Magic Numbers: Data versus Creativity with Mark Debenham

Mark Debenham is VP of growth marketing & operations at Adverity. He is responsible for driving new business, and optimizing performance across inbound channels using data led insights to unlock new opportunities for growth. Mark has over 15 years experience as a marketing professional across multiple marketing disciplines for B2C and B2B businesses, holding roles both in-house and agency side.     

LBB> What’s the number one question that clients are coming to you with when it comes to how they can better use data to enhance the creativity of their content and experiences?

Mark> Fundamentally, every client wants to know whether their activity is hitting the right mark. In recent years, I’ve been encouraged by a greater recognition that data can bolster content effectiveness; with marketing teams increasingly harnessing analytical insight as a means of pinpointing which creative elements are moving the needle. Our clients will ask specific questions that obviously vary, but most companies want to achieve a deeper understanding by asking how the experiences provided by their content are doing against key objectives and where they can make changes to optimise outcomes.

LBB> How can you make sure that data is elevating creative rather than forming a wind tunnel effect and knocking all the interesting or unique edges off that make something distinctive?

Mark> The data versus creativity debate has made progress, but lingering issues limit impact and flexibility if data isn’t used well. We’ve found CMOs are split down the middle on whether data helps or hinders creativity.

The biggest challenge right now is the tendency to get lost in the detail. Eager to precisely track campaign success, many marketers obsess over metrics. But how are we engaging consumers? Can we really say we have a comprehensive view of how our efforts are landing?

Marketers who have based creative ideas on gut instinct will be inclined to cherry pick measurement data in line with their assumptions, driving a skewed performance perspective and raising the risk they won’t deliver what audiences truly want. Ultimately, by watching audience behaviour, asking - and most importantly, listening - to what they want, marketers can avoid falling into this trap.

LBB> Can you share with us any examples of projects you’ve worked on where the data really helped boost the creative output in a really exciting way?

Mark> When I worked agency side, my team was tasked with creating content around how CMOs can influence high-value buying decisions. Because we knew establishing strong connections would depend on accurate knowledge of current challenges, research was our first step. This insight highlighted major issues for CMOs; pressures that actively kept them awake at night.

This sparked a concept for bringing CMO struggles to life. Inspired by the data, we took the theme of sleepless anxiety and created an installation at the research launch event, featuring a CMO in bed — complete with robe, nightcap, coffee, snoring sound effects and a copy of The Financial Times — sitting under covers printed with the report’s front page.

Carried through to wider content, we developed a cohesive story that cut through the noise, stimulated engagement with the data, and inspired discussions on how to address the issues raised. Better than just putting the numbers on a screen? You bet!

LBB> More brands are working to create their own first party data practice ¬— how can a brand figure out whether that’s something that is relevant or important for their business?

Mark> Brands must build their first-party data muscle during the ongoing march of data deprecation. Building that muscle now means you can flex it down the line when you most need to! Despite Google’s latest temporary reprieve for third-party cookie execution, strengthening the ability to collect, assess, and drive activity with owned consented insight will prove essential as other data sources fade.

Then there’s good data management. While marketers are enthusiastic about leveraging data — 85% of CMOs see data-driven decision making as a critical competitive advantage — they frequently overlook the need to set up data infrastructure in a way that consistently provides useful insights.

Garbage in means garbage out. To ensure they extract as much value as possible from data, each stage of the cycle must be carefully considered; including what types of data are needed to guide creative output, as well as how information is translated into useable output. Covering data management basics will put brands in a better position to extract greater value from their owned insights.

LBB> We talk about data driving creativity, but what are your thoughts about approaching the use of data in a creative way?

Mark> The mindset that data use isn’t creative stems from the traditional approach of treating data-based and creative work as two separate entities. This doesn’t have to — and shouldn’t — be the case. In fact, they work best in tandem: firing up the analytical engine once content is already generated and served makes it feel like a disruptive and even unnecessary bolt-on that doesn’t fit into the creative realm. 

Creative teams that view data as an asset will be more likely to use it when formulating ideas, and use it to spot trends or patterns to help improve the resonance of marketing activity. Vitally, everyday data use will increase their confidence to interpret that data. Just think of the incredible new creative opportunities that could be explored, the professional satisfaction from improved performance, and the benefits that scrutinising ‘same-as-last-year’ strategies can bring.

LBB> “Lies, damned lies, and statistics” — how can brands and creative make sure that they’re really seeing what they think they’re seeing (or want to see) in the data, or that they’re not misusing data?

Mark> Data is seen as an authoritative source of truth, so when it exposes shortcomings in a marketer’s work, they can become very protective over it. It’s so important that any organisation pursuing data transparency must also cultivate a culture where failure is seen as an opportunity for improvement, not punishment.

As for data usage, one simple yet effective approach to avoid siloed or flawed insight is to harness a range of data points to achieve a balanced view. Quantitative data provides plenty of numbers (the ‘what’) while qualitative data is more anecdotal, offering insight into sentiment, thoughts, and opinions (the ‘why’).

Utilising both reveals what’s going on in the market and where trends are heading, as well as contextual insight into potential variables influencing outcomes and consumer action. Taking in that full picture is paramount to stop expectations of data from clouding the reality it highlights — and reality is always what we should pursue.

LBB> What are your thoughts about trust in data — to what extent is uncertainty and a lack of trust in data (or data sources) an issue and what are your thoughts on that?

Mark> Persistent issues with data trust can be linked to inefficient data handling. Our studies have found that a third (34%) of CMOs don’t trust the data they are given to inform their activities; with this figure rising to half amongst senior analysts (51%). That’s disappointingly high!

Delving deeper, we found high mistrust correlates with ongoing use of outmoded practices. For instance, 41% of marketers and analysts cite manual data wrangling as a significant challenge and, of that number, more than half (53%) have low levels of trust in data due to discrepancies, often resulting from human error.

The conclusion seems pretty self-evident: marketers working with clunky, legacy systems that lack comprehensive or reliable insight are naturally prone to have little trust in the data their systems produce. On the flip side, they can increase trust by investing in streamlining setups for accuracy and accessibility.

LBB> In your view, what’s the biggest misconception people have around the use of data in marketing?

Mark> Beyond the idea that data and creativity don’t mix — which we already covered — there are major misunderstandings over what data can do. On its own, it’s true that data has no value. Marketers who simply dismiss performance data as a backwards-looking snapshot of where they have been, however, are missing out on the huge value it offers.

The power of data is in activation and exploration. To understand why campaigns, have or have not resonated with audiences, marketers must interrogate their data, look beyond top-level conversions, and track the impact of different variables to identify what is driving results and where they can make improvements.

Used as the basis for feeding AI analysis and modelling, data stores can also produce predictive intelligence about upcoming shifts and inform their next move. All of this depends on putting data into action, rather than staring at analytical dashboards waiting for something to happen.

LBB> In terms of live issues in the field, what are the debates or developments that we should be paying attention to right now?

Mark> From an audience point of view, people want to know what's happening with their data, why companies need certain information, and for these companies to earn their trust through transparency.

We shouldn’t see this as a challenge but as an opportunity to reinvent the data value exchange. Firms that own the narrative and transparently detail why they collect audience data and how it’s used to deliver relevant, engaging experiences will make huge gains in consumer confidence and follow the rising trajectory of responsible business.

Internally, CMOs shouldn’t squirrel away the intelligence they generate; they should share it with the wider company. This not only allows them to advocate for the value of data but also encourages broader data literacy and activation beyond the marketing department. I believe the CMO of today should sit at the heart of a hybrid sales model that unifies and empowers all aspects of an organisation.