How to Integrate Science, Creativity and Strategic Thinking to Drive Business Growth

Image credit: Alexandre Debiève via Unsplash

Recent research has found 80% of CMOs (chief marketing officers) agree that it’s difficult to create true integration between all the departments, systems, and tools within their organisation. 

No surprises there, perhaps, but the report drills deeper into the C-Suite’s integration priorities for 2024 which in order of importance are inadequacies or inconsistencies in: #1 systems, #2 technology and #3 data. Coming in a close fourth is a difference in goals and a lack of a shared vision across departments. 

To put it another way, the report reveals that achieving integration of technology and tools within an organisation goes beyond any technical implementation. It needs to include both the ways of working and cultural dimensions of getting different teams to adopt and implement new technology.

THE SOLUTION TO INTEGRATION

There has been a significant increase in the importance of data and insight for modern marketing in recent years. While many agencies have in-house research capabilities those specialists are all too often siloed away or dispersed across the business.

There is huge value for brands which can be unlocked if all research and insight services can be integrated into one easily accessible system – and ultimately a digital platform. 

The overarching objective for us was to democratise access to data and insight by seamlessly connecting our community of 120+ experts, research services, and digital insight tools.

Getting this right meant we could consistently provide clients with our breadth and depth of expertise and deliver best in class insight underpinned by science.

The solution was simple on paper: bring our researchers, behavioural, neuroscience and data science experts into one place at the heart of UNLIMITED; and create products and processes that are repeatable and scalable. The reality, of course, was much more complex.

HOW WE DID IT

Our starting point was the archetypal digital transformation mantra: People, Process, technology.

Starting of order we first created an all-agency planning process and framework embedding our key insight products and solutions across UNLIMITED to empower the teams using our Human Understanding Lab to work smarter.

This process was developed in close consultation with our planning teams so we knew their priorities and could align insight solutions to their needs. 

For example, is the client opportunity about understanding what motivates or influences our target audience? Then follow the ‘Human Drivers’ workflow. Do we need to develop powerful creative ideas to inspire action? Follow the ‘Persuasive Creativity’ pathway, and so on. This meant that from market and audience insight through channel planning and on to measurement our planners were guided to the insight solution for their needs, quickly and easily. 

This is a game-changer in ensuring a repeatable and scalable process that enables teams to achieve powerful, insight-led outcomes consistently across client work. 

Commercially, it also makes it easier for our business leads to identify the right products or services for clients’ specific needs, meaning it’s helped turbocharge new business wins across the Group.

Like most businesses undergoing transformation, processes and frameworks, while essential, are not sufficient to achieve culture change. 

To ensure people across the business were aware of the Human Understanding Lab we rolled out business-wide roadshows tailored to UNLIMITED’s different business units and different team roles. These were built around the planning process and used case studies and examples to bring the Human Understanding Lab’s solutions to life.

This information was also baked into the business through new joiner packs, company-learning modules and continually promoted through regular ‘lunch and learn’ sessions. It was also featured frequently in the CEO’s weekly newsletter to demonstrate senior sponsorship and importance to the business. 

Finally, our codified data and insight planning process doesn’t end there. As adoption grew across UNLIMITED, we accelerated digital transformation of the Group by building an AI-powered digital insight platform, accessible to anyone, to self-serve insight. 

The platform, LUCA – from Latin for ‘the bringer of light’ – is entirely organised around the planning process ensuring the internal logic of using insight is continued into the digital domain. 

By self-serving insight, we empower our teams (and their clients) to explore, test and measure campaign performance – without requiring continual oversight or support from our research experts. 

This means teams are now working smarter and achieving more sophisticated outcomes, all with increased efficiency and speed to insight.

And because LUCA is built entirely in-house we can rapidly iterate and create new features to meet teams’ or clients’ needs. 

Integrating the data, digital and research provided by UNLIMITED’s Human Understanding Lab to create a fusion of science, creativity and strategic thinking is paying dividends.

Our pitch-win rates are up; our clients are more satisfied and we’re solving business problems for our clients like no-one else.