London, 31 January 2013 – On Tuesday night Mark D’Arcy, global director of creative solutions, Facebook, spoke to an audience about ‘social creativity’, as part of the ongoing NABS Tuesday Club talks initiative.
The exclusive event for NABS Partner Card holders saw Mark D’Arcy give special insights into the future of social media and how brands can best use social, in front of a packed audience at Facebook’s Covent Garden offices. It also marks the first Tuesday Club talk in this, NABS’ centenary year.
Mark singled mobile out as a platform that must be taken seriously and suggested we are now in an age where we should be putting mobile at the start of any design process. While many in the industry might recoil at the prospect of working with the mobile screen as the primary creative canvas, it’s a reality they must acknowledge given the size of its user base.
Similarly, Mark advised brands and their agencies not to treat social as an afterthought when developing campaigns. “Social needs to be thought about from the moment you think about people; if you put people at the centre of the entire process then social needs to come first.”
He reflected on how marketers have, in some cases, become “disinter-mediated” from their audiences and how they need to refocus and ensure their brands are people-centric. “Know your voice and how to talk to people,” he advised.
“Think about the small businesses in your local area that you love. Think about what makes them special, from the personal service to the connection with the owner, to the customisation of the service, and try to build some of that into how you connect with your customers.”
No longer does the media dictate when we access content. When it comes to making sense of such monumental changes and the exponential growth in data for example, Mark explained that humans are hard-wired to seek out collective wisdom. “We ask for advice even if we know that the person we turn to will give us terrible advice,” he joked.
“Technology is starting to catch up with humanity” Mark D’Arcy at facebook #NABSfacebook #socialcreativity #nomarkz @zuzanazahorova
— Michaela Mencerova (@MencerovaM) January 29, 2013
To reflect the way humans think and act, Mark talked about how the web is being rebuilt around people and becoming social. He referred to this as “technology catching up with humanity” and how “the authentic web changes everything.”
Mark highlighted the three big shifts taking place in communications now: “disruption to connectivity; search to discovery and the shift from being heavyweight to lightweight. It’s important that we optimise the way we connect, focusing on the value exchange and obtaining the biggest engagement in the smallest amount of time. We love building things, but we have to realise in this world of excellence that we need to optimise in the most deep and meaningful way in the smallest amount of time.”
Zoë Osmond, chief executive officer, NABS said: “What a wonderful way to kick off our centenary year by having Facebook share with us its vision for the future. Social media will clearly play a huge role in our industry over the next 100 years with the talk providing us with a wonderful juxtaposition of the legacy of NABS with the future of communications.”
Stephen Haines, UK commercial director, Facebook said “NABS has made a significant contribution to our industry since its inception and it’s a real privilege to have this opportunity to talk to an audience of future industry leaders. “
The evening’s NABS Tuesday Club talk with Mark D’Arcy was a special benefit to NABS Partner Card holders, who can enjoy a range of fantastic talks, high street offers, career development guidance and one-to-one mentoring schemes with industry heavyweights, for a charitable donation.
Launched in July, the card has now been distributed to over 6,000 industry employees.
The next NABS event is a Tuesday Club talk with Cilla Snowball, group chairman & group CEO, AMV BBDO on “pushing advertising up the business agenda” on Tuesday 19th February at AMV BBDO.