More Important in Marketing - Data or Creativity?

I read an article on Clickz yesterday called "Data Geek or Creative Genius?"  (http://bit.ly/nTPQxn) that touched upon the argument of which is more important in marketing today - creative ideas or data-driven decisions. The bottom line is that these aspects must work in synchronization to produce effective marketing that drives business results. Yeah, it's kind of a cop out (like saying "it depends") but it's true.

I wrote about this topic in the SportsBusiness Journal in 2009 (http://bit.ly/ro61gj) and have reposted the article below. What are your thoughts on this? It would be great to hear from marketers from both sides of the spectrum! ------------------------------------------

Let science of marketing drive creative solutions

Published September 21, 2009

Greg Economou’s article (SportsBusiness Journal, Aug. 31-Sept. 6) about the art and science of selling was spot on, and I believe that this philosophy could and should be applied to marketing in sports as well.

Sports marketing is many times inextricably defined by big events, captivating advertising, eye-catching design of signage and collateral, and sometimes simply slapping a logo on a product. Of course, these artful elements of the marketing mix are imperative to success, but the science of marketing should be applied to drive decisions regarding these creative components. The first scientific element of marketing is market and consumer insight (or more boringly named “market research”). To start, properties, agencies, and brands must have a detailed, thorough understanding of their fan base, including demographic characteristics and psychographic/behavioral traits, in addition to analysis of the competition and the overall economy. Additionally, companies must use research to understand what their fans think about the positioning of the brand in order to properly develop effective advertising, engaging design, and exciting events. For example, Red Bull understands that their core audience is typically young and involved in high-energy activities; thus they allocate their sports marketing funds to extreme sports such as surfing, motorbiking and flying and highlight these activities in their advertising to really connect with their consumers and differentiate from their competition. I highly doubt you’ll see the Red Bull logo on the Pro Bowlers Association sponsor roster any time soon nor will you see Red Bull’s primary competition leapfrog them in market performance. Second is testing and measurement to drive decision-making about the use of marketing assets. This can be broken down into two types of measurement: testing of key performance indicators (KPI) and measuring financial performance, or return on investment (ROI).  Regarding testing KPIs — let’s say you’ve just designed a few handsome e-mail templates to send out to your fan base. Everyone in your organization looked at a few of your designs, threw in their 2 cents, and chose design No. 1 to launch. Art had great influence in the decision, but where’s the science? Instead of using just a few insiders’ eyes to choose, you can use your fans’ eyes to select the best design. Most e-mail programs have A/B testing capability, where you can send multiple designs to different segments of customers, see which designs resonate more by comparing open rates, click-throughs, etc., and select the best template based on these KPIs. Testing has been historically applied in direct marketing, but isn’t used enough in the digital sports world, where it is much easier and cost-effective. This can be applied to Web sites, landing pages, microsites and most other digital assets.  In today’s economy, ROI is a hot topic, and why not? Who wouldn’t want to know how much money you’ll make from sponsoring a property or holding an event and compare that to the cost of your initiative? Bank of America stated that for every sponsorship dollar they spend, they obtain $10 in revenue and $3 in earnings. With their huge stable of sponsorships, they’ve obviously put a lot of work into measurement, and rightfully so (after all, those TARP funds didn’t grow on trees). Though measuring ROI isn’t easy, any kind of financial measurement will help sell initiatives to upper management.  I’m not downplaying the art of marketing, as it’s clearly very important; all I’m saying is that the science of marketing should be the driver of a lot of creative decisions. A thorough understanding of research, testing and measurement will help sports marketers become more effective in executing creative ideas.

Mike Chan Washington, D.C.