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Title:

Is Too Much Math Killing Marketing?

Your vote:
Yes No
Organizer:
Mike Teasdale, Harvest Digital
Description:
Breakthrough marketing used to come from creative genius, from big ideas, from empathy with customers. But now all the attention goes to rigorous testing and algorithmic approaches to customer insight. So is the science driving out creativity - or are we focused on the wrong kind of maths?
Questions
Answered:
  1. What kind of ideas really drive marketing forwards?
  2. What kind of data and analysis is happening in marketing today?
  3. Can data analysis help creativity rather than hindering it?
  4. What are the shortcomings of data gathering online?
  5. Can we build convincing customer profiles from analytic techniques alone?
  6. Is the algorithmic model of Google the future of agencies?
  7. What are agencies for?
  8. What is the value of disruption?
  9. Does testing make marketing techniques more and more similar?
  10. What kind of marketing do customers really want?
Level:
Intermediate
Category:
Advertising, Branding / Marketing / Publicity, Content, Information Architecture, User Experience
Type:
Panel
Event:
Interactive 2010
Heidi Skinner
on 27/8/09
Great topic. I'll be there if it's picked.
Louise Roper
on 29/8/09
This is one of those topics that NEEDS discussion - the pendulum has swung so far in one direction we risk remembering what it's all about. Really quite emotive topic - especially in a global recession where every cent counts and marketeers can not rely on 'gut feel' that a campaign will fly.
Mike Teasdale is never afraid of putting a well thought through, provocative argument out there. Cant wait to see this one
Ben Knight
on 2/9/09
A hugely interesting topic that agencies and clients need to fully understand to get the best from their budgets - looking forward to hopefully seeing the marketing pros, cons and the mutual benefits that can be gained
Mike Teasdale
on 2/9/09
This session is planned to be a panel discussion - I haven't finalised the other speakers yet, but @alexhoye is a definite possibility and I'd love to get a really solid web metrics expert onto the platform.

So a bit more about the subject - I'm not really knocking maths here. What I will argue is that an over-reliance on stats - which are often quite dubious in provenance - works against us developing good instincts.

For instance, in the marketing mix, PR is very hard to measure effectively - but I know it can have a profound influence on a company's marketing. "Last click wins" is basically a bullshit way to measure online advertising - but everyone does it, and the end result is that we all queue up to pour cash into Google.

Of course it's crazy to blame maths for this. What I'm hoping is that someone on the pro-numbers side of the debate can help us to understand how tests should be set up to spit out good results. And hopefully we can all share a good laugh at Google split-testing 27 different shades of blue!
Faren Foster
on 3/9/09
Excellent topic and very timely!
Mike Weston
on 3/9/09
Mike, I've dedicated my career to trying to help marketers use technology to harness and understand the data behind what they do (in email, adserving and behavioural targeting in particular) and think that this is really important... but ONLY if backed by strong messaging. What the data should tell us is whether the messaging works. I think this sounds like an exceptionally interesting panel
Jack Wallington
on 3/9/09
Great topic - great presenter. This should get picked.

Jack (IAB UK)
Matthew Tod
on 3/9/09
Big ideas are what make a difference to business, but us maths geeks have a ro;e in enabling big ideas and then tuning them - and don't rule us out as idea generators.
Matthew Tod
CEO Logan Tod & Co
Ted Morris Dawson
on 3/9/09
This is a hot topic right now - and who better to pick it up with oven gloves and run with it than Mike Teasdale?
James Simpson
on 4/9/09
No better man! Do you need to borrow a Calculator?
Matt Brocklehurst
on 4/9/09
In these tough times lets not rely too much on stats and lose the ability to take risks
keith porritt
on 4/9/09
interesting debate on the alchemy of marketing , does maths stifle creativity or does it objectively benchmark subjective indulgence/ prejudices. Ask an expert like Mike
Mike Page
on 4/9/09
Seen too many ideas kicked into touch because the maths didn't stack up at the front end. Sometimes gut feeling and the will to take a risk every now and then are the ideas that actually take off big time.
Chris Tradgett
on 4/9/09
top concept and one that needs ongoing discussion. Knowing Mike, he's one of the few people with this level of analytical understanding - and he'll put together a great panel to really start drawing some of those back teeth!!
Tom Campbell
on 4/9/09
Great topic - this simply has to get picked
michaela carmichael
on 4/9/09
Spot on and excellent presenter
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on 1/11/09
Good luck, voted up.
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on 17/11/09
Great topic. I'll be there if it's picked.
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on 22/11/09
Excellent topic and very timely!
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on 28/11/09
Very nice...
MTS Video Converter
on 29/11/09
Sounds like a good bunch to me.
Tiffany jewellery
on 29/11/09
I attended Paul's panel on music discovery at last year's SXSWi and it was fascinating and included a sneak preview of a music discovery app which I believe was powered by Echo Nest. This panel sounds fantastic as well!
cape deh
on 30/11/09
Great topic - great presenter. This should get picked. Excellent topic and very timely!
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