Supercharging Creative Using the Power of Data
An Interview With Flynn CCO Pete VonDerLinn
The increased availability of data has the potential to affect the creative process like never before. Our Chief Creative Officer, Pete VonDerLinn, gives his take on what this development means and how it can be leveraged.
What does Flynn’s positioning “We combine data and daring to create breakthroughs for brands” mean?
Pete VonDerLinn (PV): To build breakthrough campaigns, you need two things. Insightful data and provocative work that earns the audience’s attention. As the guy in charge of delivering the provocative work, I feel really fortunate that Flynn has such strong strategy and data science teams to deliver the data we need. As well as media and social teams that are constantly letting us creatives know how our work is performing. If it needs to be optimized to hit KPIs, our creative team jumps right in and makes adjustments.
How does Flynn incorporate data into creative development?
PV: We have a saying: If the work doesn’t move the needle, what’s the point? So, we start with agreeing to a few KPIs that will really tell us if the campaign is delivering positive ROI. But the other data we use in creative development is concept validation, usually in the form of surveys that help us understand how persuasive our ideas are to the audience.
How do you make creative decisions if the research doesn’t provide a clear answer?
PV: Well, we’re not big fans of uncertainty. We want our clients to know that the work will work with reasonable certainty before we launch. So, if the work we’re researching doesn’t give us that confidence, we try a different approach and test again. Test and learn until you get it right.
But “gut” still matters — especially when there’s a tie between two concepts. Gut and what’s happening in the current culture, have always been the deciding factors when it comes to recommending which of two equally strong concepts should get produced.
What data points do you like to see in the creative brief?
PV: Depending on the campaign objectives, that can vary a lot. But the two I’m adamant about are gauging the stopping power of the idea and its shareability.
Do you ever feel that the data, or a tight brief, stifles your creativity?
PV: I always say, the tighter the brief, the more compelling the creative. Briefs that ask for everything usually accomplish nothing.
So, you think data can actually liberate creative?
PV: Absolutely, for two reasons. For one, creative can’t do its magic until it gets approved. That’s why concept validation is so important. For creative to get approved, clients need to have research data and key metrics that prove it will work. And, two, once launched, sometimes creative doesn’t perform as expected. But, if this happens, the data provided by our data, media, and social teams helps us course-correct and optimize an idea instead of just killing it prematurely.
Can you provide an example of how integrating data led to a creative breakthrough?
PV: It’s important to note that data isn’t only quantitative, it isn’t just numbers, it’s qualitative, too. Top Flite asked for a packaging refresh. Instead of leaping to design, we started by looking at golf trends and recognized that many golfers were taking the game less seriously. This aligned well with Top Flite’s positioning, so instead of just a packaging refresh, we proposed a brand repositioning. The qualitative data we started with helped us reposition a well-established brand for the growth opportunities that are coming in golf in the years ahead.
Any additional advice you have for readers on how they can better use the data they have available?
PV: Not everyone is a numbers nerd, especially creatives, so the best advice I can give is to hire a data team who can provide simple visualizations that make the data easy to understand. Your team will be energized by the information instead of paralyzed by it.
