Coin of the Realm

[Image by Talke Photography via Flickr and usage via Creative Commons]

An idea: Current advertising has two shiny sides, competing for attention.

One side is Story. This is the brand, the “big idea,” the last century of a creative directive.

The other side is Data. This is measurement, analytics, the new imperial mandate.

Yet, neither side has really ever lived without the other.

Hollywood worships the Story on weekends and at the Oscars but quickly turns to Data on Mondays and in the board room.

The first wave of interactive marketing marched under the flag of Data, but discovered how boring that approach can become. And we’ve discovered it doesn’t do much good to measure things if no one is going to change strategy, content or budgets as a result. The story of Data is that it needs Story to provide context and meaning.

Meanwhile, Story continues to fart along. Story telling has never been easy. Now crowds are in the game. All this really does is amplify how difficult it is to create magic. But I think Data can help. Data can point the way towards greater relevance, towards subject matter, tone and context which nurture better stories. At the very least, Data can suggest where you’ll have a better chance of success.

In essence, all marketing is literally a coin toss. Sometimes one side will face up and lead, sometimes the other will. If you exist somewhere in the middle, you always come out on top.