Following the success of The Talking Tree campaign created for Agency for Nature in London, Droga5 London & Droga5 Dublin, part of Accenture Song, brought this innovative AI-powered experience to South by Southwest (SXSW) in partnership with The Trail Conservancy, UK Advertising, Locate Productions and Purpose Disruptor-led effort Agency for Nature. Expanding on the campaign’s mission to reconnect young people with nature, this first-of-its-kind activation gave visitors a chance to engage in real-time “conversations” with a living tree, inspiring new ways to consider their relationship with the natural world.

The Talking Tree experience was an extension of a SXSW panel featuring the project entitled “Earth’s Biggest Brief: The World’s First Agency for Nature” hosted by UK Advertising at UK House on Sunday March 9.

Building on the original London activation featuring a 150-year-old horse chestnut tree, the Talking Tree experience was brought to life in Austin with a 50-year-old live oak tree located along the Hike & Bike Trail near the center of SXSW activity. Over two days, festival-goers engaged in tech-enabled conversation with the tree, which used real-time sensory data to “speak” about its surroundings, history, and connection to the environment.

Signals from the tree are translated into a voice, shaped by data from over 10 sensors measuring bioelectrical signals, wind speed, temperature, soil moisture, humidity and more, alongside historical insights about the tree’s lifespan. These inputs feed into a local large language model (LLM), which acts as the ‘brain’ of the tree’, shaping the tree’s personality and enabling live, real-time conversations.

Over two days at SXSW, The Talking Tree engaged... Read More