Si Muddell: Imagination is more important than knowledge

Are we a little too obsessed with data?

We live in a world where everything we do can be translated into data, number crunched and put into a graph or presentation. This couldn't be more true of marketing and I can't help but think at times we are getting a little too obsessed with it.

What's the reach? How many people commented on this post? What's the vibrancy? How many people follow us? What is the best day of the week to post, the best hour etc....

Some important metrics but sometimes I think we do get a little too bogged down in these.

The backbone

I often say that data is the backbone to any marketing campaign. I mean this wholeheartedly, it is the backbone, that is a major 'part' of marketing but it is by no means the entirety. Focus too much on data at the mercy of other important elements and you are in dangerous ground and jeopardising your marketing efforts.

Data is essential to benchmark where you are at now against where/ how the marketing is doing, what works and what doesn't and to identify trends and opportunities.

However, data is not the be all and end all when it comes to marketing. Let's not forget about the creative, that is the marketing idea itself.

Consider a marketing campaign with perfect ad placement, relevant messaging but a poor and boring creative execution.....wouldn't the results reflect this? I think so.

Now consider an ad campaign that has resonated with you, that has made you want to buy or order something. Sure the placement and timing of the ad helped but it was the creative that grabbed your attention amongst the quagmire of other marketing messages. It was the creative that made you feel a certain way about the product/brand.

A marketing campaign with excellent data analysis and poor creative will be a poor marketing campaign; period. A company using the best analytics software and the best marketing automation tools but poor creative will be a company that has poor marketing, and therefore poor results. Or put another way results that are underachieving the potential.

Creativity

Is thinking outside of the box, being brave, moving away from the norm. Creativity is an essential part of marketing that should remain as important as data.

Final Thoughts

You can't manage without knowledge - You can't lead without imagination

Stop obsessing about data. Take heed from the famous quote by Albert Einstein that I have used as the headline of this post - "Imagination is more important than knowledge". I would say he is pretty qualified to make such a statement!

Do not misunderstand me, data is absolutely essential, and I believe it is the backbone to marketing, but just make sure you do not sacrifice creativity in datas wake. Sometimes a brilliant idea comes by not looking at data at all. A much used saying by Henry Ford was 'if we had listened we'd have better buggy whips today, not cars.....or faster horses'. How true and look at where it got Ford!

Creativity causes engagement, it is the difference between an ad being talked about or not (good or bad), and it definitely is the cause of our emotional attachment to a brand or product.

Cherish data but be bold, be brave, be creative and think differently.

Thoughts?

About the author
Si Muddell is a Digital Strategist who has worked extensively both agency and client side. Si is fascinated about marketing, psychology & what motivates people, and loves guitar, surfing and travelling.

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