Brands that are effectively integrating creativity, analytics and purpose are growing at a rate more than twice that of their peers, according to recent McKinsey & Company research.
And while these growth “triple play” brands may have greater bandwidth than yours, taking a page (or a few) from their winning playbooks can still help jump-start your growth agenda, whether you’re charged with deepening your financial institution’s relationships with accountholders, driving in new patients, or recruiting college freshmen and transfer students.
We’re all creatives at heart.
Creativity is where all marketing essentially begins. It’s what drives bold, imaginative campaigns. It’s what gives us the impetus (and the bravado) to pitch out-of-the-box ideas. The infusion of data analytics and purpose into marketing—which virtually exploded since COVID began—gives marketers powerful tools to strengthen their brands, not to mention their roles in their organizations. (More on this here.)
Amp up your creativity with analytics.
It all starts with great creative. Breakthrough creative connects with people on an emotional level, draws them in, engages them, and ultimately inspires them to take action. But you can’t connect with them—no less inspire them—if you don’t know what motivates or moves them.
Amping up your creative with real-time analytics enables your brand to:
- Drive deeply personalized interactions based on demographics, attitudes, context and past behaviors.
- Incorporate iterative test-and-learn approaches into your marketing campaigns to optimize results on the fly.
- Monitor changes in consumer behavior (which is even more of a moving target these days) and make the necessary adjustments to your messaging strategy and media spend.
Make purpose your North Star.
Now more than ever, consumers care as much, if not more, about what your brand stands for as what you actually do. And many of your employees do too.
It’s only natural then that purpose guides the overall direction of high-growth brands, as CMOs and marketers make crucial decisions that drive long-term growth.
Linking purpose to creativity and analytics can help your brand:
- Recognize the opportunities that are going to resonate most deeply with your targets. They’re searching for, and selecting, brands that share their values. Demonstrate that you do share those values and you’re on your way to building an emotional and lasting relationship with them.
- Set your overall direction and shape your portfolio. Having a clearly articulated purpose and mission helps ensure that every product or service reflects your brand identity and mission. It helps simplify the process: The decision of whether to introduce—or discontinue—a particular offering boils down to how well it fits into your stated purpose, leaving personalities (and personal agendas) out of the equation.
- Encourage talented people to join and stay with your organization. Employees not only know what your brand stands for; that sense of purpose empowers them to set their own priorities, to independently make decisions that align with your values, and to become your brand ambassadors to your constituents.
There’s no question the most successful marketers are using the “trifecta”—creativity, analytics and purpose—to lead, shape and drive brand growth. To find out how our marketing creatives, strategists and analysts can help you do the same, contact us.
