Facebook Creative Shop head for ANZ Rebecca Carrasco departs after 11 months in the role
Facebook Creative Shop head for Australia and NZ Rebecca Carrasco is leaving the business after being appointed in November, last year.
Prior to joining Facebook, Carrasco was creative director of Clemenger BBDO, Sydney.
Says Carrasco: “I’m grateful to have experienced working for one of the world’s big tech companies; it’s good to have that curiosity satiated. I learnt a lot during my year at the company, and I really appreciate the opportunity given to me by Fergus O’Hare (Creative Shop APAC) and Mark D’Arcy (Global CCO) to lead the ANZ arm of Creative Shop. There were some nice collaborations during the year which I’m proud to have been part of like the ‘Picture This’ project with Semi-Permanent, which just launched Sever Room Symphony in 360 by Will O’Rourke, and the Road Of Imagination campaign for Harley-Davidson, with 303 Lowe. However I’m comfortable with my decision to leave and I wish the company the best of luck.”
Regarding what’s next, Carrasco says: “I want time to think about what’s next. I believe in the power of ideas to move people and commerce in a way we can all enjoy. But there are different paths to pursue this and I’m at a point in my life where I can take a few risks again, so I want to explore that freedom.”
After being the star of YoungGuns in 2003, Carrasco startedher career at Colenso BBDO New Zealand, employed by then ECDMike O’Sullivan after taking out YoungGun of the Year in 2003. Latershe followed O’Sullivan to Saatchi’s NZ. In 2005 she transferred toSaatchi & Saatchi Sydney, hired by then ECD David Nobay. In 2006she left to set up a PhD on the power of ideas in public communication, and later that year decided to join Lowe Hunt, Sydney, where she met creative director Dejan Rasic. In May 2007 she joined him and Lowe Hunt CEO Ben Colman to form CRC.
Carrasco split with Colman Rasic Carrasco early in 2010, joining Publicis Mojo, Auckland as creative director in June 2010. However, when her role was unexpectedly expanded to ECD when the U.S. candidate for that job changed his mind, Carrasco decided to return to Australia to start a family. After a year she took a creative director role at Clemenger BBDO, Sydney in August 2011.
Facebook recently appointed Andy Blood, former Colenso BBDO and TBWA\Auckland executive creative director to the role of creative strategist at Facebook and Instagram, based in Sydney.
23 Comments
This is an interesting one. FB clearly have big plans and have hired some big names here and in the US. While the spiel about ‘working with agencies to help them get the best out of our platforms’ is still front an centre, the aim is to cut the agencies out completely by making the content for the client and using the FB platform to get it out there.
So why the short tenure?The pay would have been good, the perks, and the travel also. Having worked on a project or two with the Sydney FB ‘creative team,’ that is still very much a work in progress, so maybe there was no budget to hire real talent.
Either way it’s a bit of a stumble for FB’s plans of domination.
When it comes to selling stuff, Facebook doesn’t work as effectively for clients as Search does.
As for FB trying to cut the clients mustard: the issue here is that there’s only so much time I can spend looking at FB. So its usefulness is limited.
Good luck Andy Blood. You’ll need it.
The tough issue for the tech platforms is there is bugger all for really creative people to do. I remember speaking to Twitter creative who spent an hour telling me all the amazing things you could do on the Twitter Carousel – there were not that many things you could do with it.
Creatives like big issues and big ideas, tech platforms give you small issues and small ideas to play with.
@Tech Platforms, that’s one way to think about it. But it also enables things like The Ice Bucket Challenge. There’s a ton of different ways to harness a connected world.
Read the rap sheet and you’ll see there have been a few short tenures.
“thank god Andy turned up so I can bail without leaving them totally up the creek”
?? 🙁
I thought a shape-shifter was a creature out of science fiction.
You guys are adorable 🙂 Clearly none of you have any clue about how big tech platforms operate and how we deploy our Creative Shop people. Probably why you’re still burning yourselves out at B-grade agencies.
But by all means keep wildly speculating if it helps validate your failures.
Hey @Facebook Employee. I wasn’t interested in this conversation until you posted. You will soon realise the consequences of your comment. Facebook is desperate to make friends with agencies in Australia and partner with. I will personally make sure I will never ever bring you guys in again. I’m sure others will too.
Rebecca! All the best. You are talented and you will succeed no matter what you do and where you go.
Ouch. Given Creative Shop’s mandate is to work with agencies, you’ve just cast a horrible shadow over your fellow colleagues.
Next time you step into an agency to collaborate this comment will be ringing in everyones ears.
Hey Facebook employee,
Maybe you A-Grade tech legends should stop using our work in your own case studies then. It was only a year ago that I saw two of my agency’s pieces of work being used in a presentation at your cool Sydney office. Not to mention the countless other agency work that presented.
OK BAE.
Here here
@Facebook Employee,
If that comment was hubris and believe me, I know hubris, it would be the giantest, most ridiculousest hubris sandwich I have ever seen. How many awards have you won outside your own Facebook award shows? Because believe me carry less merit than a Gold Logie. Vagina.
@FB employee
Hi friend
Actually I do have a good understanding of platforms, as any creative working at any ‘B grade agency’ does. I’ve also worked with your ‘creative shop’ people from both Australia and Singapore first hand, and the title of ‘creative’ is very flattering of their output and contribution to the project. Our client ( from one of the biggest fmcg companies in the world) felt the same way and handed the entire project over to us.
So keep on believing kiddo, one day you’ll be able to mix it with the real creatives.
Wow. Just, wow.
Before Donald Trump’s Hair, an organ of a Melbourne Cup filly, or anyone else takes issue with what Facebook Employee or @Facebook Employee have suggested – I thought I’d clarify that neither of these perspectives are Facebook’s.
I can assure you, as I’m writing this from Facebook.
I do hope though that Donald Trump’s Hair is the real thing – as I’ve always suspected that his hair disagreed with some of his convictions – hence the majority parting ways with him. Never realised they moved all the way to Australia…
Good to see a comment from Becs now added here. Very professional and a top creative talent. Any company would be lucky to have her.
Bec…looking forward to talking risky ventures over a beer, or tea. T
She is one of my best friends.
If anyone wants to work with me/and or Facebook Creative Shop, please just drop me a line or give me a shout.
andyblood@fb.com
0456024138
And as I told Shaun O’Connor this week I’ve used his work as a case study because I admire his work. And I expressly said this is not the work of Facebook. This is best practice.
In the same way I admire google/creativelabs/thewilderness
And my actual favourite piece is this (and you’ve given me the air to air it):
https://vimeo.com/158160346
And it’s hosted on Vimeo (OMFG).
And I’m not even supposed to use the G word. Or the V word.
F that.
If anyone wants to work with me/us go ahead. The doors are open. We’re not cutting your lunch.
Please get in touch.
Andy
I can’t decide whether Andy using the CB blog to recruit staff is a stroke of boundary-busting genius or cheap-arse desperation.
Good to see a comment from Becs now added here. Very professional and a top creative talent. Any company would be lucky to have her.
Bec…looking forward to talking risky ventures over a beer, or tea. T
I don’t know Andy, but his comment is a bit embarrassing (what the heck is that…sad recruitment?? or desperation?). But I also know the rumor mill and I am not sure she ‘decided’ to leave….
Dear God, I can assure you she left on her terms, at her request. A frustrating loss for the company, but she stuck by her resignation despite many attempts to keep her. (BTW….Rumour mills are usually self-serving, and started by a ‘hopeful’ beneficiary, so it makes it easy to tell where they’ve come from.) As for Andy’s invitation to work with the industry being embarrassing…grow up. It’s simple business.
Thanks for the belly laugh Mortein! Frustrating loss…attempts to keep her! Well…if it helps you sleep at night. #wherertheynow