1. March 14, 2016
Big Data as a Complement for Creative Campaigns
Jessica Hawthorne-Castro
To achieve high return on investment and more
efficient and effective decision making, top marketers
are leveraging big data insights within their campaigns.
Business goals from customer acquisition to brand
building can be enhanced with insight gleaned from
analysis of data collected from various sources.
But does marketers’ access to all of this wonderful
information and insight mean that creativity and
intuition are removed from the equation? Is there only
the goal of maximum efficiency and metrics-driven
decision making? A data-driven approach does not
have to mean that creativity is squeezed out of the
picture. Organizations can adopt an approach that strikes a balance between
creativity, intuition, and data-driven insight.
Marketers should be accountable for results, but also given the chance to engage
and delight customers with unique and creative approaches that stand out. Big data
does not have to be a limiter of ideas, but can be a complement to creativity, helping
marketers and companies to be precise in their efforts.
Big data allows marketers to tailor their messages by identifying consumer groups
that want and/or need a specific product. Analytics provides marketers with
demographic insights that, in the past, were never available so they can present the
right mix of media campaigns to match those demographics. Whether the
demographics point to “Rhode Island factory owners” or “Midwesterners with high
incomes and education levels,” big data can help identify messaging and content that
is most effective for the target audience. Creative decisions become smarter and the
messaging, if done correctly, speaks directly to the consumers’ wants and needs.
For a specific example of big data influencing creative, consider credit monitoring
giant Equifax. Data about consumers’ credit monitoring and scoring triggered a
campaign with creative that was focused on the various life stages faced by typical
consumers. The credit worthiness of certain groups influenced the creative
presented and the positioning of certain benefits. Data also was used to look at
identity theft and its resulting financial impacts. This prompted creative campaigns

2. that detailed the impact of identity theft on the consumer’s life, encouraging a more
personal response.
Advertising Week Social Club’s Heather Taylor wrote, “The more creative steps
outside of the marketing pool and wades into others – including design, research
and development, and customer service – the more it becomes just as vital to
contributing to the support and growth of a business as analytics.” Fundamentally,
metrics and creative can no longer be viewed as separate initiatives. Every creative
decision should be at least partially based on data analytics, especially as big data
becomes more integrated and accurate.
Once big data is worked into the front-end of the creative process, the results are
dramatic. Marketers can use data to eliminate underperforming creative campaigns
and redirect money and effort efficiently. Creative will be more focused, requiring
fewer iterations and less guesswork. When creative is backed by hard data,
marketers do not need to “sell” their ideas as forcefully because the evidence is
more tangible. The end result is a dream for Chief Marketing Officers – the rare
situation in which costs are reduced while results are improved.
A branding campaign during primetime TV shows can build up broader brand
awareness, but it’s not the targeted, data-driven approach. For most firms, whether
they are startups or enterprise-level players, using big data to guide and
complement the creative and spending decisions is the better move.
Jessica Hawthorne-Castro is the CEO of Hawthorne Direct, an analytics and
technology-based agency that specializes in accountable brand advertising.
Hawthorne Direct has been a leader in the direct response industry that was pioneered
by company Chairman Tim Hawthorne nearly 30 years ago. Jessica’s leadership role
involves innovations in analytics and accountable advertising accompanied with
service-oriented relationships with the company’s high-profile clients, helping them to
envision, create, and execute powerful advertising campaigns that build brands and
ignite consumers. To date, Jessica’s clients have included 3M (Command, Post-it,
Scotch-Brite), Armor All, Audible, Black & Decker, Brother, Carbonite, Dyson, Fellowes,
Gerber, Hamilton Beach, Home Advisor, Hoover, L’Oreal, Neat, PETA, Remington,
Transamerica, United Healthcare, zulily.com and more. She can be reached at (310)
248-3972 or via email at jessica.hawthorne@hawthornedirect.com.