Shaping the Digital Landscape: Paul Ward, VCCP Media

VCCP

Advertising/Full Service/Integrata

Global

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Paul Ward

Business Director — VCCP Media

See Profile

In the latest installment of our "New Year, New Media" series, we spoke with Paul Ward, Business Director at VCCP Media about social media's focus on video content, utilizing smaller social platforms for meaningful engagement, and ground-breaking examples of innovation and tech.

The rise of social media platforms has made them key to brand recognition. In what ways does your agency utilize social media to inform/engage your audience and how do you see that evolving?

Gone are the days of basic static ad formats, every platform from Facebook to Pinterest and Tik-Tok are video first. Video content keeps users sticky to the platform, which drives greater ad revenue therefore algorithms generally push video above all else.  This isn’t new but it is becoming the norm. Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently announced plans to double-down its focus on video content and consolidate all video formats around Reels. For brands the proof is in the numbers.

But for smaller brands a constant flow of short-form video content production can be costly which is why we continue to see increased investment into influencer marketing. This will further evolve in 2022. Social platforms are beginning to invest in creator-focused marketplaces allowing brands, agencies and creators to collaborate on campaigns more seamlessly and quickly than ever before, even LinkedIn is getting in on the act!

Smart digital innovation drives engagement. An example of this was the easy Jet Look & Book feature, created by VCCP in partnership with Travelport Digital, it uses AI to detect the location of a post. Customers then upload a screen grab of an image, and the app will serve up a range of available flight options to the nearest airport. The possibilities are endless.

How has the pandemic affected the way consumers use social media and which platform is the most relevant to your agency?

Facebook has been on a slide and usage has declined across all audiences 55 and younger. On the flipside TikTok grew 41% in 2021 and 89% in 2020.

I believe it is those outside of the big 4 (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & TikTok) that provide the most engaging offering as they have yet to be completely sucked into the copycat mentality of the attention economy. Yes, they all sell ads and yes, they all have elements you’d expect to see on the big 4 but they offer scale in a more unique way.

Reddit at its core is a massive internet forum made of 1,000’s of subreddits, from r/wallstreetbets which drove Gamestop’s price to the moon and back to more obscure subs such as r/peoplewithbirdheads. Reddit has been dubbed one of the oddest places on the internet, but it also provides one of the best ways to engage with huge communities of audiences that could be perfect for your brand. Distinctly large enough to have scale but niche enough to drive targeted communications to core interest groups.

Pinterest is another one that has been slowly gathering momentum in the shadows of TikTok’s explosive rise. Since 2016 it has increased its active user base by 300%. Pinterest is unique among social platforms because its users are largely there to discover new things, chief among them new products. Outside of their large user base and unique offering, they are also at the forefront of social commerce, try on product Pins that combine branded content with augmented reality to create a virtual “fitting room” experience on Pinterest.

At VCCP we take a platform-agnostic approach to social. All platforms have their pros and cons, but it can often be the quieter ones that can offer the biggest rewards for brands.

To what degree does the innovative use of media by agencies and companies shape the way new media evolves? (eg: interactive campaigns).

We have seen gaming really push on over the past 18 months as brands try to keep up with the ever-changing digital landscape. Working alongside Island Records and Epic Games, VCCP helped O2 build its iconic 02 arena inside the popular video game Fortnite. An absolutely brilliant and ground-breaking example of innovation and tech.

AR is another area we’re seeing further innovation. Pokémon Go started this a while back, crudely allowing businesses to pay for ‘lures’ which coax Pokémon to a PokéStop for 30 minutes, to get customers to their stores or restaurant. 3 years ago, this was considered ground-breaking, now we’re looking at a fully immersive online world in the ‘metaverse’. Top tier media from Forbes to The New York Times are touting this as the biggest change in the internet since social media and as always brands are at the forefront.

The biggest driver for the world's largest brands is the fear of being left behind, their adoption of new media will further drive the way that it evolves and how consumers interact with brands.

How do you utilize data analytics to create more engaging campaigns?

A mistake in today’s data driven world is to focus solely on precision targeting that big data has enabled brands to do. By going straight to the bottom of the funnel you run the risk of sacrificing long term success for short-term results.  Where we think the biggest opportunities lie is the blend of creative and data driven media buying to deliver impactful messaging.  Dynamic Content Optimisation (DCO) has enabled us to adapt messaging in real time based on 100’s of data signals.

What typically started in traditional digital channels (display, video) is now being more widely adopted in outdoor, audio and even TV. Sky recently announced “Smart Sponsorships" which enable brands to tailor their idents to different audiences using Sky’s third-party data, or an advertisers’ own, first-party customer data.

Data attribution models enable us to understand which marketing tactics are contributing to sales or conversions.

What contemporary forms of new media are you planning on using to reach audiences?

AR & VR are the early 2022 buzz words, but both have been around for a while. I expect that whilst they are getting more investment and coverage, adoption will continue to be a slow upward curve.

Our biggest opportunity this year lies in using existing media in contextual and contemporary ways. Concentrating on delivering the brilliant basics of right time, right audience and right place in a world where context is king.