Dave introduced his presentation with a key idea (one, incidentally, I think, many brands are still struggling with) ‘You have your community – you have your fans – what to do next?’

Before going on to share a Nike case study, Dave reminded us (as if we needed it!) of Facebook’s general hugeness and influence. It’s now the top sharing site on the internet with Portals on the decline, classic search up a little and Social up significantly.  He used the phrase “where we start the day is where we tend to end the day” suggesting, I suppose, that Facebook is people’s jumping on point in the morning and the last thing they see before they go to bed go to sleep having probably got the laptop or tablet in bed with them. 

Goodness! It’s more pervasive and ubiquitous than we thought!

With an image from Mad Men, Dave reminded us that we are moving from interruption to integration and he focused for some time on the targeting opportunities that Facebook now affords those (and who wouldn’t?) looking to advertise on the biggest advertising platform the world has ever seen.  

Targeted ads are not new of course but adding the endorsement of some of your friends to that targeted ad is where Facebook is really changing the way of things and disrupting the industry.  Sort of, ‘we know you might like this and these friends of yours do too’ kind of approach.  The convergence of context, targeting and word of mouth is here. 

Can you imagine trying to explain this to those guys on Madison Avenue ploughing those early furrows of understanding how to get people to buy things?

It was clear listening to the guys from Nike on the polished short clip that Dave showed that they see Facebook as integrative part of their program.  This was nicely summed up with the words. “It wasn’t a case of Facebook or TV (for the world cup) – it was amplifying what we were going to do on TV anyway.”

Indeed, Dave went on to discuss a couple of case studies stressing that the first consideration needs to always be. “What are we trying to achieve?”  (Some things haven’t changed since those Mad Men days).

And again it was about Facebook supporting existing good marketing stuff and good ideas – integrating with a marketing calendar with Singapore Tourism Board and supporting a customized booking system for W Hotels being two good examples of solid and understood stuff being amplified, polished and leveled up with Facebook.

He even talked about one initiative focused around a cat that lived in a hotel.  I’m not sure if the guffaws in the audience were of amusement or of a more patronizing nature.  Those in the second group might do well to take a lesson from the people who thought, ‘cats on the internet? (think the story of Bob) hmmm … – behind the scenes look at our business and establishing some intimacy coupled with interesting angle and emotional connection? hmmm’:  Result – successful campaign.  

With the announcement just yesterday of new changes to the privacy settings and photo filters to combat Instagram’s offering, Facebook belies its enormity and wriggles and shifts itself once again getting that just bit more comfortable in the throne that is reserved for the indisputable King of the internet.