Modern-day advertising relies a great deal on intelligent automation, data analytics, UX strategies, and related technology-backed solutions. Advanced tools and software help make advertising campaigns more impactful.
Marketers can now access all relevant information about the target audience to optimize decisions about messaging, budgets, and placement. They can use programmatic advertising platforms to automate workflows, create meaningful customer experiences, and increase ROI.
Indeed, innovation and strategic use of technological resources are now key components of any successful modern-day advertising strategy. Without them, most initiatives are likely to fail. Yet there’s a fine line between having an effective strategy and becoming overly reliant on technology.
Amid the critical use of technology, creativity must not take a back seat. And this begs the question – Can invention and innovation co-exist in harmony to create digital journeys? Is your agency nurturing the synergy between technology and creativity well?
Let’s find out.
How To Foster Creativity in Technology?
Creativity and technological advancements are both ways of progression. For instance, interventions like location-based targeting were originally employed by the military. Now, it’s one of the most effective means of marketing, owing to the granularity of brand-consumer interactions it enables.
With changing customer expectations, brands are using data-driven approaches, and understandably so. However, at times, they stunt creativity in the process. Yet, as technology evolves, the boundaries of digital marketing become more fluid, making it ever more indispensable for agencies to foster creativity. This entails human creativity and technology working in cohesion.
Converting Data into Information
From a user’s standpoint, technology helps convert knowledge into information, and this collective information makes creative approaches more factual. According to Forbes, around 34% of marketing managers incline toward investing in data science and bringing “data scientists” to the fold, and understandably so.
While knowledge shows a person’s interests and obligations, information is tangible, providing means for marketers to apply the invaluable insights they glean from data. When marketing teams combine common knowledge with factual data, it opens the door to better innovations.
Use Of ‘Creative’ Technology
With nearly 6.64 billion smartphones in the market, agencies need data to optimize their strategies and understand customer behavior. The importance on 360-degree consumer engagement to make lasting relationships is a primary goal of marketers worldwide.
This is where the use of ‘creative’ technology prevails. One of the most prevalent examples of creative technology is Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI emerged from an unpredictable and experimental world of creative thinking. The applications of AI use some of the most advanced technologies, along with playing in the most dynamic world.
For instance, Machine Learning (ML), a part of AI, enables a set of cognitive tools that use data to accelerate creative strategies. This has broad applicability since it involves studying data, making predictions, and applying them to insights. The ultimate result is the removal of ambiguities from datasets, allowing advertisers to push personalized marketing messages across the targeted spectrum.
Fuelling Marketing Strategies with Data
There is no doubt that data is in demand. With the global pandemic creating a colossal shift in digital transformation, the process of marketing has also undergone a massive change.
At present, companies must convince their users to buy the products or avail of services from another end of a digital screen. In concrete terms, strategies that got results earlier would be ineffective today, and this makes data particularly important.
However, using data in marketing campaigns is essential for contextual targeting. Data provides a broad foundation for designing creative strategies and promoting a sound understanding of how customer preferences are evolving and how brands can optimize their experience.
Dealing With the Disparities – Would the Advent of Newer Technology Replace Human Intellect?
Although technology and creativity blend to yield great results, it isn’t wise to leapfrog and relegate humans to the background. Both need each other to make progress.
Remember, every moment of innovation is a result of human ingenuity. And while we can’t imagine a world without technology, it’s equally important to acknowledge the importance of human cognition.
Marketers often rely entirely on modern marketing tools. The expectation that technical advancements like AI can solve every problem in their marketing strategy is unrealistic. While the tools and techniques can help generate hypotheses, an approach of human creativity coupled with technological support is much more effective.
Consider this; a modern-day programmatic advertising solution could help with a contextual understanding of the customers, promote the unification of data sources, provide insights into the “next best action,” and much more. Complementing it with human cognition could help outshine the competitors since you’d be able to make the most of automated workflows, optimize campaigns to the T, and increase the ROI.
So as far as the “technology replacing humans” argument goes, it’s essential to make the distinction between “technology” and “technology-assisted”. The latter refers to a blended approach involving human and technical partnerships, and this involves an effective integration of technology with creativity that could yield superior results, as elucidated above. Of course, redundant functions are subjected to be automated, but that only leaves more room for driving creativity.
Conclusion – Finding the Right Balance
It is safe to conclude that technology makes agencies effective, and creativity makes them adept. The fact that around 55% of marketers believe in hiring creative talent like writers and videographers is a testament to the same.
It is almost like the brain theory. The right side of our brain is more creative, and the left side governs logic and reasoning. While both oversee different functions, we need them coordinated for our tasks.
To sum up, advertising campaigns do not become successful overnight. A solid focus on creativity can allow technology to be implemented most efficiently, unlocking the full potential of data.
As more agencies understand this, they will be able to integrate technology-assisted creativity and vice versa into their campaigns.
Aroscop Studio promotes the same. We advocate for an agency that offers a blend of science and art to bring the best out of your advertising campaigns. Book a consultation today!
