Going Social: Meet Nokia’s Brad Spikes

Nokia is back and in full force! We’ve been working with Nokia’s Brad Spikes, coordinating some amazing things for SMW13. From photo labs at Ideas Connected at Global HQ to #SmarterEverday events to help enhance how you work, we can’t wait to show off all that we’ve been planning together! Now, meet the man helping us pull together.

Brad, how long have you been with Nokia, and what gets you most excited about your work with them?
I have been with Nokia a little more than 11 years. It really is an exciting place to work– the dynamic environment of working in the mobile industry coupled with the always present need to adapt & evolve. Additionally, there is a wealth of talented and globally diverse people at Nokia who are extremely passionate about their work. I feel quite fortunate to come into the office each day surrounded by exciting challenges amongst colleagues who are dedicated to the cause.

How has social helped Nokia differentiate itself in the mobile space?
I believe it is not so much strictly differentiation as it is a natural progression for Nokia, with regards to what has been a core to our company DNA for a very long time – connecting people. From offering people in emerging markets their first mobile phone, to our smartphones based on the Windows Phone platform, which is inherently very social, to our blog, Nokia Conversations, that helps us connect with our fans worldwide – social is a part of nearly everything we do.

And we take it one step further. When you consider the differentiation of our phones in areas such as imaging, design, and location, we are enabling consumers to capture & share their experiences in entirely new ways (and look good while they do it).

What recent Nokia campaigns would our supporters in NYC be familiar with?
The Nokia #Switch campaign has been a key push for us. It centers on the idea of asking consumers about what would convince them to switch to a Lumia smartphone. We constantly curate consumer feedback from social channels and share their messages via our digital switch hub.

Nokia is entering as a heavy player with mobile photography and is powering some great activities for February, from 1197 and Photo Labs at our Global HQ. Can you tell us a bit more about the key features of the Lumia camera and why imaging is so important to Nokia?
Imaging is an area of strength and differentiation for Nokia, and we’re always innovating here. It really comes back to what I was saying earlier about taking the experience one step further and addressing some of the feedback that we hear from people using cameras on their phones in everyday life. For example, how many times have you tried to take a picture with friends in a restaurant, club or at an evening event and someone has their eyes closed, is looking away, or the photo turns out blurry or too dark to share? Using the camera on a Lumia 920 along with our Smart Shoot lens helps you address all of these common photo pitfalls and capture the moment.

One of my favorite features for the new Lumia smartphones is Cinemagraph, which enables you to create animated GIFs and share them with your social networks. Check out the Nokia conversations post HERE which shares some really cool examples of Cinemagraph as well as how easy it is to share your creations with family & friends on your social networks.

What do you hope to see Nokia accomplish over the next 12 months?
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about where we are headed in social this year! Continuing to have quality conversations with both our existing fans/followers remains a core focus and we are always working to engage with new audiences about our products. Sharing the Nokia story through social and the friends we make along the way is such a rewarding experience. Further, building & fostering relationships with consumers is absolutely critical and the best part is it’s something we truly enjoy doing!

Make sure you swing by the Global HQ to see Nokia in action and say hi to Brad!

Like them on Facebook
Follow them on Twitter at @NokiaUS
Watch them on YouTube
Follow them on Pinterest