In line with their commitment to developing and promoting young creative talent, Facebook is sponsoring the Student category of The Loerie Awards 2016, taking place at the Loerie Creative Week in Durban.
“Facebook is committed to celebrating creativity and attracting diverse young talent into the advertising and marketing industries,” said Sarah Personette, Facebook’s vice president of global business marketing.
According to Personette, South Africa is leading the creative revolution on mobile. Facebook has identified the importance of attracting young talent into the industry, coming from a mobile-first perspective.
“Many of us wake up in the morning, look at Facebook and start scrolling through our curated newsfeeds. In South Africa and the rest of Africa, this is mostly on mobile devices. Creating for mobile devices brings different creative considerations. We want the ads and the content that comes up to be relevant and engaging,” said Personette.
Facebook hosted three events at the Loeries including the Facebook Hack for Good – a 48 hour creative hackathon in which the best advertising students nationwide, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, created a cutting edge video campaign.
Facebook’s Made on Mobile workshop was launched at the Loeries. This was a full-day workshop in partnership with KCap (Kwamashu Community Advancement Projects) aimed at equipping disadvantaged youth with the skills to create marketing campaigns for small businesses using only their phones. This event proved so successful that it will now be rolled out in other regions across the globe.
Facebook also supported the Adams and Adams Student Portfolio Day, giving students the tools to build online creative portfolios, and promoting these to the industry using Facebook Canvas Ads.
“Our sponsorship of The Loerie Student Awards for 2016 is an opportunity to celebrate the young professionals who are telling rich, creative brand stories using our platforms,” she says.
“We really believe creativity unlocks the power of technology and young people in the creative community especially are at a very exciting place to craft beautiful and relevant work. Young creatives can play an important role in solving bigger problems by building or creating for mobile as more people become connected”, said Rob Newlan, head of Facebook Creative Shop EMEA.
With Facebook on a mission to “connect the world”, Personette believes that businesses and brands play an important role in connecting people and communities. “Creativity and connection have a crucial role to play here. Communication is key. Connecting, we can create anything,” she said.
Connectivity is rapidly transforming the continent, inspiring people and businesses with the power to imagine bigger, better ideas. Consider this:
· By 2020 there will be over 500 million smartphone connections and
· One billion mobile broadband connections, representing 60% of the connection base
· The mobile ecosystem will drive well over $100 billion in economic value across Sub-Saharan Africa
· And it will create or influence over 6 million jobs
Personette will address the Loeries Seminar of Creativity today.
