It’s Not ALL About Numbers. Emotions Count

Great Ad Age article, Why Metrics Are Killing Creativity in Advertising

[We are forgetting that brand preference is built on emotional connections. No measurement tool is going to change that. Period. What works are creative and strategic communications that seamlessly engage and interact with the target audience. Most important, it’s big, new ideas — not crunched numbers — that remain in a person’s mind long after the initial experience. They are what really make a brand stick with the consumer for current and future recall, and numerous case-studies prove it.

Malcolm Gladwell, describing his theory of “stickiness” in advertising, recounts that some four decades ago “Legendary” Les Wunderman, fearing the loss of long-time client Columbia House Records, sparked a death match with mighty McCann Erickson. McCann, pointing at its sophisticated research and resultant numbers, ran a big, expensive prime-time wash that garnered a 19.5% increase in response to Columbia’s pitch. Meanwhile, Wunderman came up with a wildly cheesy gold box/treasure hunt/giveaway deal. But he knew his idea both would connect and engage his target. Well, Wunderman delivered a whopping 80% increase in the markets he pursued — totally annihilating McCann’s numbers.]

Full article here http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=142600