VCCP London supercharges social specialism

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Agency News

Date

06/07/2022

VCCP today has revealed further investment in its social offering through the unveiling of a new senior social leadership team. New addition Nick Lewis joins as Head of Social & Content Strategy and will work alongside Alex Dalman, Head of Social & Innovation and Nicky Palamarczuk, Head of Social & Influence to challenge the social conventions for VCCP’s clients across the partnership and expel the bad habits of the industry. 

Lewis, Dalman and Palamarczuk together will lead a team of 35 social specialists and their remit will be to translate the fast paced nature of social-first thinking into groundbreaking work across social, gaming, digital and experiential in a native way. The trio will build on existing momentum by scaling VCCP’s social capabilities across its global network whilst also simplifying the complexity of the ever-evolving social media landscape for clients. 

Lewis joins VCCP from football media business COPA90, having spent almost six years with the fan-first publisher working with brands including EA Sports, Nike and PepsiCo. Both the dynamic duo, Dalman and Palamarczuk have been driving forces at VCCP London for championing a social-first mindset and Dalman now moves into the role of Head of Social & Innovation. Dalman has delivered some of VCCP’s most iconic non-traditional award-winning campaigns over the past seven years including The O2 in Fortnite Creative, easyJet’s Look&Book and Domino’s Recovery Channel. 

Alongside the new leadership team, VCCP London also announces the launch of an innovative social audit tool called ‘The Big Social Media Reality Check’ which will enable VCCP to analyse a brand’s social media presence and operational ways of working, allowing the world-class social team to diagnose and propose a cutting strategy, creative approach and operationally led tactics. This will provide a clear plan on how to allow current clients and prospective clients to tap into VCCP’s portfolio of world class tools and industry leading specialists to get the realistic, relevant and real results they want in social. 

Commenting on the new social tool Andrew Peake, CEO at VCCP London added; “Brands are used to social campaigns and activations but with emerging trends like NFTs, innovations in e-commerce and opportunities for bespoke builds in games and on platforms, not to mention, the comeback of always-on social, it’s crucial we have not only leadership but tools and processes to deliver in this space. We’re excited to welcome Nick to VCCP as he has unparalleled experience building some of the most influential audiences and communities for some of the world’s biggest brands and whether it’s The O2 in Fortnite creative racking up 10 million players or running a purely organic TikTok channel for Domino’s, Alex and Nicky have a track record of delivering stellar work that translates into business results.”  

The role of social in advertising continues to grow exponentially. Now, social media, more than ever before, has a profound impact on business as brands across all industries must factor their online presence into their business strategy and their business results. The new social leadership team bring together a wealth of industry expertise and represent VCCP’s evolving focus to deliver award-winning social for clients. 

Alex Dalman, Head of Social & Innovation says: “We want to make sure our brands show up in the most culturally relevant way in the places where our clients’ audiences are spending the most time. That means pushing the boundaries of what we do and what we offer to clients; whether it’s activations, games, or TikTok Collectives, it’s about cutting through in really stand-out ways, and not over complicating things. There is so much branded content crap out there, it’s very easy to fall into one of two camps as a brand - Camp Paralysis or Camp Doing Everything Ok. We want to ensure brands do neither with our Reality Check Tool.

Nicky Palamarczuk, Head of Social & Influence added; “In 2022 we need to assume that a vast proportion of a brand’s target audience will never see a TV ad from that brand. And it’s not enough to do social cut-downs. We need socially native creative. It’s why we have a team of social specialists. Comedy writers for community engagement, creator makers who can concept, shoot and post a TikTok in a couple of hours, and pro-game builders on tap to create immersive gaming experiences like the one in Roblox. But to get there we first need a clear understanding of a client’s needs, capabilities, ambition and appetite, and that’s where the Big Social Media Reality Check comes in”  

Nick Lewis, Head of Social & Content Strategy added: “We're in an exciting era of social fuelled creativity where we are redefining how we connect brands with consumers, build community and entertain. These connections however are increasingly disparate and I’m really thrilled to join one of the very best integrated agencies, to help reduce siloed and fragmented brand experiences. Throughout my career I've helped brands to connect with culture, communities, creators and talent in meaningful ways and I'm pleased to be able to bring my experience of fan first publishing and editorial to VCCP.“