MUMBAI: With the ever-evolving nature of the digital landscape and millions of pieces of online content being created every minute, it’s never been more important for marketers to understand how to cut through the clutter to reach their audience.
In a bid to keep its agency partners up to speed on its products and services as well as support the development of local agency talent, Facebook’s initiative saw top creative and media minds from agencies across Asia-Pacific took part in the very first Agency Ambassador program for the region.
Facebook launched the Agency Ambassador Program in Asia-Pacific as a hands-on education session. During the three-day session in Singapore, Facebook’s teams worked closely with agency representatives from India, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia on how to apply best practices to campaigns and client briefs so the knowledge sticks.
Joining it for the Agency Ambassador sessions in Singapore were representatives from Amnet, Carat, CyberAgent, Dentsu, iProspect, OMD, PHD, Hakuhodo, Havas Media, IPG, Madison, Resolution Media, Septeni, Starcom Mediavest and ZenithOptimedia.
What they did?
A little bit of work and a little bit of play. Day one was kicked off with a tour of the new Facebook Singapore digs and a local goodies swap, agency reps sharing snacks from their home country as a ‘getting to know you’ icebreaker. The reps were then broken into teams for a Blueprint download, each group given a hypothetical client brief they had to bring to life using Facebook marketing principals they had learnt throughout the day. The session covered everything from dissecting a brief, putting up ads wireframes to align with business objectives, creative best practice, a targeting module as well as campaign measurement and reporting.
It was a full day of planning, executing and reporting, where participants soaked up knowledge not only from Facebook but also from each other.
“We found agencies and clients learn more efficiently when they take concepts and apply them immediately so they stick. It’s not just about listening to someone talk—it’s about interacting with your team members and putting what you learn into action as the day goes on,” shares Facebook APAC agency development lead Matthew Drury.
Day two was a mix of deep dive learning sessions from Facebook and Instagram experts like Fergus O’Hare from the Creative Shop, Amit Chaubey from Marketing Science and Swati Rai who chatted about Atlas and what it means for agencies and brands.
Participants had the chance to ask questions after each session to better understand how Facebook can help them achieve the best results for their current clients as well as win new business.
But it wasn’t just work—it was also a chance for agency teams from around the region to connect with each other, mingling and networking over drinks in the Facebook Singapore beer garden before heading out to dinner.
What's next?
Facebook will continue to work closely with the agency representatives that took part in the Ambassador Program, helping them to hand select Blueprint courses relevant to their agency. The agency ambassadors will head up Facebook and Instagram product learning within their agencies so other team members are brought up to speed on the marketing products available to them.
“We will continue the conversation now that everyone has gone back home. They are part of our Facebook and Instagram community so we want to keep the dialogue flowing. We will work with our ambassadors to get feedback on our products so we can tailor them to better suit their clients' needs and ultimately collaborate to produce more stand out, award winning work,” added Facebook APAC agency development lead Edel Horgan.
