Marketing Is Now More Science Than Art

When I first got started in the ad biz, marketing was more “art” than science, but now because of technology, the balance has shifted. Thirty years ago, we thought more like Bob Ross. Today, we have to think more like Bill Nye “The Science Guy.” You have to determine what people love about the product or service. We can’t rely on just instinct (like in the old days) when it comes to creating a creative marketing campaign. We now have to focus on insights gleaned from exhaustive data analysis.

Does this make the ad business less fun? Sometimes. But it works.

You Have To Experiment: 
A strong, effective digital campaign is more often the result of hundreds of small improvements based on A/B testing, rather than one enormous change at one time. When you experiment with different messaging and targeting to get in front of the right people — the results can improve. I’m an expert in experimentation. I experiment with fashion. I was the first to rock Crocs with socks.

Use Your Right Brain and Left Brain:
Peter Shankman, founder of HARO, shared with me years ago that the average human being is bombarded with 25,000 to 35,000 pieces of data, from sunup to sundown, each and every day. New estimates for 2021 say that 6,000 to 10,000 of those daily data points are ads. This email. The billboard you passed on I-64. The Amazon link suggesting Crocs. The logo on your mailman’s socks. The only problem? Your brain can only retain a tiny fraction of that data, maybe 35 or 50 pieces of that data. Your ad can only be successful if it breaks through the clutter and becomes one of those select few pieces that’s retained.

This is backed by the science of human intention — 47% of B2B buyers consume three to five pieces of content before engaging with a salesperson. Having a creative mindset to build an innovative campaign while also having an analytical mindset to capture the success of the campaign is essential. At Madison+Main, we have people who think with both sides of their noodles.

Look Between The Numbers:
A good scientist doesn’t just regurgitate data. We have to analyze numbers to get to the bottom of things. A new visitor to a website is important. A repeat visitor is a good thing too. But a visitor who doesn’t stay more than a second or two is useless. A engaged visitor who clicks on several pages or takes the action you want (i.e. signing up, buying a product, making an appointment, etc.) is the real goal. Average Google click-through rates versus audience sentiment are two different (but equally important) metrics you should get reports on. Simply looking at “hits” doesn’t tell you anything.

Yes, creative marketing is still an art — as well as a science. It has to be a balance of creativity with analysis, intuition with data, and emotional appeal with logic. Our team of mad scientists, known as the Madison+Main-iacs, are ready to help. Operators are standing by. Don’t wait. This offer is not valid in Alaska or Hawaii.