Data vs creative, Jeremy Bullmore, and fonts through time

Take a break, make a cuppa, and dip into some of the tidbits we’ve found while out and about in the wider brand and campaign wonderland.

Will data be the death of creative?

Used right, data can push your campaign into a new dimension. It tells you more about your target markets, how different ads are performing, where and when to post. And on and on.?

It can now even power your messaging – helping you tap into the rational needs of your target market and tick off those short-term sales.?

But are too many brands asking the rational, data-driven activity to do all the heavy lifting on their own? Has the brand-building creative – the type that builds memory structures and long-term emotional connections been forgotten? Evidence suggests yes, and that it’s putting a dent in marketing ROI.

We stumbled across a?Twitter thread?from Executive Creative Director John Long that pits the data drivers against the creative heartstring-pullers. Like the VW example you see above. Check it out.

20 years of marketing gold dust from “Adland’s greatest philosopher”

Jeremy Bullmore –?WPP?legend and one of the all-time marketing greats – sadly passed away at the turn of the year. He was 93, and only officially retired last November. His career spanned almost 7 decades and stretched as far back as the launch of commercial TV. So he’d seen and been part of it all.

You almost hope someone like that left behind some kind of marketing memoir for us all to pick at and chew over. Well, he did. His last post was non-executive director at WPP – and for the last 20 years, he’d penned an essay in their annual report. As a tribute to their late, great leader, WPP immortalised those essays into on big collection?here on their website.

Know your serifs from your sans serifs?

Ever wondered where all of those fonts came from in your MS Office apps? Now you can find out. Our designers can geek out about typefaces for days. But this font history takes things to a whole new level.

Be warned, however. The typeface story can be traced back as far as 8,500BC. Which means?this potted history?is nearly 30 minutes long. So maybe save it for some lunchtime entertainment.

Let’s talk

Want to launch a new brand? Roll out a fresh campaign? Nail down your value proposition? Get in touch and we’ll put a plan together.

Email the Free team at?[email protected]

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