and Twitter.
The top 10 (in order), according to the study:
Mashable
FourSquare
CNN
GroupMe
Tumblr
Microsoft
While we’re of course delighted to be topping the list (with our two-day Mashable House, Facebook Live and Gowalla partnerships, and other social media initiatives likely driving the numbers), the results do provide insights into many of the companies and trends we were tracking at the conference.
The battle of location apps was once again in focus at SXSW, and by attracting 13% of the brand mentions (among the companies tracked), Foursquare appears to have once again been the big winner. The startup made a number of big announcements leading up to SXSWi, including a partnership with American Express that provided deals on the ground to attendees in Austin. CEO Dennis Crowley also joined our CEO Pete Cashmore on stage for one of the keynotes.
GroupMe and Instagram, two highly buzzed about startups going into the conference, managed to grab 3% and 2% of the mentions, respectively. That’s more impressive when you consider it’s more buzz than big sponsors with a big physical presence at the event (like Pepsi, Chevy and Microsoft) received.
GroupMe also scored the highest ranking among the top 10 for positive brand sentiment. CNN ranked second in this category while receiving 6% of mentions overall -- both likely a result of its prominent CNN Grill, which provided live content (and free food) throughout the event.
We’d have loved if the study had gone deeper into some of the other startups we were watching going into the event. We’re also curious as to the buzz Apple received after setting up its special venue for selling the iPad 2.