Facebook Launches New Interview Series Looking at Evolving Shifts in Advertising Approaches

Facebook has launched a new series of expert interviews to help provide more guidance for advertisers on how to respond to key industry shifts, and outline what’s working right now in building effective Facebook ad campaigns.

As explained by Facebook:

“Across several chapters, we will explore how the marriage of data and creativity is helping drive best in class advertising and powering better return on investment for brands.”

The initiative comes at a crucial time, because Facebook, like all digital platforms, is in the midst of a major advertising shift due to the increased focus on data privacy, which has lead to both Apple and Google exploring new ways to provide more capacity for users to stop apps from tracking their actions.

That means less insight for advertisers to go on in mapping out their campaigns, and as a result, marketers are being forced to develop new methods of gathering response insights, and building their ad campaigns based on expanded inputs and considerations.

In the first interview of the series, Facebook’s ANZ Head of Marketing Science Andy Ford spoke to Jen Rhodes of BMF and James Greaney of CHE Proximity to get their insights into how they’re coping with these changes.

Both Rhodes and Greaney explore the expanded push to combine data and creativity, and how brands are now evolving their processes on this front.

Ford specifically notes that, despite recent shifts, great creative remains the key driver, with recent research conducted by Facebook, in conjunction with Analytic Partners and The Lab, showing that 70% of the potential return on investment for video advertising comes from the creative itself.

That, of course, is still driven by data insights, and the group also discuss the different ways in which they use response data to inform their creative approaches, and ensure that their creative elements align with audience engagement.

Which is also now coming as a result of evolving data gathering techniques, and specifically, a move towards gathering and utilizing first-party data, which is something that many brands are less familiar with. That then leads to new opportunities for engagement, while the capacity to own that insight, and not rely on third-party platforms for the same, also provides more control and direct audience connection in approach.

The group also discuss Facebook’s evolving use of machine learning and AI to inform its ad targeting, and how that’s also altering strategic approaches. 

As noted by Greaney:

“By using the tools and technologies we have at our disposal, the advertising industry can create great entertainment and experiences that are genuinely valuable. And since we have the ability to measure its effectiveness, we need to lean in and make sure that we’re understanding it properly.”

That’s a key focus – providing engaging, valuable ad experiences that align with audience demand, which, despite changes in how data is gleaned, can still be assessed based on alternate response tracking and refinement.

There are some valuable notes here, with Facebook looking to publish more insights from other industry leaders in the coming weeks.

You can read the full overview of the session from Facebook here.