Today’s data-driven landscape has led marketers to question whether reliance on statistics is compromising creativity. The question is, can you still be creative if you’re data-driven? At a 2017 Marketing Week roundtable, HSBC’s former head of marketing in EMEA Philip Mehl said: “Marketing used to be a creative challenge, but it’s a data challenge now.” Speaking on the same subject in an article for Campaign, the chief creative officer of advertising giant TBWA/Singapore & Southeast Asia Edmund Choe stated: “When I speak to creatives, they don’t always see how data could be used in harmony with creativity. The problem is that they find data boring. To them, data is rational. And great creative isn’t.” Despite this, successful, modern campaigns prove to us that data-driven marketing and creativity are not mutually exclusive. With data historically used to drive performance, marketers are increasingly using data to enhance campaigns and drive greater creativity. In the same Campaign article, chief executive officer of global design and digital agency Critical Mass Dianne Wilkins said that “behavioural measurement shouldn’t lull us away from using the creative process to intuit and proactively experience what customers will experience and vice versa.” The best marketing campaigns have always been carved from ideas built on insight. After all, without insights, how could a marketer identify the right target audience, the elements that make them tick, along with what’s deemed as valuable brand interaction? CEO of tech startup Intelligent Operations (IO) Tom Bowman stated in an article for The Drum: “Science can unlock our art. But, to do so, we first have to answer the 'how?'” Wilkins agrees, stating that “meaningful success will come to those who can augment data with creativity to empathise with the customer.” It appears that creativity isn’t a compromise when it comes to incorporating data into marketing. Marketing director at Kellogg UK & Ireland Gareth Maguire told Marketing Week that he believed a change in approach was key to achieving campaign success in today’s data-driven world. Changing the brand’s traditional nostalgic approach, Maguire stated that its “marketing focus had to shift to reflect the way our consumers are digesting advertising messages.” It seems that instead of lamenting data as causing the death of creativity, it should be treated as the single greatest tool marketers have with the focus shifting on what can be done to extract more and learn how best to apply it to future campaigns. The more data at our fingertips, the better the insight into how customers think, behave and feel, leading to more tailored and successful campaigns all around.

It’s only March, but we’ve already been treated to a number of fantastic creative campaigns from a wide range of our favourite brands. The Henry Nicholas team is always on the lookout for campaigns that are memorable for all of the right reasons and we’ve put our heads together to bring you some of our favourites so far... We loved FCK! The KFC ‘chicken crisis’ It wasn’t like KFC was planning a campaign in response to its epic delivery fail, but you can’t fault the company’s masterclass in PR crisis management. Like everyone else in the UK, we wondered how the Colonel was going handle a crisis that saw the world’s most famous chicken place closing its doors due to a lack of chicken. Apart from the amusing banter between KFC’s social media team with rival restaurants, we loved the full-page advert in the Metro with its punch-to-the-face FCK headline. Lloyds Bank - Get the inside out We like adverts that make us think, so the focus on mental health in the latest Lloyd’s adverts caught our eye. Created by Adam & Eve/DDB, the ads feature a combination of celebrities, members of the public and Lloyd’s employees exploring some of the common misconceptions about mental health conditions. Squarespace - Make it happen Shown at this year’s Super Bowl, Squarespace’s offbeat, inspirational advert was directed by Jonathan Glazer and features Keanu Reeves surfing a motorbike (yes, really). While it might not sound like much, we like how reminiscent it is to some of the great Honda adverts of the last decade. Plus, any advert featuring John Wick gets the thumbs up from us. British Heart Foundation - Thank you Unlike a lot of awareness adverts, this little beauty created by Misha Newby and MullenLowe London is an absolute pleasure to watch. The ad shows animated hearts beating in the chests of people from a variety of backgrounds and we love it. The ones we didn’t get Twitter - Let’s go Twitter We love a bit of Twitter and we’re big fans of comedian Romesh Ranganathan who takes the starring role in this particular ad, but everything else has just got us scratching our heads. As adverts go, it’s perfectly fine but Twitter has been around since 2006 so do we really need to be introduced to the platform for the first time? On the Beach Holidays - Let’s get you to the beach We understand that Cheetham Bell JWT’s advert isn’t taking itself seriously, but does it really need to be that creepy? The weird sandcastle man was made as a joke (we hope), but the lingering shots after each ‘anecdote’ make everything a bit awkward and creepy. What are your favourite adverts of the year so far? And which make you want to switch off? We’d love to hear your comments.

It’s a day to celebrate the achievements of women, so who better to catch up with than our 2017 Employee of the Year, Emma Whitting? We managed to pry her away from her work for a quick coffee and a chat... What’s your background? I studied Media & Cultural studies at university and always loved marketing, video and creative work. I wanted a career that combined my passion for working with people with my marketing and sales experience but was conscious I didn’t want to be in a corporate environment. I’d loved my time as a retail supervisor, which gave me an excellent grounding in dealing with people, so when the opportunity at Henry Nicholas came up I jumped at it! I’ll be celebrating my three year anniversary here in April - it’s flown by! What about your Henry Nicholas journey? I started out as a Resourcer and made my first placement within a few weeks of joining the business and hit all of my development targets, so I progressed quickly to become a Consultant. That’s when I got the opportunity to learn more about the business side of recruitment and everything that’s involved with building a solid client base. Because Henry Nicholas covers a wide variety of disciplines across the UK, I was able to gain greater knowledge of marketing, PR, design and technology roles. Is there such thing as a typical day at Henry Nicholas? No! Every day is different, but typically I would take a detailed client brief, put together some engaging content, proactively source candidates using my contacts, LinkedIn and job boards, fully qualify the candidate drivers and match the right people to my clients. Additionally, I manage candidate interviews and the offer process, whilst also taking time to keep build my client base. What do you like about Henry Nicholas as an employer? The team are really supportive of one another, so collaborative working is the norm. There’s also a real buzz about the place, we work really hard but we try to have as much fun as possible, whether that’s having a quick game of ping-pong or drinks after work on a Friday. There are lots of amazing incentives, from company trips to Barcelona, Las Vegas and New York, through to the strong focus on development with regular salary reviews and one-to-one coaching. One of the best things is that the team have always trusted my work ethic, knowledge and ability, allowing me to work autonomously to deliver results. Follow the latest updates on International Women's Day by following the hashtag #IWD2018​ and visit our Join Us page today to find out how you can join Emma and the team to start an exciting career with Henry Nicholas.