As a marketing professional on the creative side of the table, I have always sort of bristled at the idea of going one way or another with a campaign idea simply because the numbers said we should. Or, should I say, our interpretation of the numbers said we should.
It used to be that creative teams hit the streets and talked to people, conducted customer focus groups, had brainstorming sessions and developed the best creative ideas they could to sell the products and services of their clients. Their ideas were based on consumer feedback and just plain old gut instinct. Now, researchers pour over website stats, count online inquiries, track calls and monitor online behavior like a scientist trying to cure a disease. Once the data is mined and interpreted, then the 'creative' process begins.
This laser focus on data and our reluctance to pull the trigger on anything if we don't have numbers to back it up is one reason social media is so perplexing to some marketers. Social media is conversation. It's opinion. It's voyerism (now that's fun!). It's interaction. And try as we might to direct a Facebook user to make an online purchase during her hour of computer time after she puts the kids to bed, she simply may not be in the mood. So what else is new. But in her conversations with friends, her spying on neighbors and her clicking on funny videos, seeds were planted for sure. Trackable? No. Effective. Oh heeeelllll yes.
The most fun thing about marketing and advertising - and the most infuriating - is the unpredictability of consumers. We're simply moody beings. It's as if consumer behavior is this mysterious fog that sways in the breeze, changing direction at random. It's truly like the weather. Sometimes you know what's coming, other times, you don't - no matter what size your Doppler radar is. We will NEVER, no matter how much money we throw into software tracking system, figure it out. So the game plays on.
While data is the best we have to go on in black and white, I am of the belief that true creative marketing, and ultimately truly successful marketing, should rely more on gut instinct and good old fashioned consumer interaction than data alone. I'm not saying screw the data altogether, I'm saying make it just one of the pieces of the puzzle. Get to know your target audience on a deeper level than
is shown on paper. After all, I can write a biography and tell you all about me, but you will never really get to know me until you meet me. And even then, until we're BFF's, you'll only get half the story. So let's use the data for what it's worth, but don't make it the be-all end-all of our campaigns.
Stay creative my friends!
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