Social Media: Let Go or be Left Behind

Nigel Gwilliam (Head of Digital for the IPA) hosted the event and steered the panel around a wide variety of hot topics in the comms biz, including brand identity, creativity, channel planning, gamification and corporate citizenship.

Panellists Paul Graham (MD of Anomaly), Jane Young (Director of Social Business Innovation at The Social Partners) Dave Trott (Sunday Times top ad-blogger) and Lewis Shields (Head of Digital and Social Media at Flagship Consulting) each brought their own nuanced and intricate perspectives to the discussion that got progressively heated as the night went on. Let us just say, it was probably best that Nigel (for some reason) had a baseball bat in hand to keep the order.

Paul Graham hammered home the idea that whatever work you do as an agency, whatever the idea, whatever the media, it has to be the absolute best or it will not be heard. Dave Trott warned the audience that there's too much emphasis on the channels and not the actual creativity behind the work. Lewis Shields championed the massive importance of social research and brands knowing the customers inside out while Jane Young maintained that the emergence of this data and interactivity has changed business forever – and brands need to step up their game to stay in the game.

The one thing that everyone could agree on? Some things just don't need to be discussed or available in the social space. Best think twice before you make a useless Facebook page. Proper planning and a stunning idea will beat a rush to market any day.