Last month, we had the pleasure of attending Meta’s annual Agency Summit.
With Meta and its product portfolio showing no signs of slowing, the focus was on growth, innovation, creativity, and the transformative power of AI, and how this is reshaping the future of digital advertising.
At Route, we believe it’s essential to be at the heart of industry changes. Staying ahead of the curve enables us to continue delivering results through effective campaigns that optimise the latest trends and technologies, creatively and authentically.
That’s why we invest in a continued programme of CPD for our whole team, whether that’s at Meta Summits, in-person updates from media partners like ITV and Sky, or industry conferences like MAD/Fest and B2B Marketing Live.
At the 2025 Agency Summit, Meta positioned the platform as the ultimate hub where agencies can thrive, supported by AI-powered tools and bold creative opportunities. From cultural impact to immersive experiences, the event made one thing clear: agencies that embrace AI and creativity, while staying authentic and client-focused, will be best placed to succeed in the years ahead.
For us, attending the Summit isn’t just about learning about the latest platform updates; it’s about understanding how these shifts translate into real outcomes for our clients and how we can help and support brands to navigate the evolving digital landscape at pace.
4 hot takes from the Meta Agency Summit 2025
In this article, we’ll unpack the key takeaways from the Summit and share how brands can turn them into actionable strategies for stronger, future-proof campaigns.
1. Leaning into cultural relevancy for growth
Where communities thrive, there is an active and engaged audience, and it’s important that brands listen to their communities, and ensure content is culturally relevant, timely and on-topic, to help drive deeper engagement.
Meta values insightful creative that helps solve a community’s problem, speaks their language, shows up where they do and adapts to change, demonstrating that you are listening and you are relevant to them.
Social media plays a huge role in this. Brands can learn lots from listening to their communities on Meta platforms, engaging with them, as well as reflecting back creative that speaks to their needs – or even better, puts community creators in the driving seat of authentic, relevant content creation. As the client grows, you understand their challenges and sector nuances more. We work closely with our clients and campaigns evolve as we work together and market conditions change.
2. The power of varied creative assets
The digital world is unrelentingly visual, and there’s no denying that attention-grabbing creative remains your shopfront when it comes to stopping and engaging customers in their tracks. Now more than ever, there is a huge variety of creative formats and placements to choose from, and Meta reiterated how important it is to utilise these formats and experiment with different options.
From static images to animations, videos, infographics and interactive formats, don’t be afraid to experiment with bold, diverse and visually distinct creative that cuts through the noise. Reels are having a huge moment and are proven to drive down Cost Per Click (CPC) and drive up Click Through Rate (CTR), so it’s worth investing in this creative format, in particular.
Whilst Meta did acknowledge that using diverse formats for campaigns could drive up production costs, what this strategy will do is enable Meta’s AI functionality to tailor the ads it serves to individual preferences. It will figure out what is most effective when it comes to converting leads and find the specific creative that wins customers more quickly and easily.
3. Meta’s new AI tools are dynamite when used with human intelligence
AI is a big part of Meta’s present and future, but it does not work effectively in isolation.
Meta is pouring huge amounts of investment into developing AI tools that help brands and agencies better do their jobs, like Advantage+ and Opportunity Score. This is reshaping how brands can target customers more precisely, as well as tailoring personalised creative to individual preferences.
However, whilst AI is fast becoming our co-pilot for targeting, it is the judgement of humans that brings context, and a marketer’s deep understanding of client needs, applied to the Meta universe, that enables AI to work effectively to help deliver improved results.
So, for example, Meta reiterated that inputting high-quality customer data is vital for good results, combined with conversions API tracking. These elements, delivered alongside human-centric contextual execution, are likely to produce the most successful results.
And when it comes to prospecting for new customers, eCommerce brands may find that AI enables them to run one single campaign, utilising one overall budget, to target both existing users and prospects, rather than splitting the budget and running two separate campaign segments. But these gains can only be achieved through insightful, strategic planning at the outset.
4. Partner with authentic content creators
In the evolving Meta ecosystem, creator partnerships are viewed as vital for building ongoing trust in a brand, as well as enabling discovery. Content collaborations should be considered a long-term element of a brand’s marketing strategy, rather than a one-off, campaign add-on.
Third-party proof points are more important than ever, and there is huge value in matching genuine, authentic, creative storytellers who have a clear brand affinity with your products or services and collaborating with them for effective results.
Through Instagram Creator Marketplace and The Partnership Ads Hub, Meta has launched AI-enabled creator discovery and content recommendation tools for brands, making it increasingly easy to find and partner with authentic voices, with impressive results.
Use cases reported by Meta show, for one retailer, Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) driven down by 19%, whilst CTR increased by 53% when creator-led Partnership Ads were included in the mix.
The takeaway? Find your perfect creative partners, collaborate to deliver engaging content, and watch the results multiply!
How should agencies use Meta now?
Remain AI literate
If you work in an agency, continue to build your knowledge and comfort with Meta’s new AI tools. Many resources are available through training provided by Meta’s Success Centre.
Experiment with creative formats
Invest and experiment with bold and diverse creative content strategies. Try different creative formats and placements and let AI tell you which ones are most effective at driving acquisitions, layering Opportunity Score on top.
Pair human insights with AI for the best results
AI is there to help tailor campaigns and enhance them, more quickly and accurately, to help reach organisational goals with accuracy. It can act as your co-pilot, but it needs human-centric context and strategic input that can only be delivered by someone who understands the client’s goals and can provide relevant campaign context.
Partner with authentic voices to build community
Storytelling must work alongside brand building. Keep your creative aligned with brand values. Use Meta’s new AI tools to find and collaborate with content creators who have an authentic affinity with your brand and will help deliver audience engagement, build trust and drive customer acquisition.