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Ian Crocombe

AI Marketing Transformation

Ian Crocombe is the Founder of Deft, a creative consultancy he established in April 2020 to help brands unlock new revenue from social commerce.12 He is an experienced marketing leader with a passion for helping brands, businesses, and organizations grow through digital innovation.2

Prior to founding Deft, Ian held several notable positions:

  1. Global Strategy Partner at dentsu international (October 2021 - August 2022)2
  2. Director and Regional Head of Creative Shop at Facebook (March 2018 - April 2020)2
  3. Vice President of Innovation at American Express (April 2012 - July 2013)2
  4. Chief Strategy Officer at POSSIBLE (August 2013 - January 2014)2
  5. Strategic Planning Director at AKQA (June 2009 - March 2012)2

Ian has also been involved in education and mentoring, serving as a Program Leader for the Master of Communication Design Labs at IED Istituto Europeo di Design and as a CoderDojo Mentor in East London.2

Throughout his career, Ian has focused on the intersection of social media and commerce. At Facebook Creative Shop, he led a global team working on thousands of campaigns across various industries.1 He is also on the advisory board for several organizations, including The Gut Stuff, DRPCRD, Creative Equals, and the Victoria & Albert Museum.1

Ian is known for his expertise in creative and digital strategy, and his current work at Deft involves helping brands sell products directly on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.3

Highlights

Jun 25 · linkedin

How Humans ruled at AI Cannes

There’s always a big theme at Cannes, we’ve had Purpose, Social, Web3, this year AI was on everyones lips, this quote from Coca Cola CMO - Manolo Arroyo pretty much sums up the mood.

“AI is set to transform the future of the marketing profession”

While the highly manicured talks and press releases were big on hype and short on substance, the in person meetings, drinks & dinners were much more revealing.

  1. Marketing leaders are under pressure from boards to implement AI, but also sceptical as to the actual impact it will have.

  2. There’s a lot of noise from boutique martech solutions, but the real value is going to come from unlocking your talent’s capabilities (MIT research showed a 40% productivity hike for experts using AI).

  3. There was a big desire to focus on creating new possibilities rather than cost savings, I love these classic ads brought to life by creatives with the Luma video tool (via Selim Ünlüsoy

Big shout to the lovely humans I bumped into or got to hang out with in real life Leo Moore Elizabeth Valleau Sol Ghafoor Fritha Hookway Ian Edwards Menno Wagenaar Becky Owen Thomas Heilskov Helena Dillon Andy Wardlaw Shenda Loughnane Anthony McGuire Jenn Carkner Will Scougal Ali Hanan David Paul Stocks Tamryn Kerr Craig Coblenz Alastair Cotterill Ahmed Younis Lee Davies Charlotte Booth Laurent Burman Mike Bayly

Related Questions

What inspired Ian Crocombe to start Deft?
How did Ian Crocombe's role at Facebook Creative Shop influence his work at Deft?
What are some notable campaigns Ian Crocombe worked on at Facebook Creative Shop?
How does Deft help DTC companies grow on social platforms?
What are Ian Crocombe's key achievements at Deft so far?
Ian Crocombe
Ian Crocombe, photo 1
Ian Crocombe, photo 2
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Location

London, England, United Kingdom