Finding Harmony Between Rationality of Data and the Irrationality of Culture

I recently gave a keynote address in Moscow titled Culture Magic and the Power of Invisibility My premise was that society is increasingly based on the intangible or invisible Intellectual property is at the crux of that and is frequently generated by creatives Further culture as a manifestation of shared values seeks meaning which in the world of advertising and marketing is sorely neededThe message resonated but drew questions that tread on familiar ground How do we create the type of work that is daring and boundarypushing while feeling hamstrung by shortterm business concernsAt first glance it might appear we are restaging the ageold quotart versus sciencequot battleground But on reflection I believe we are having a different conversation It is more accurate to frame the debate as being between the rational represented by data and metrics and the irrational represented by cultureMeasurement vs MeaningYou rarely go wrong when citing marketing guru Peter Drucker who famously stated quotIf you can39t measure it you can39t improve itquot Measuring company progress via established metrics is an easy way to assess improvement over time On a fundamental level this feels right and coincides with our reliance on the seeming rationality of numbers Ideally the information we capture should provide a clear roadmap toward actionable and efficient decisionmakingMarketers are adherents to rationality which in their minds is the path of least resistance toward measurable success But most marketing messages are not resonating A study from Trinity Mirror and Ipsos Connect found that 69 percent of consumers distrust advertising Andamp160 according to the current UM media agency WAVE study only 4 percent of people globally trust the word of influencers If that39s not enough the recent Havas Meaningful Brand Report 2019 found that 58 percent of people think the content coming from brands is meaninglessIn response marketers feel their best answer is to double down on rationality by asking for even more potential control over influencers A recent study by Takumi covers the growing tensions of trust and control between marketers and influencers Titled quotTrust transactions and trendsetters the realities of influencer marketingquot the report goes on to say that 43 percent of US marketers feel they should have complete control over the content that influencers postWhen influencer marketing was in its ascendance its initial success was due primarily to the way influencers used their unique voice to connect with their community in ways that brands could not That formula has been upended with influencers specifically and culture more generally as nearly all of it has been coopted as just another marketing channel to be homogenized and controlled Given the perception of marketing that approach doesn39t seem too rationalThe Logic of Embracing the IrrationalNot to take anything away from Peter Drucker but there are alternatives views on the rationality of measurement Albert Einstein said quotNot everythingamp160thatamp160countsamp160can beamp160counted andamp160not everythingamp160that can beamp160counted countsquot In today39s marketing environment this is a seemingly irrational perspective That is precisely why it is a perspective that is invaluable Culture is a natural byproduct of the seemingly irrational It is by definition created by those who are on the margins and defy conventional wisdomWhen Dave Trott created a campaign to address thirdworld debt he stepped on the third rail of marketing by making his creative all about sh amp8212 literally When talking about his willingness to defy conventional logic Trott makes his position clear in a 2009 blog post He states quotEmotion and passion aren39t logical or reasonable That39s why emotion and passion are the engines of change Emotion and passion roll right over logic and reasonquotYou can39t control emotion and you can39t measure passion You can approximate those things by creating fuzzy math metrics but more than likely you will find yourself falling woefully short of generating meaning Emotion and passion are intrinsic human qualities defying attempts to codify and measure them It is precisely why those human qualities alongside such stalwarts as love and compassion are what is most needed in today39s datacentric environmentMarketers are struggling to be relevant and find a way to connect with people Their rational voice calls for more data segmentation of the population into everslimmer groups and microtargeting ad buys For all of the control they covet this strategy shows no sign of working People continue to opt out of what agencies are selling while also opting in to the movements and the people they care aboutThe case for irrationality is being made with every skipped ad and clicked X to close an annoying popup People have made their preference known amp8212 let39s see how long it takes the rational to catch upClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Finding Harmony Between Rationality of Data and the Irrationality of Culture

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Philip McKenzie

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Finding Harmony Between Rationality of Data and the Irrationality of Culture

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