• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, September 17, 2012

That’s what Caspar Schlickum, Managing Director, EMEA, Xaxis, implied was the real opportunity behind Facebook Exchange.

Schlickum characterized the launch of Facebook Exchange as a significant breakthrough for marketers and for trading desks like Xaxis, not because of the ability to procure inventory or create online experiences per se, but because of the ability to track and analyze the performance of Facebook in real-time, with real metrics.

He cited the example of a “quick service restaurant” brand in the U.S. that Xaxis ran a Facebook Exchange campaign for. The data available via the exchange enabled the brand to reduce its campaing costs by 22%, he said.

One source of data that’s not exactly resonating with brands, is “likes.”

In fact, Schlickum suggested it might have been the real reason behind General Motors decision to stop advertising on Facebook.

“Someone went, ‘What’s a “like” worth?’,” Schlickum said, implying that when no one could reasonably answer that question, the decision was made to discontinue advertising on the social network.

That said, Schlickum said “It must be working for some brands,” because they continue to advertise on Facebook, and for Xaxis and its clients, the ability to run “programmatic” buys through the Facebook Exchange has been a game changer.

Ben Aronson, Managing Director Digital & Creative, Juice Digital, noted that GM didn’t actually “pull off of Facebook entirely.”

“They stopped advertising,” he said, adding that they continued to invest in their Facebook pages and content related to it.

“They saw their value as the engagement piece, which to be honest with you, is where most brands and most agencies do a crap job,” he said.