Marketers are recognising the power of data and creativity working together and that, within the right framework, data can always improve the creative process and campaign’s success. The trick is marrying digital and creative into one seamless marketing campaign.
Marketers applying data insights to their digital marketing campaigns’ creative sides might be surprised by the opportunities data creates. Using analytics to identify specific groups of customers can help marketing teams ensure that messaging and branding are tailored to each audience. Data insights allow demographics to be broken down further than simply “college students” or “middle-aged parents.” Instead, marketers can target “highly educated Californians aged 20-30,” developing content that resonates with that audience.
The impact of data on campaigns shows that analytics and creative are no longer separate marketing categories; creative campaigns need to be based on data insights, and data has to be presented to consumers in a creative way to be useful. Data as the linchpin to creating more emotional content.
Take the NIVEA Protection ad (below) as an example. A print ad in a magazine supplied a tear-out bracelet with a built-in locator that parents can use to keep track of where their children are on the beach. Using advanced mobile and geo-tracking technology, the bracelet enables parents to set a maximum distance their child can go, and sends a smartphone alert if this distance is exceeded.
In this example, NIVEA uses a highly creative approach to engage parent’s emotions – fear, protectiveness and desire for a worry-free holiday – to establish themselves as a brand that keeps children safe.
The 'Melanoma Likes Me' campaign for MELANOMA PATIENTS AUSTRALIA, leverages real-time social data to identify when users are out in the sun, raise awareness of the risks of sun exposure and educate the audience on how to identify melanoma.
Using a real-time response tool that utilises API endpoints to identify popular hashtags related to having fun in the sun – such as #beachside, #sunkissed and #tanlines – the campaign instantly responds with social messages from @_melanoma.
In this example, MELANOMA PATIENTS AUSTRALIA reached its target audience (via their channel of choice) at the very moment they are at most risk from sun damage, and opens up an immediate channel of engagement.
The bottom line? Greater collaboration is needed between creatives and data analysts. While this is already beginning to happen with the examples above, the unison of data and creativity needs to become the rule rather than the exception.
