In a recent article published by Mediaweek, author Denise Lee Yohn postulated that the drive toward social media and analytics by CMOs was causing marketing to lose its creativity. Lee Lohn wrote:
All this focus on social media and analytics seems to be sucking the creativity out of marketing. Time was, brands developed big ideas and delivered and communicated them in unique and creative ways. Now it seems marketers are only interested in tactics and metrics…Certainly media and communications have changed, so a big TV spot or newspaper campaign probably isn’t the right approach for transformational marketing. But lately it seems the pursuit of breakthrough marketing creativity has taken a backseat to work on more predictable and achievable efforts.
While there is no question to Lee Lohn’s notion that creativity plays a vital role in the effectiveness of marketing, the concerning part about Lee Lohn’s article is that it positions creativity as the finality of the marketing process. Continue reading 'Marketing Losing Its Mojo? Not So Fast'»
The publication touts the 100 most creative business people
It is only responsible for Fast Company to publish an article about a CMO’s balancing of creativity and analytics in its most recent issue featuring the top 100 creative people in business. After all, Serfwerks has been touting the need for using data and analytics to drive the creative process (see Unbounded Creativity parts I and II) in marketing since its founding. We’ve seen too many cool and creative ideas and approaches to marketing flounder when it comes to what matters most to business—driving bottom line results. Continue reading 'Thoughts on Fast Company’s CMO Balancing Act: Marketing Creativity vs. Analytics'»
Choosing an appropriate design, marketing or ad agency is important – more important than what drapes to hang in your living room and more important than many things that might keep you from putting in the proper amount of research and thought.
These days price is definitely a factor, however, the adage “you get what you pay for” most times applies. The standard has been to find an agency that either touts itself, has big clients, or has been given some fancy award – but there are some small boutique gems who really know their stuff. They offer big agency services and expertise at boutique shop rates. The point here is that picking an agency should be about picking the best agency for you, not just the best, biggest, or most decorated agency. Continue reading 'Choosing a Design, Marketing or Ad Agency'»
As good as creativity is, and believe me it is good, there is an easy solution for keeping it in check. The solution is appropriate data, both competitive and consumer or constituent, to drive the creative process. Michael Behe said, “The conclusion of design flows naturally from the data; we should not shrink from it; we should embrace it and build on it.” Data are the first step toward making marketing accountable as well as making it perform significantly better. Continue reading 'Unbounded Creativity part II- The Solution'»
When developing marketing collateral of any kind, too frequently marketers, designers and others involved in the process too often think more about developing a piece that is “creative” or “cool” rather than focusing on what is most likely to be successful. Don’t get me wrong, creativity is vital to good marketing. I appreciate good creativity as much as anyone. Each year when the advertising awards are presented by the various publications and/or associations, I eat them up with the rest of my colleagues.
However, it is the unbounded or unrestrained portion of the creativity that becomes a problem. This is where marketing is viewed as some sort of mystical process that magically generates business. You get a few really creative people on your team, leave them to their own devices, and “bam” sales come in the door, people give you money, and ideas are espoused. Continue reading 'Unbounded Creativity part I- The Problem'»
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Advertising, Design, Market Research, Marketing Strategy, Mktg Performance Management
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branding, CMOs, creativity, marketing accountability, marketing analytics, marketing metrics, marketing performance analysis, marketing ROI, marketing strategy, Mediaweek, Mktg Performance Management, quiznos, Social Media, unbounded creativity 
