It has always been assumed that marketing is all about art and creativity; and that marketers are creative professionals that imagine ideas to help create traction for brands. It was thought that creativity is irrational, imaginative and uncertain while data is the opposite. However, marketing is as much a science as it is an art.
Creativity and data are not mutually exclusive. A lot of the time, the creativity of marketers is driven by data (structured or unstructured) as a result of market research or merely intuition as a result of experience. Data and creativity go hand in hand if your marketing is going to deliver strong results; marketing success calls for the marriage of art and science.
“Creativity without data is just art. But data without creativity is neglect.” ~Steve Babcock
Market research tools have improved greatly over the years, as has the need for justification of marketing ROI. Data helps marketers better target their audience with content that is designed to meet their needs. Data feeds the content strategy, from the ideation stage all the way to the launch.
When all is said and done, data should be leveraged to drive the creative direction. Without data, creativity is a shot in the dark.
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