CREATIVE VERSUS ANALYTICAL CULTURES IN ADVERTISING1
Creative Versus Analytical Cultures in Advertising: Friends or Enemies?
Stuart Haack
University of Southern California
Creative Versus Analytical Cultures in Advertising: Friends or Enemies?
It was Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau who said, “While analytics allows companies to target ad spending to very specific niches, it does not mean that the creativity is unnecessary. Great writers and artists are still needed to create emotionally appropriate and intellectually stimulating messages” (Brown, 2011). In a subtle statement, Brown seems to assertthat analytics are as important as creativity in the cultural characteristics of advertising.
On the other hand, it is MCD Partners CEO Miles Nadal who holds strong to a more traditional view of advertising when he said, “The science of analytics can enhance the effectiveness of ads, but nothing will replace great creativity” (McCains, 2012). Albert Einstein echoes that sentiment in an even more succinct way: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Yet, the cultures in advertising agencies are shifting from a strictly creative dynamic to an integration of creativity and analytics.
In order to examine this duality and seemingly opposing stances of cultures in advertising agencies, this paper will study the organizational cultures of creativity and analytics that exist within the internal advertising agency of Caesars Entertainment known as Studio One. The research will identify examples and thematic appearances of creatively driven cultures, processes, and individuals, as well as analytically focused ones.
Literature Review
Two cultural themes that are nearly always present, and are nearly always at odds in modern advertising agencies are creativity and analytics (Creative Tensions, 2012). Within advertising agencies, there are typically the creative teams that create the advertisements who tend to focus on the artistic beauty and aesthetics of their messaging (Fernandez, 2012; Rosen, 2011). E.B. White said “Advertisers are the interpreters of our dreams[…] Like the movies, they infect the routine futility of our days with purposeful adventure” (Beasley & Danesi, 2002, Preface). Writing scripts, designing a print advertisement, writing a billboard headline, directing a television commercial all used to be, and for the most part still are considered predominantly creative-drivendisciplines (Rosen, 2011). But because an advertising agency is a business, there are certainly analytical cultures that exist as well (Cokins, 2011). These can be seen in the finance department, quality assurance teams and research departments, and even in the processes with which the advertising is created and finalized (Bertalucci, 2012). The research departments within advertising agencies provide the data behind what prior and future advertising will workthrough creative briefs, demographic targeting, and more, especially since internet advertising has made this research data so much more accessible and ubiquitous (Manyika, Chui, Brown, Bughin, Dobbs, Roxburgh & Byers, 2011). But to some creative or more traditional individuals, this analytical culture infringes upon the basic human element of intuition and instinct that they have used successfully to develop ideas in the past (Ferguson, 2012). For these reasons, analytics and data are often at odds with the creative side of the advertising business (Fernandez, 2012). It becomes the quintessential question of art versus science; intuition versus data. And while some believe that these cultures clash over too many fundamental issues to truly work together (Vass, 2006; Zaccai, 2012), others maintain that collaboration between creative and analytical cultures can actually enhance the quality of modern advertising (Palmer, 2012; Lowenstern, 2011; Rosen, 2011), and still others go completely against traditional thought and believe that science and research is a more important function in the advertising industry than creativity (Clay, 2002).
There are many instances of successes and failures in this cultural duality in advertising. For example, a focus group was held in 2007 for a slightly modified version of the iconic Apple "1984" ad which came out originally in 1984 and is still remembered by many viewers and consumers today as one of the greatest television commercials of all time (Higgins, 2012; Hartlaub, 2009). And while this focus group was held over 20 years after the ad came out, taking into account that some tastes, technology and behaviors have changed (Curtis, 2000), the results were nonetheless surprising. The focus group that watched the Apple "1984" ad did not like it at all (Higgins, 2012). If Apple had this information back in 1984 when this commercial concept was pitched by the advertising agency, they may have sided with the data and scrapped the project. Fortunately for Apple and their advertising agency, this was not the case. The advertisement ran without the challenge of focus group data, helping grow Apple’s business and creating an iconic advertisement (Higgins, 2012) that is still taught in advertising schools.
Furthermore, when it comes to the short-term goals of the departments within advertising agencies, and even among clients, the cultures continue to drive a wedge. Within the creative culture of an advertising agency, which consist of graphic designers, copywriters and creative directors, the goal is to capture the spirit of the times, follow consumer behavior, and inspire action through art, whereas the analytical cultures in the office, including the finance department, account executives, and brand managers will typically be looking at facts and figures, quarterly earnings and revenue of clients (Curtis, 2000). At times, these cultures can align to work for both sides. Sometimes, however, these ideas work conversely.
These are just a few examples, but more and more research and data are being used to determine the best messaging, colors, and overall campaign directions in modern advertising to help brands deliver optimal marketing to their target audience (Fernandez, 2012). Creative individuals may find it difficult to cope with analytical cultures due to their more artistic attitudes and desire to work based on intuition and emotion rather than facts and figures. Simultaneously, analytical individuals may find it difficult to cope with artistic cultures because they prefer to create work that is based on a strong foundation of research, numbers, tests and data, which clashes with the zeitgeist idealism of the artists.
This research will help determine whether these two cultures can build upon one another, or if they tear each other down within Studio One of Caesars Entertainment. Should both exist as an integrated culture (Martin, 1992)? Or should departments be differentiated into segments of distinctly creative and analytical, with minimal integration? Lastly, should one of these cultural themes take precedence over the other in an advertising agency?
Method
Research of Studio One’s dichotomous cultures of creativity and analytics was gathered through an ethnographic study from March 6, 2011 to October 20, 2012. The researcher is a graduate student of University of Southern California’s Master of Communication Management program. Over a period of one year, six months and two weeks, the researcher was able to gather data through conversations with project managers, graphic designers, brand managers, a creative director, and a copywriter. The 62 employees of Studio One are both male and female, with an age range of 24 to 60. The researcher was able to gain insight into the organizational cultures through the study of daily tasks, standard operating procedures, production processes, attendance of meetings, conversations with employees, internal award events, and external award events.
Analysis
Studio One’s culture revolves around a duality of creative and analytical cultures, processes, and individuals. These cultures exist both ambiguously and in an integrative sense (Martin, 1992). Various ceremonials (Trice & Beyer, 1984), events and processes occur throughout the daily life within this organization that help create integration, as well as inconsistency and confusion (Martin, 1992). This research examines both sides of the culture within Studio One.
The Culture of Creativity
Graphic Designers, Copywriters, and the Creative Director
Graphic designers work in Studio One, utilizing Adobe’s Creative Suite of programs such as Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. These individuals are tasked with the function of creating marketing collateral that looks artistic and enticing enough to gain interest from consumers, and ultimately sell a product. Copywriters in Studio One write the words that are either on the advertisement or in the script that is read within these marketing collateral pieces, such as headlines, body copy, radio scripts, television scripts and advertising slogans. The creative director oversees the work of both the graphic designers and the copywriter to ensure the finished products have a cohesive message between the art and the copy. The creative director also gives initial direction on big projects to ensure that the concepts used to drive an advertising campaign are creative enough to stimulate action from the consumer, while aligning with the current beliefs about the brand. All of these individuals work within what is known as the “Creative Department” of Studio One. On a daily basis, these groups are tasked with coming up with unique, artistic and creative ways differentiate Caesars Entertainment’s product offerings from competitors in the marketplace. Their goal is to inspire consumer action through a well-crafted artistic piece that utilizes both creative words and aesthetic design. After talking with several designers and one of the copywriters, the research found that these “Creative Department” individuals are typically inspired by great writers, artists, poets, architects, painters, industry magazines and websites, old advertisements, movies, television, music, video games and other forms of art and media that surround them.
While these actors predominantly interact with the artistic culture of the advertising agency, they also deal with data and analysis to some extent, typically when working with brand managers, project managers and the quality assurance team. That will be discussed later.
Internal Awards
When a graphic designer, a copywriter and the creative director collaborate to create a great advertisement or a campaign, it is typically celebrated among all Studio One employees. During what is known as the monthly “Buzz Session”, great new work is showcased in front of all Studio One employees to exhibit the beauty of the newest advertisements. What makes this specifically creative is that there is never any mention of how these advertisements will affect revenue or provoke the consumer, nor are there any dates or specific locations mentioned with regard to where and when these advertisements can be seen in society. The only specifics that are discussed are how the designer came up with their particular layouts, color schemes and images, while the copywriter discusses the inspiration for the words that were used on the page. The focus is completely on the art of the project, with no attention paid to the science, research, or data that may have had an impact or will continue to impact that particular advertisement.
There are also yearly awards within the entire marketing department, in which Studio One’s top performers are selected for recognition. Again, during these award shows, the focus is primarily on the art and the copy that is created to help sell a product. It is the creative culture that is celebrated, rather than the analytical culture.
External Award Shows
Studio One attends yearly award shows in Las Vegas, Nevada, including the American Advertising Federation’s (AAF) Las Vegas ADDY Awards and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Las Vegas Work Show Gala. According to their website, “The ADDY® Awards represent the true spirit of creative excellence by recognizing all forms of advertising from media of all types, creative by all sizes and entrants of all levels from anywhere in the world” (AAF, n.d.). Furthermore, “AIGA sets the national agenda for the role of design in economic, social, political, cultural and creative contexts” (AIGA, n.d.). Both of these competitions are highly based on art, beauty, and creativity. And while these award shows are not functions of Studio One, by sheer attendance of its employees, Studio One is showing that this creativity is a reflection of the creative culture they promote.
The Analytical Culture
Brand Managers, Project Managers, and Quality Assurance
Focusing on the analytical aspects of the Studio One culture are the brand managers, project managers, and the quality assurance team. Brand managers and project managers typically focus on the research that goes into an advertisement. This includes the development of a creative brief which encompasses customer demographics (quantitative information about the customer such as age, race, gender), psychographics (qualitative psychological information about the target customer), and the overall strategy of the advertising piece. The strategy can include ideas like pushing customers to a specific event or promotion, getting customers to visit a website, or simply keeping them aware of the company’s existence. Substantial research and data are required to correctly identify all of the information necessary to show the right advertisement to the right consumer at the right time in the right place.
The quality assurance team performs quality control on every single advertisement, brochure, press release, script, or other piece of marketing collateral that is produced in Studio One. The job of the quality assurance team, specifically, is to check every aspect of the document for spelling errors, grammatical errors, design flaws, the correct legal disclaimer, and correct event dates, among other things. Once the quality assurance team approves an advertisement, it is sent back to the project managers and brand managers for one final analysis before being sent out to the public. Rather than analyzing it for aesthetic beauty or memorable writing, they review the advertisement to ensure that the design and copy fit with the creative brief that was created for the project. For example, if the creative brief requested an advertisement that attracted 65 year-old married men, there would be no need to mention the fact that Caesars Entertainment offers a Chippendales show at Rio Las Vegas. Little to no creativity is required within any of the aforementioned job functions.
Processes and Production Data
The work process and production data within Studio One are arguably the most data-driven elements that exist within the analytical culture of the organization. Studio One uses a program called QuickBase to track the number of “jobs” done each day by designers, copywriters, and the quality assurance team to ensure maximum efficiency and production. Each job is timed to inform the creative director how long the job was in the QuickBase queue, which gives further indication of efficiency. The data is then used for quarterly feedback and yearly bonuses. This process diverges from the creative focus that is prevalent in much of the rest of the designers’ and copywriters’ daily functions, but fits well for the quality assurance team.
Another process within Studio One that has been recently implemented is known as “First In, First Out” (FIFO). Under this particular process, designers and copywriters are required to complete jobs as they come in, and work in order of appearance in their QuickBase queue. This is also slightly detrimental to the creative culture, as prior to the implementation of FIFO, employees in the Creative Department could work on jobs in whichever order that they chose, as long as each job was finished by the due date. This can be restraining for a creative individual who has an artistic idea for one project, but is n longer allowed to move on to that project until they finish another job that was put in the QuickBasequeue first.
Budgeting
Producing advertising cannot happen without a budget. This is especially apparent in Studio One photo and video shoots. These shoots are required when stock video or photography does not meet the needs of a particular advertisement. In the perfect world within the creative culture of Studio One, the budget would be endless and they would be able to hire the best models and actors, and the best photographers every time they shot something new. However, the analytical side must come in to play when it comes to budgeting. The creative director and brand managers must weigh value against potential return on investment when deciding the level of quality they can afford. This part of the analytical culture does not always yield the greatest advertising to help harness the creative culture of Studio One, but the analytical culture must keep the budget balanced if everyone in Studio One wants to keep their jobs.
Discussion
While Studio One certainly seems to value the aesthetic beauty and innovation of a creative culture, many of their processes which reside in the analytical cultures seem counterintuitive. The creative culture seems to promote quality, while the processes promote quantity. This sends mixed and ambiguous messages to employees who work in Studio One, with regards to which culture and overall product is more important. Perhaps Studio One, in an attempt to draw out the most analytically and creatively sound work, is strategically maintaining an ambiguous message of duality between creativity and analytical cultures. Or perhaps there is no strategy and they simply have not found a way to overcome the necessity to satisfy both needs within the internal advertising agency without causing confusion between departments.