Combining Media, Data & Creativity
“You may have heard of the right-brain vs left-brain narrative – since our childhood, we’re taught to think that those deemed right-brained are more creative and artistic, compared to those who are categorised as left-brained meaning more analytical and methodical. And that people can only be one or the other. But why can’t creativity and data be combined to create a more powerful experience?”
Guess what, in the world of digital marketing it can!
Welcome to the art of storytelling. Not the simple happy fairytale ending kind we’re familiar with, but one suitable for the digital age, one that’s created with an ample amount of data, insights and a thorough understanding of the human experience.
With the entire internet available at our fingertips, it’s increasingly common as consumers to spend hours upon hours researching various websites, social media platforms, and watching review videos before making any purchasing decision, whether it’s for a new phone, kitchen appliance or a new SUV for the family.
For marketers, this means greater consumer touchpoints – more opportunities for them to reach their target audience with persuasive messaging for the sale of their products or services. But it also means an entirely new level of complexity as consumers have come to expect brands to reach them at the right place and at the right time within their consumer journey.
By connecting with their audience on a deeper level through meaningful ads, brands are able to create long-lasting relationships and push people through the sales funnel. While it isn’t easy to create such thought-provoking and convincing content to meet the expectations of today’s internet-savvy consumers, brands are now able to utilise the combination of new insights, creatives and media to engage potential customers.
How can brands successfully engage their customers with so much noise and competition surrounding them?
One of these engaging storytelling methods is a tool called ‘video ad sequencing’ where brands can deliver a number of ads in a specific order, only to appear repetitive through variation instead of redundancy.
What this means is that advertisers can engage in meaningful storytelling, taking consumers on a unique journey that ultimately leads to a conversion. By utilising several creative formats to tell a sequential story, advertisers encourage stronger brand recognition as well as message retention as compared to delivering a 30-second ad on its own. Famous brands such as 20th Century Fox and Adidas are just few of many who are using this clever technique to boost their business results all while engaging customers through their individual journeys.
Reaping the combined benefits of creative and media can also be achieved by optimizing creatives to follow the best practices for each platform as well as for various marketing objectives. In fact, a recent study showed that beauty campaigns that were designed to achieve a particular marketing objective generated higher purchase intentions and incredible results. By narrowing the focus to a clear direction, brands are able to implement more effective campaigns capable of driving conversions.
Content must also be created keeping in mind where and when it will be consumed. Not only do the technological specifications matter, but also the reality of the person consuming it – and this is why it’s crucial to truly understand the consumer and their content-consumption behaviours in the first place.
“By anticipating human needs and tendencies, companies can drive personal experiences that add value to consumer lives instead of unwanted noise and clutter during their daily digital activities.”
Transitioning from traditional brands providing clear USPs and direct marketing for their products and services, we’re now witnessing brands design experiences and bespoke content personalised for the masses. With the rise of innovation and technology such as augmented reality to blend the digital-physical realms, marketers can now create multidimensional consumer experiences.
The main question remains: how can we put human experience at the centre of every marketing strategy that successfully combines utmost creativity with meaningful data?
