An unlikely pairing some would surmise but they’re actually made for each other. In another of various selected articles from AdAge, this article I read recently by Matt Kaupa discusses how best for brands to align data with creative and do so from the beginning. Developing and studying one or the other separately won’t do any good.
At first glance, “data” and “creative” feel like opposites. One loves structure, the other color. One obsesses over decimal points, the other ellipses. But when they team up, the results can be surprising. And the best work happens when they collaborate from the start—not when data shows up at the end to judge. Here’s how to get there.
Don’t wait until after launch
Too often, data gets invited to the party only after a campaign is out in the world. At that point, it’s just there to grade the work, not shape it. Data and creative are two ingredients in the same dish. If you taste the soup only after it’s served, you can complain about the flavor—but you missed your shot to add the seasoning.
Strategy: Bring analysts into the creative kickoff. Audience insights—demographics, psychographics, behaviors, even reactions to past campaigns—can shape tone, format and story direction from day one. If you want to measure success, then why wouldn’t measurement help guide the strategy?
Example: Want to talk to busy moms in Charlotte? Don’t guess. See what they actually engage with at 10 p.m. Trying to position a brand as “premium” but still “relatable”? Let sentiment data show the words they use—not the words you wish they used.
Speak in the audience’s words
Every brand has its own vocabulary, but if your audience doesn’t speak that language, you’re basically shouting into the void. It doesn’t matter how clever your copy is if no one understands it—or worse, if it feels out of touch.
Strategy: Pull top organic search terms and social comments into the copy deck. Use their words, not yours.
Example: In industries like health care or finance, expert language doesn’t always translate. Otolaryngology? That’s just an ENT.
Don’t ignore A/B test losers
Everyone loves a winner, but the losing versions of a campaign are often way more interesting. They show you where instincts clashed with reality—and that tension is where new ideas live.
Strategy: Treat every test as a learning lab, not just a scoreboard. Every version has a story to tell—whether it’s what to do, or what to avoid.
Example: Sometimes insights come from a single weird data blip. Why did that version spike in Wisconsin? It didn’t have anything to do with cheese—or overrated football teams (skol!).
Let dashboards tell a story
Dashboards don’t have to be painful. But let’s be honest: They usually are. They’re dense, ugly and built for people who already live and breathe numbers. For everyone else? They’re more like a punishment than a resource.
Strategy: Co-build reporting visuals with designers so your dashboards are as compelling as your campaigns. When data looks like a story, people actually use it. Also, dummy-proof your insights: structure data and visuals in a way that reduces the number of assumptions—especially wrong ones—that your audience has to make.
Example: Imagine if your media dashboard looked less like a spreadsheet exploded and more like an infographic—highlighting trends, telling a narrative, and pulling out the “so what” at a glance. One client stopped ignoring their reports entirely once we reframed their monthly dashboard like a campaign storyboard. Suddenly, the CFO wasn’t just tolerating the data—he was quoting it in meetings.
Flip feedback into fuel
Brands collect mountains of feedback but rarely use it for anything more than “good job” or “try again.” What if, instead of treating it like a report card, you treated it like raw material? Customers are basically writing copy for you every day.
Strategy: Use real-time listening tools to turn survey responses or social reactions into iterative campaign content.
Example: Imagine a spot stitched together directly from customer feedback. Or a campaign whose copy comes entirely from what people are saying online.
Wrap smarter
When the campaign’s over, most people move on to the next thing. But the wrap-up is where the hidden treasure lives. Go beyond “what performed” and dig into why—because those answers set you up for the next win.
Strategy: Cluster analysis can reveal new audience segments. Performance patterns can challenge assumptions. Maybe Gen Z does like long-form after all—just not when you lead with product shots.
Data shouldn’t chase creative, and creative shouldn’t wait for data. The smartest work happens when both teams co-own the problem from day one. Remember that data isn’t just numbers. Just as we need to speak our audience’s language, we also need to speak the creatives’ language. Incorporate qualitative data—social comments, organic searches, reviews, surveys—to make sure we don’t lose the forest for the numbers.
Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!
Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.
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