Meta Optimised for progress

Facebook had helped write the rules of the internet. But following the creation of Meta, a crisis in public trust, declining user relevance and the ascendance of TikTok, the iconic ‘Blue App’ was facing an existential moment, its future uncertain. The instinct was to engineer the solution: better features, smarter algorithm, a more engaging experience.

Our focus was not the product but the culture that built it. Years of optimising for short-term engagement metrics had shaped how teams thought and built, what they put first, and what they believed the app fundamentally existed to do. No external communication or feature build could fix what was an inside-out challenge.

We led a brand-driven culture shift with leaders across Meta, proposing a new North Star to reset the beliefs, behaviours and priorities of the people building Facebook. By reframing Facebook around its core value: ‘you, to the power of others’, our work was designed to create new internal standards that could reengineer the habits and rituals within the business. Ultimately influencing a product that was optimised for human outcomes, not just engagement metrics.

At one of the most critical moments in its history, Facebook opted to change its nature, starting with the people inside it. As their strategic brand partners, we created a new, decisive role for brand within one of the most successful businesses in the world. Our work together unlocked a transformational mode of operating for Facebook’s teams. With brand leading the way, the business is discovering new ways to collaborate across silos and functions. An approach that demands that Facebook put the people that use it back at the heart of decision-making.