What,More,Important,Marketing, marketing What’s More Important To Marketing Success – Science Or Cre

Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie

Marketing is increasinglyviewed as a science, where sophisticated modelling and data-drivendecision-making are taking centre stage. Against this backdrop, hascreativity become a less important marketing skill? It has certainlybeen argued that marketers come in two shapes – the scientist and theartist. My contention is that significant marketing success requires acareful balancing of both, and that neither is the superior marketingskill. In a previous article (What to Say When),I outlined the key steps in an effective sales funnel, and the role ofmarketing at each stage. So, working on the assumption that a decisionto buy starts at awareness, let’s also start here in reviewing therelative roles of science and creativity on marketing success. In my first major agency role with Mason Zimbler (www.mzl.com), our MD used a simple equation to set the scene which has stayed with me ever since: Frequency x Impact = AwarenessThe premise is that if eitherelement is out of balance, your chances of success are limited. It is asimple concept. In regard to frequency, think ‘it takes more than onedrip of water to get wet’. The Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UKsuggest that it takes three sightings of an ad to really notice it.When we talk about impact, the most important element is relevance –did your ad, email, banner, blog, etc strike a chord with therecipient, if not they won’t notice you. (There’s also more on this inmy article ‘what to say when’). So, if your piece is dull andirrelevant, your audience will not see it. Or, if your piece isstunningly relevant, but they only see it briefly, you’re unlikely toreally get the message across. Taking these two elements as our basesfor comparison, we’ll review the contribution of science and creativityto each.The scientific approach to communication frequency:The scientific approach tomanaging the frequency of your marketing messaging is to model an idealcontact density for each segment or, in highly sophisticated set-ups,for each individual. That is the number of touches that person, orgroup of people, typically require in order to respond. This enablesthe marketer to develop a communications plan that ensures the optimumnumber of touches. Large consumer organisations, like banks, also usethis technique to ensure that their customers aren’t over-communicated– having observed that over-communication can trigger complaints ordefections, smart technology-driven rules are applied to ensure thatthis risk is minimised.The creative approach to communication frequency:A creative approach tocommunications frequency is to think laterally. The best example of areally creative approach to this is the innovative use of ambientmedia. By putting themselves in the shoes of the audience, a creativeteam will dream up highly creative media placements to ensure that themessage gets to people regularly. For example, the National Union ofStudents in the UKran a highly successful campaign highlighting the risks of sexuallytransmitted infections by stickering ten pence pieces and dropping themin student union bars. This is creative thinking on many levels –firstly the location, then the assumption that a student would pick upa stray coin, and the association of the money having passed throughmany hands linking directly to the message itself. Another example ofthis is the use that Amplex deodorants made of placing their ads on thehanging hold bars on underground trains and busses – we all know howunpleasant it is to be on crowded public transport where someone nearbyhas a body odour issue. Creatively tapping into this gave Amplex ahighly creative media placement opportunity – putting the message rightin front of their audience every time they travelled through London.By mapping out a buyer’s journey and thinking about how to get yourmessage across creatively at each point, you can vastly increase youropportunity-to-see.The scientific approach to communication relevance:Scientific marketing hasincreased the likely relevance of marketing messages exponentially inrecent years. The ability to analyse and overlay various data sourcesto build up a rich picture of your audience, and indeed each individualin that audience, is immensely powerful. Sophisticated optimisationtechniques can tell you what to say, when to say it and even whichmedium is most appropriate for a particular segment or person. Thevarious data strategy awards are littered with excellent examples ofthis approach.The creative approach to communication relevance:When it comes to creativity andrelevance, we need only look to viral marketing for lessons in whycreativity is essential. The Cadbury Gorilla ad would never have comeabout by virtue of scientific messaging development. Marketers need toremember that they are talking to people, with feelings and a sense ofhumour. We also all know that a recommendation from a friend is vastlysuperior in terms of our likelihood to listen than an official piece ofmarketing. As such, tapping into word of mouth is essential andcreativity is king in the ‘click to forward’ world. The earlierexamples of creative media placement also show how creativity canincrease relevance by being appropriately positioned to amplify yourmessage.Balancing and fostering a healthy mix of marketing skills:Having merely scratched thesurface on these subjects, it is clear to see that marketers need tobalance their skills at both ends of the scientific-artistic continuum.Ten key points to fostering and balancing both skill sets:Ensure your marketing team is trained in understanding and briefing scientific and creative suppliersFacilitate creative thinking – I’d suggest that marketers need about one day per quarter of facilitated creative thinkingStart with science to build the profile of your audience, but always get a creative team to contribute ideas about how to reach themTest various creative executionsagainst the same audience to demonstrate in hard commercial terms theimpact of the creative element of your campaignsDon’t sacrifice creativity to buy more frequency – if your message makes no impact every time you pay for space, you’re wasting moneyDon’t let beauty distract you – something can be beautiful but irrelevantMake sure you track people through the sales funnel to allow you to see how you’ve generated your best leadsLook for ideas everywhere – you don’t have to have ‘creative’ in your job title to have a good ideaNever let the numbers speak for themselves – when it comes to reviewing marketing, you do need to look at what the audience saw to really understand itRead the marketing awards booklets– there’s no such thing as a new idea. Most marketing awards these dayslook at science and creativity, you will find great examples if youlook for them.Marketing is one of the mostexciting jobs in the world – you are a scientist, a psychologist, anartist and so much more. If you recognise, hone and balance theseskills you’ll achieve success for your business and great satisfactionfor yourself.