'We've had some bumps on the road': Facebook is courting its ad partners with a series of new tools designed to make their jobs easier
Facebook's VP of global agency development Patrick Harris
- Facebook is has launched a series of new tools designed to help its partners more easily create and measure ads on its platform
- It has also broadened the partners in its ecosystem, enlisting freelancers as well as small agencies to help brands run ads on its platform.
- The company acknowledged several recent mi steps at an event on Wednesday - which still touting the platform's power to a group of ad executives
Facebook might have its slip-ups, but it's still the best platform for brands to put their ad dollars on.
That's was essentially the company's sales pitch at its annual Global Partner Summit for its marketing partners in New York City on Wednesday morning - a gathering bringing together over a 1,000 developers, ad tech partners, ad agencies, consulting firms and measurement companies all under one roof.
"We've had some bumps on the road," said Facebook's VP of business and marketing partnerships David Fisher, kickstarting the event.
"And we know that to seize all the opportunities in front of us, the only way that we can do that, is to serve the millions of businesses who advertise today, the tens of millions of businesses who are on our platform... in collaboration with all of you."
To that end, the company rolled out a series of updates, including new tools designed to help its partners create and optimize ads on its platform on behalf of big brands more easily.
- It has officially rolled out a new tool for creative agencies called Creative Compass.
- And has started beta-testing a new program called Facebook PRO, which expands the Facebook Marketing Program to include smaller agencies.
Facebook wants to help marketers measure the impact of ad creative
Among the new ad tools Facebook introduced Wednesday, Creative Compass has perhaps the biggest promise. The product should help brands measure the impact of their individual ads in a more scientific fashion - such as how effective various visual images are in persuading and influencing particular target audiences.
The idea is that brands should be able to understand how likely consumers are to take action after seeing an ad.
"We heard loud and clear for the entire ecosystem that getting creative right is a hard thing to do," said Facebook's VP of global agency development Patrick Harris. "So that's why we're investing heavily in tools to help."
Creative Compass currently being tested with select partners, but will be more widely available to all partners in 2019.
Facebook is also expanding its partner base
Facebook has made a number of changes to its partner program over the years, but it is now expanding the initiative. On broader level, Facebook is now bringing agencies and consultants closer together with its more traditional partner ecosystem of tech companies to encourage collaboration. In the past, these groups were managed separately.
- The company is testing a new program called Facebook Marketing Consultants, which essentially accredits freelancers, helping to connect advertisers with vetted professionals beyond just agencies.
- Facebook is also adding smaller agencies to the program
It is also creating a matchmaking tool for small brands to find the right partners to create ads
Additionally, Facebook has launched a new pilot program called Facebook PRO, which is designed to help small and medium advertisers find new service providers that meet their marketing needs.
For example, a direct-to-consumer toothbrush brand looking for a partner to create mobile video ads could tap into a company like Shuttlerock using Facebook PRO.
"We know it can be frustrating where you're dealing with a client issue and you need to get a quick answer," said Harris. "We've enabled better connections to our team and fast response times, so you can get access to someone that can answer your question 24 hours a day, five days a week."
