Brands must respect their audiences’ time as much as their own - 5 themes from Facebook’s creative chief Mark D’Arcy at AWEurope

1. Infinite supply and finite time.

Audiences have infinite access to content, anytime and anywhere. The way we connect, share and discover content has been transformed. Everything competes with everything. There requires a new cadence and approach to creativity FOCUSED ON relevant, lighter weight brand experiences designed to reward attention and foster connection.

2. Universal versus personal greatness.

Historically, there were a few things that mattered to a lot of people. However, with so much content available, brands and content publishers must today focus on unlocking what’s really great to the people that matter most to their business.

3. Market for, not at people.

Data is only useful as the ideas it inspires and the actions it enables. It’s people not platforms that are really interesting. Success means marketing for people, not at people. The rise of the personalisation era will combine a personal touch to business with the scale and efficiency of mass media. Facebook, which is built around people and the things they care about, is uniquely positioned to lead this shift. Facebook is making business personal again.

4. If an idea doesn’t scale to the people that matter, it doesn’t matter.

The speed at which audiences consume and share content has accelerated. Brands must respect their audiences’ time as much as their own. All of us in the industry need to develop programmes and campaigns that concentrate on rewarding attention. This means concentrating on adding value, creating content that is light, simple, feed worthy and thumb friendly.

5. Mobile is not a thing, it’s the thing.

Through smart devices, people are more connected than ever. Reach, dwell time, engagement are all important considerations. But there is a creative opportunity for brands to re-orientate themselves around mobile and to create ideas built around mobile centrally. Mobile provides a canvas for brands to create deeper, more personalised, richer experiences.