ART and SCIENCE – The Marketer’s Need for Balance

As we move into 2021, do you see a need for a shift in balance between art and science? Do you see a need for a stronger focus on art vs. science or is the balance of both still key?

So much of marketing over the past decade has revolved around “technology”. An entire industry devoted to “marketing technology” now exists. What has been lost in this technology arms race has been the need to connect with your audience in an authentic way. The “art” of marketing has been overlooked by the “science” of marketing. That being said with the coming demise of “third-party cookies” the need for complicated, over-engineered programmatic ad tech is going away. The rise of “first-party data” is going to put even greater pressure on companies to “know” their audiences. While technology (the science) will help companies become better equipped to manage this data, the underlying need to connect and speak to your audience in an authentic way is becoming even more important.

When we talk about balancing the science with art, is there a way you would recommend businesses go through that process?

Sometimes, I think we forget that there are actually “people” on the other side of our marketing messages. We look at data, we discuss trends, we analysis behaviors to get a better understanding of how to communicate with our audiences. But we tend to be caught up in the data when the best way to understand what your audience wants is to just ask them. Surveys, focus groups, and customer feedback will become an even greater part of the data analysis as third-party cookies continue their demise. That along with privacy laws will push the more forward-thinking companies to begin to reassess their relationship with their audiences and customers. The two headed monster of both the cookie apocalypse and the rise of privacy/consent laws will benefit those organizations that are willing to develop (or might already have) a deep relationship with their audiences.