The art and science of marketing

art or science?

Of course marketing is a bit of both. But how much art and how much science?

The CMO of an Australian software firm believes that marketing today is 70% science, 30% art. His point: Every business should be using science (sophisticated analyses, big data, etc) to support decisions about marketing. At the same time, the creativity of art is key to developing marketing that touches hearts and minds.

Science is vital for targeting, in particular. A Google marketing exec points to the quest for 'right place, right time, right message' and how science can inform decisions about place and time. Yet art is needed for marketing that creates 'brand magic', in his words.

The CMO of an auto insurance firm observes that many marketers 'are so proud of their art but they don't know their science'. This firm is serious about the science of marketing, doing media buying in-house for tight control over targeting and timing. Still, given the intense competition in the insurance business, this CMO looks to art for the edge: 'We're not going to out-pend anybody. We're going to out-create them'.

Creativity is necessary to achieve breakthrough marketing campaigns that are memorable and drive results. And sometimes, as one agency exec notes, marketers have to take a chance and use intuition even when 'we know measurement is thin'. 

The bottom line is, in reality, the bottom line--science (metrics and KPIs, for instance) can tell us how well the marketing is working. Creativity in marketing, the art, must have a purpose. Through science (planning, testing and evaluating) we can determine how well the art delivered on the marketing objectives. Art and science in marketing!

'Share a Coke' Goes Global

Two years ago, Coca-Cola and its marketing agencies created a marketing plan designed to boost sales and stimulate buzz in Australia. Research showed that teenagers and soft-drink lovers in their 20s weren't drinking Coke as much or as often. The marketers developed a plan for the summer months, with two goals in mind.

The primary campaign objective was simple: to increase consumption of Coca-Cola over the summer period. The secondary objective was to get people talking about Coke again.

Coca-Cola chose the 150 most popular first names in the country and printed them on Coke bottle labels. Before publicity or advertising began, the new Coke bottles were shipped to stores for shoppers to discover and share.

This started a lively social-media conversation that continued as publicity and adverts joined the mix. Consumer feedback via social media resulted in crowdsourced ideas for 50 additional names to be printed on Coke labels.

The campaign worked: Consumption by consumers in their teens and twenties increased by 7% during the summer months, giving sales a significant boost. The Coca-Cola Australia FB page was the most talked-about FB page in the country, with traffic increasing by an amazing 870% during the campaign.

Today, Coca-Cola Australia's Facebook page has more than one million likes and the company is constantly changing the content to promote its products and keep up a dialogue with brand fans.

Note the metrics: First, consumption--which drives sales--and then social-media interactions that involve the Coke brand. Results Down Under!

'Share a Coke' was so successful that Coca-Cola used it in Europe during the summer of 2013, again choosing the 150 most popular names, country by country. The long-term goal is to double Coke's sales by 2020, and successful campaigns like 'Share a Coke' are going global to help achieve that ambitious target.