Your creative strategy is being challenged by data insights. How will you navigate this unexpected twist?

I have always worked with data as a support to convince...data is all about how you intercept or analysis of it it can never be very contradictory to your creative strategy...I have always got a sweet meeting point that's what you search for

As a marketer for most of my life, I have known very well that data-driven strategies set us on course to truly comprehend customer behaviors and forecast market trends at a greater level of accuracy, and to better allocate our resources. Embracing data analytics would mean tailoring our campaigns to the right target audience, optimizing our marketing spend, and driving long-term growth at our company. It's about more than insights; it's about action and turning that value into action.

Don't be afraid of the data, even if it's not telling the story you expected. Don't panic either. You don't need to pivot the minute you see a change, but keep an eye on things and be ready to use the data to support your decisions going-forward!

Data provides invaluable insights into your audience, enabling tailored strategies. Identify emerging markets and evolving preferences through data analytics. Anticipate audience needs and optimise resources for maximum impact. Merge creativity with data for relevant and emotionally resonant campaigns. Leverage data-driven insights to create campaigns that stand out and build lasting connections.

First thing is to clearly define the source, integrity and context for both the data and the creative strategy, to analyze their integrity, reliability and how they relate to each other. A creative strategy should be built upon insights from many varied sources. If the data insights contradict your own equivalent insights, then look close to understand them. After all, data leads to insights through a process of interpretation - and that's where your expertise and consideration is key. Understand how the data was collected, its context and integrity, and check if you derive the same insights.

Assuming that the integrity of the data has been rigorously assessed (bias, depth, analysis), look at it in context not isolation. Go back to the brief what are you trying to achieve? How does the data impact that goal? Often data can be presented in a biased format to try and prove a pre-determined desired outcome. And sometimes people do not know what they want or why they want it. Steve Job wouldn’t have been the genius he was if he was led by data. Data can only measure what’s been, creative is focused on influencing the future and the best creative changes the mind and behavior of what individuals might have said without it.

Having data is good but what makes your data reliable? Analysis! How can you be sure if a person living on the outskirts of Karachi really likes a certain beverage brand? This is where analysis comes into play. With whatever data you have, rigorous analysis is what will get you the actual authenticity of it.

During analysis, it is important to examine one's biases, identify one's limitations, and consider possible interpretations of the behaviours behind the data points. Doing this helps you manoeuvre the delicate path of jumping to a conclusion and helps your crystallisation process, which aids effortless understanding.

Be open to stumbling on new data points that will powerfully change your creative perspective on the problem you are solving. It does not happen all the time, but when it does, you could stumble upon this new piece of information anywhere: at the internal review, from a client discussion, on the news, or even in places you can imagine. When it happens, embrace the new information and change your creative strategy direction accordingly after proper interrogarion.

My field thrives on creativity and thinking outside the box. When working with clients resistant to change, it's crucial to devise solutions that preserve your creative integrity while fulfilling their needs. It's hard to find clients that actually listen and trust your creative calls. However, data carries significant weight; employing data points grants the agency insight to enhance performance and articulate solutions to the client. Learning to utilize data effectively can make it your best friend in the marketing and advertising industry.

Data is crucial for understanding your consumers' pain points, desires, and frustrations. By analyzing this data, you can fuel your creativity to craft messages that resonate deeply. This allows you to refine your creations and messaging to better connect with your audience, leading to a more effective strategy. That's the main reason strategy teams play a key role always :)

How to harness data to Fuel Creativity: 1. Data as a Creative Catalyst: Data provides a foundation that can spark new ideas and directions. 2. Refining Messages and Designs: Insights from data can highlight what aspects of your current strategies are working and what aren’t. This allows you to tweak your messaging, visuals etc 3. Exploring New Platforms: Data can reveal untapped platforms where your target audience is active. This opens up opportunities to experiment with new formats. 4. Data Constraints as Fuel for Innovation: Constraints often lead to more innovative solutions by forcing you to think outside the box. 5. Feedback Loop: Data provides a feedback loop that can guide your creative process continuously.

Nothing beats experience; we rely on intelligence and precedence to make decisions. If the client or your team rejects your idea and disagrees with your plan, you should be positive-minded because all hurdles should be considered as opportunities to reflect, improvise, and revise. Consider yourself lucky, if you are getting a chance to either redo or reproduce your strategy. Bear in mind that while my answer is philosophical, it indicates the idea that your strategy should be as strong as your mindset and resilience — not as fragile as anyone’s ego. So, always create strategies that have logical empiricism and heart attached to them. It is only then that you will be able to communicate, rather than defend, a strategy that you own ??

Creative strategy is not only based on data. It also takes into account the fickle nature of human behavior at an individual level and as a group. Not all insights and knowledge can be neatly distilled into data points, just as the weather defies predictability. Data is useful, but should not become the only proof point for a creative decision. It should be an indicator, on equal standing to every other marker you track and aggregate to deliver a creative strategy.

Open communication is key. Ensure both creative and data teams grasp the value each brings to the table. Data analysts should provide clear insights, while creatives should ask probing questions to fully understand the data's implications. Collaborative efforts lead to a perfect balance of data-driven decision-making and creative intuition.

In my view as a leader in digital product experience, collaborative work is the foundation for building anything that aims to meet needs effectively. This is because of how diverse we are, and how complex it would be to understand real needs without considering that we are part of a fragment with all the biases everyone has, which is minimized when we include diversity beyond collaboration in processes.

In my experience, the best solutions come from diverse perspectives. I'd reach out to our data analysts, researchers, and even the client to fully understand the insights we're dealing with. It's crucial to put aside any ego or attachment to the original idea. At American Airlines, we constantly collaborated with pilots, mechanics, and ground staff to refine our SafeFlight product. Their input was invaluable in creating a solution that truly met their needs. So, I'd make sure we're actively listening to all stakeholders and incorporating their feedback into our revised strategy.

Data is great, but it's also imperfect and likely based on past performance tracking in an attempt to predict the future. Time is best described by Dr Who as 'wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff’, meaning, unpredictable. If you have a great idea, especially if it has never been done before, try it. In a best case scenario, A/B test. Run your idea against a parallel concept that was adjusted according to your data model. See which concept is outperforming the other and go with the winner. If the better performing concept was the OG, unadjusted idea, you’re a GOAT. Celebrate. If the data backed idea won, buy your data analyst some flowers and apologize. (But still don’t take their word as gospel next time, you have good ideas, keep trying)

Un ejemplo claro es el uso de pruebas neurocientíficas, como el seguimiento ocular o los estudios de respuesta emocional, para entender cómo los consumidores reaccionan ante diferentes elementos creativos. Al adoptar una mentalidad de experimentación continua, puedes identificar rápidamente qué resuena con tu audiencia, permitiendo optimizar recursos y maximizar el impacto de tus campa?as desde el inicio. Este enfoque proactivo no solo mejora la efectividad de tus iniciativas, sino que también fortalece la capacidad de tu equipo para innovar y adaptarse a un mercado en constante evolución.

Insights may guide ongoing work and iterations but if you don't start from a place that stays true to your brand your isights and testing will be skewed from the start. Make sure you test 'on brand' creative as part of the mix and don't assume you need to show up differently to perform well.

Beyond data there’s feedback. Often in local implementations where data is scarce and outdated, creating a focus group of stakeholders and testing the strategy is great for theory of change and adjustment.

While working on a huge PR campaign in a new market, the firm that I was with collaborated with a local PR agency to determine the creative and promotional strategy. The agency was using outdated historical information to guide us. After conducting a few surveys, we adjusted our strategy and were much more effective in reaching and connecting with our target audience. The lesson for us and the agency - stay agile! Agencies, their information, and their strategies have to evolve with the times so that we can meet our target audiences where they're at.

Thinking about many scenarios with multiple options for purchase and consumption, speed in building and validating hypotheses is crucial. Because of this acceleration, the concept of MVP in strategy can greatly assist in hypothesis validation, whether based on quantitative, qualitative data, or both, always aiming at capturing value regardless of the size of what is delivered as a minimum viable product for any materialized idea.

One thing I've learned is that flexibility is key in our field. Every idea, even ones that seem to conflict with our original vision, has the potential to lead us to something great. I'd encourage the team to embrace an iterative approach. We might run quick prototypes or A/B tests to validate new concepts based on the data insights. This agile mindset allows us to adapt quickly, learn from each iteration, and ultimately deliver a product that's both creative and data-informed.

Ne pas hésiter à étudier d’autres secteurs d’activités et ainsi ouvrir le champ d’action ! Si le budget le permet ne pas hésiter à s’entourer de sémiologue, planeur stratégique… créer du sens !

If you are not using data insights for your creative strategy, you are doing it wrong. Never start anything without proper research.

Consider that if the insights are shocking to you that you might not have really thought about how to solve the problem in the right way. If they fuel your fire that your idea will break through whatever barrier the insights might hold, then you are probably barking up the right tree. I have to write 500 more characters. Why? I have nothing else wise to say. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhl I guess I’ll reiterate Utilize the data to make your strategy more fool proof. Does it destroy what you intend to unleash? Is it just obvious stuff you have already thought of? Is your strategy wrong? ????♂??? some data insights should not be enough to break down your stride. Explain how your strategy overcomes the insight