Roberta Lombardi’s mission for growth and her love of the thrill that comes with change has propelled her to leadership roles in Consumer Marketing at tech giant Meta. She sat down with Together TV’s Francesca Aita to insist that luck has played a part, but her infectious and exuberant drive fuelled by a career across Automotive, Tech and Media/Entertainment certainly lent a hand in her success.
Following a recent appointment to Together TV’s marketing advisory group, Roberta reveals what motivates her daily, the key to thriving in a tech giant and how AI is transforming the industry.
Francesca Aita, Together TV: Congratulations on your new role in the marketing advisory group for Together TV. What motivated you to join?
Roberta Lombardi, Meta: Thank you for having me. It's great to be part of such a diverse group of experienced people in the industry. What attracted me to the role is the potential of having an impact that spans personal and professional motivations. As you grow in your career you realise you can have a big impact on people every day, and this role brings me closer to the opportunity to make a difference.
Francesca: What has your journey been to get to lead EMEA Consumer Marketing at Meta?
Roberta: First of all, I've been lucky to work across different industries and brands in various marketing roles working with many talented people. I have always thought of Growth as a by-product of continuous learning. Many people think career growth is only vertical. For me, it has always been about broadening my horizon and nurturing innovation.
I studied Marketing and Business as I've always been passionate about writing, storytelling and creativity. My very first work experience was as a Copywriter before I moved into automotive, where I got to launch, grow and evolve brands like the Fiat 500 and The Range Rover Evoque. Then I took a leap of faith, left Automotive after 10 years and joined Amazon where I had the opportunity to lead Alexa's launch in Europe. It was quite funny at times because my Italian accent then was, if possible, even stronger than it is today, which led to some amusing miscommunication with Alexa...Then I moved to Sky in a more commercial role to drive growth and innovation across existing and new verticals.
Finally, I landed in Meta nearly three years ago, where I felt I could further scale the breadth and depth from my previous experience
Francesca: How has your role changed across different industries?
Roberta: What I've learned from moving industries is that the marketing fundamentals don't change. For example, you still need to deeply understand the market, identify your core audience, crystallise your value proposition, promote it in a way that is relevant to the audience and effective for the business. However, there are a couple of things that flex. An example is the tension between arts and science, which is the essence of marketing. There are businesses that tend to focus more on one over the other, but the reality is that you need to allow the nuances in the data to add value. You need to crack the right balance, and that's an art, or a science, if you like, in itself.
Francesca: What have you found most rewarding in your role at Meta?
Roberta: There are two things that I have found really energising. They are: the power of communities and partnering with creators.
When you see the live impact your products or services have on communities that truly benefit from them, it's very rewarding. And it creates an opportunity to demonstrate the value of your brand in a way that is relevant, authentic and that can generate advocacy. One example is a program my team ran when I joined, called Community Voices, which highlighted everyday stories from communities who experienced Meta’s products’ value. From new parents using Facebook groups for finding a nanny in their neighbourhood, to communities using Meta’s AR/VR immersive technologies for medical training.
And the second thing is partnering with creators. Influencer marketing as such is not new. But what I found different in Meta is that you get to really integrate creators end-to-end in your strategic and creative development process. It's not just about thinking of influencers as a channel, but thinking of them as a partner, from co-creation to amplification of content.
Francesca: Social media has revolutionised the world. Meta’s Platforms are used daily by billions of people. It has been part of a massive change for Together TV and the media industry. How do you think social media has transformed the media ecology?
Roberta: I'm just going to take a step back, and remind ourselves of when Facebook was born. The mission today is still very much the same, which is about bringing the world closer together. Meta products help build, fuel and deepen connections beyond physical barriers. Think about how you communicate to your family and friends everyday through WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook. That’s probably one of the most noticeable impacts, as it makes people feel that the wider world is not as far away. When it comes to media specifically, It created multiple opportunities: for example, from a creative point of view, it really unlocked new shapes of storytelling through different formats including text, images, videos, memes and so on.
The second thing I would say is about creating a new type of relationship between brands and consumers. Where media might have enabled a relatively passive reception of brand messages, social media encouraged a more participatory involvement from Consumers.
The third point is that Meta platforms allow more personalised and efficient media plans, which both businesses and consumers benefit from.
Francesca: How do you see Together TV in the broader media ecosystem?
Roberta: The beauty of Together TV for me is that it brings - excuse the pun - together entertainment, community and real-life impact on a continuum from a “lean-back” to a “lean-in” experience. That's how I'm picturing your differentiating proposition in the context of perhaps other players that may drive either a “lean-back” experience or players in adjacent industries that might play more into the “lean-in” territory.
Francesca: A creator economy has quickly emerged in the last few years. Do Meta’s users have a closer connection to creators than the average media outlet?
Roberta: I would say yes. Creators play a very important role in the content flywheel on our platforms. They create original content that resonates much more with audiences. Why? Because people really connect with individual voices that they can put a face to. It's human to human and they find it more authentic. Creators’ content fuels engagement and creativity. Meta enables a creator to feel closer to their followers, and also to wider communities that share their passions and interests.
Francesca: How can TV Entertainment companies best leverage and engage with Meta’s platforms to reach and engage with their desired audiences?
Roberta: Content is at the heart of both the entertainment industry and Meta platforms, so there are clear synergies there. There is also an opportunity to create a very participatory experience and to gather insights from it, which can be really helpful to help shape content.
More broadly, businesses that use Meta platforms get a very meaningful result from their investment, and that's the reason why they keep using them. They enable companies to connect with people at scale where they spend valuable time.
Also, our investment and commitment in AI continues to be a priority and is already materialising on a much higher return on investment for businesses using our AI suite of products.
Finally, while Meta products are already mature, they're still growing. And this creates a growth opportunity for many businesses that want to scale and expand their impact.
Francesca: How big do you think the impact of Gen AI will be on Meta and other businesses ?
Roberta: Generally speaking, when we think about new technologies there is usually a tech development curve. It all starts with a hype, which is usually followed by a reflection moment, when people ask, “Okay, what are the best applications of these technologies?” Then there is usually a new peak, which is probably more sustainable over time, where the technology becomes a scaled utility. With Gen AI, it’s still early days but we are already seeing the potential opportunities that can be unlocked, like the ability to create an image from a text prompt.
When it comes to AI more generally, Meta is committed to create industry leading tools that can improve connection, creativity and productivity across all our products. AI has been at the heart of our business for over a decade. It powers everything we do from our apps and our tools for advertisers, to our content recommendations across different platforms. It's a matter of continuing to invest and develop those opportunities to pursue new ways for connection, creativity and expression. And for businesses, unlocking more efficiencies and productivity to increase performance and return on investment.
Francesca: With the rapid pace of change and innovation in marketing, what pointers would you give to your younger self?
Roberta: One thing would be “change will be the constant.” and going back to my automotive days, I would add that “you want to be the throttle and not the brake.” The future is going to happen, and if you pay enough attention to the present you can start spotting it and co-create it on the way.
Francesca: Our pass-it-on question from a previous guest asked, what was the last book you read or TV show you binge watched?
Roberta: I love TV shows! The first one that comes to mind, which I recently watched again, was White Lotus. Picture Theo James, Jennifer Coolidge, Sabrina Impacciatore, Sicily and drama. What's not to like?
When it comes to books, I tend to read two books at the same time, which I'm pretty sure takes double the amount of time than reading them in a row. But some days, I'm in the mood for escapism and some days I'm into - what I call - active reading, which is getting inspiration to improve yourself or your life. To the latter, I've just read Essentialism from Greg McKeown which is about the power of being very clear about what matters to you and being the sole editor of your life to make sure you relentlessly focus on that.
If you enjoyed this edition of ‘Spilling the T’, read more from other experts who have worked at Sky including Jack Eatherley Sky's former community investment intiative lead discussing social effects in media and sport or Sky's former Managing Director of Content Zai Bennett and how he knows a show is going to work. For a marketing deep dive, read the Advertising Week Europe Special with BBC, ITV and Channel 4 talking all things streaming and the marketing challenge of generating talkability.
