I had a baking issue in the kitchen yesterday. Half way through following a recipe for banana cake, I realised I didn’t have enough flour. I carried on regardless, attempting to reduce the quantity of the other ingredients to compensate. The result was a rather soggy splodge. Baking is a science and altering the recipe just didn’t work.
This got me thinking - Is digital marketing an exact science? If we follow the same process each time are we guaranteed results?
There are certainly scientific elements. Technology is a science that delivers, measures and serves our strategy. There is science in the research, planning and analysis which is measurable and accountable, not just in measuring success but also influencing our future decisions. This allows us to put science behind the decisions we make with evidenced findings and targeted campaigns. But is it all technology, numbers and data, with no creativity?
We don’t deliver any digital marketing strategy without the science, in the same way you wouldn't make a cake without flour. But we also wouldn't want our campaigns to grow dry and stale by relying on science as our sole motivator to act.
Anyone can bake a cake if they follow the instructions and have all the ingredients. Digital marketing without creativity would be monotonous and forgettable. Real change comes through creativity and the courage to experiment with new ideas.
As I sit down with a coffee and a piece of soggy cake planning our next digital marketing campaign, I am reminded that whilst the science is the core of everything we do, the creativity and premise of the idea will make the end result. After all, without creativity I’d have no cake at all!
Karen Bowen | Purple Frog
