Facebook Hosts Event for Vancouver-Based Brands

Antonio Guzman, Manager of Digital Marketing, Indochino, presents at last night’s #FBConnect.

Facebook hosts a mix-and-mingle at Vancouver Urban Winery Wednesday for local advertisers, agencies and big names from B.C.’s mobile, e-commerce and gaming scenes.

With no event page or publicity and a mysterious invite, Facebook Connect (#FBConnect) gave local players the opportunity to meet with reps from its Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters and its Canada head office in Toronto.
 
“Facebook’s advertiser support has been notoriously difficult to interact with, so a face-to-face conversation was golden for us,” said Conner Galway, co-founder of local ad agency Junction. 

B.C. tech companies Plenty of Fish, Clearly Contacts and Indochino shared their Facebook success stories. All have seen advertising budgets migrate from search to social media since 2010.
 
Wednesday’s event follows Facebook’s announcement that it will open a temporary Vancouver office, recruiting up to 150 software engineers. Facebook confirmed that its scouting locations downtown but had yet to sign a lease.
 
“We’ve seen a lot of success in different markets, and now we’re trying to crack that Canada map,” said a rep from Facebook.
 
Facebook operates a team of 40 out of its Toronto office and plans to host quarterly events connecting Facebook with local tech and marketing brands and agencies.