Are KPIs Killing Creativity?
It’s easy to look at creativity as laced with mystery and intrigue – a gift from a muse. But is a mind free of limitations the key to creative genius? How truly creative are creative agencies when the working process is ruled by key performance indicators?
Architect Frank Gehry, best known for building the Guggenheim Museum in Spain, and the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles freaked when he was issued a brief to design a house with zero constraints. Gehry is said to have questioned himself and his life’s purpose when faced with the challenge. About constraints, he told Forbes magazine, “I think we turn those constraints into action.”
Constraints, like KPIs mightn’t seem conducive to the execution of a creative project, but perhaps it’s those limitations that fuel the most innovative output in the industry.
“When we are kids we are taught that there is no right or wrong when it comes to imagination but as we grow up and become ‘professionals’ we find out that isn’t entirely true; we have to answer to stakeholders, clients, targets and legal… inevitably this put parameters around our creative output,” says Droga5’s head of content, Holly Alexander.
“Without KPIs, advertising is art. Art is awesome, but it’s not the same thing. And if you want to be doing art and create without a series of goals around what success looks like, you’re probably in the wrong industry,” says Matt Delprado, creative director at Lowe Profero Sydney.
Alexander says: “The creative process benefits from having some boundaries to keep things moving in a clear direction.”
Contrary to how some see the creative process – as one with no rules and regulations – these days, the greatest work is often born from rigidity and enabled by technology.
“Technology gives us much more feedback on creativity than ever before, it allows us to deliver innovative ideas more dynamically and reach our audience more effectively than before,” says Michael Scruby, founder at outdoor media buying platform start-up Site Tour.
Scruby’s favourite example of creative work constrained by KPIs but enabled by technology is a recent British Airways campaign ‘Look Up’.
Earlier this year, British Airways issued creative agency OlgilvyOne a brief to create a campaign that highlighted the breadth of the airline’s destinations. “One of the KPIs was to drive people to their site, a special ‘Look Up’ website. They also had to implement the hashtag #LookUp to generate buzz on social media,” says Scruby.
The ads were executed on prominent London digital billboards featuring a little tyke pointing only at British Airways planes when they flew overhead.
The campaign won a Grand Prix in the direct category at the Cannes Lions.
“The confirmation of the campaign’s creative success was the award it won at Cannes; it was a brilliant concept and hit all the KPIs,” says Scruby.
“The whole idea behind advertising is using constraints to drive creative thinking to hit the right person at the right time with the right message in the right place,” he adds.
Lowe Profero’s Delprado believes good KPIs can action creative thinking but warns those that are written badly can hinder innovation. He says: “Sometimes KPIs are written because it will be easy to measure and not because it’s the most appropriate measurement of success. This is particularly problematic in digital where there’s so much data out there that we base our things to measure on the metrics Google Analytics gives us, instead of really thinking through the things that are important to creative success.”
With data aplenty, it’s easy to make assumptions about the audience you’re targeting which can sometimes give the creative project a bum steer. Delprado says: “Increasingly as brand plays are done on digital channels, measuring the number of seconds that someone is looking at the page is not a very useful metric.”
From an ROI point of view, Delprado can see how the amount of time someone spends on a page might mean engagement, and that using those analytics is more cost effective than spending big on research, but still, it concerns him. “I worry that we make up the results we like to hear, rather than really knowing what’s happened. I think there should be more brand tracking on that level, I think we should be asking how people feel about the brand before engagement with the campaign and how they feel months later after the campaign.”
Scruby firmly believes KPIs enable creativity, but admits at times they can be too narrow. “It would take a bold CMO or marketing manager to come in say ‘actually we’re going to change our measures’ and push some boundaries.” Scruby explains that CMOs play within the current guidelines or just do what’s worked before. “That doesn’t allow anyone to get expressive and think outside the square,” he says.
As the ways in which we measure creativity in advertising shifts, Delprado argues there is always room to challenge how that creative work is achieved. He says: “We should start looking at new channels we’re not familiar with. Our target audience of millenials happen to be living onTumblr and Snapchat and nobody is really taking advantage of those platforms very well. This is mostly because we don’t use these channels and because we’re too busy playing within the guidelines we’ve set up ourselves.”
Please login with linkedin to comment
Advertising Standards Bureau Furi Knives Jack Matthews Journalists Kim Jong-Un New Site The Australian The Iconic the project YouTubeLatest News
Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]
Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]
Is Meta’s New AI Chatbot Too Left-Wing?
Meta's chatbot accused of being left-wing after being caught wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt & listening to Billy Bragg.
TV Ratings (23/04/2024): Why Did No One Tell Angela That Farmer Wants A Wife Is Set On A Farm?
As wonderful as this headline is, let's face it, we all know an 'Angela', don't we?
PubMatic Unveils New AI Partnership To Turn Social Posts Into Ads For Any Digital Channel
Here's some nifty tech for turning social posts into ads. Assuming said posts aren't one-star character assassinations.
Intuit Mailchimp Makes A Splash With Its First Australian Brand Campaign
Ever laugh along at a gag you didn't get so as not to appear dumb? Get ready for more feigning with this new work.
GumGum’s Rob Hall: Advertisers Can No Longer “Rely On Binary Descriptions” Of Consumers
If anyone's got their finger on adtech's pulse, it's Rob Hall. He also avoids using the good paper in the office printer
Mastercard Nabs Florencia Aimo From Marriott International
Marriott International's Florencia Aimo jumps from the hotel business to the exploitative credit card one.
Bastion Agency Appoints Cheuk Chiang As New ANZ CEO
Cheuk Chiang takes the reins over at Bastion Agency. But not the rains down in Africa.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Major Sponsorship Wins After A Disappointing Week In Sport
B&T continuing our deep dive into local sport sponsorships & that's despite not a single offer of a free ticket as yet.
Macca’s Marketing Director, Samantha McLeod On Big Mac Chant: “What Was Once Old Is Now Cool Again”
Macca's using the power of nostalgia in latest Big Mac campaign. Well, only for those who've ever eaten one sober.
World Premiere Of Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line To Open Sydney Film Festival 2024
Oil's biopic to open Sydney Film Festival. Here's hoping Molly Meldrum will take his pants down at the premiere.
Entries Are Now Open For The 2024 Brandies, IntelligenceBank’s Annual Brand Marketing Awards
The Brandies are, of course, a prestigious marketing gong and not the mystery tipple favoured by nannas everywhere.
The Fred Hollows Foundation Appoints Ardent For PR
Yes, we all like to have a joke at PR's expense. But sometimes it does important work, like this.
AI, eCommerce & Marketing Specialists Are In Increased Demand By Businesses, New Data From Fiverr Shows
Has your philosophy & anthropology degree left you with nothing but a huge HECS debt? Here's what you should've studied.
Perth’s First 3D Anamorphic Billboard Arrives Courtesy Of oOh!media
Do you love a buzzword? Now you can add anamorphic to the list as it relates to billboards, not a colleague's ears.
MasterChef Australia & Crown Resorts Launch Unique Dining Experience With ALUMNI
A pop-up restaurant staffed by MasterChef contestants! That's fine dining prices for first-year apprentice chef cuisine!
Amanda Laing Announces Resignation From Foxtel Group
Foxtel's chief commercial & content officer heads for the exits. Read nice things the bosses said about her right here.
The Lost Letters From Our Diggers: News Corp Unveils ANZAC Day Special
It's nice when brands respectfully acknowledge ANZAC Day.
Howatson+Company Acquires Akkomplice
Large indie acquires a slightly smaller indie. Much like a shark eating a tuna, just with less thrashing and blood.
Google Delays Third-Party Cookie Deprecation Again
In good news for the sale of picture library biscuit photos, Google continues to tease over the end of cookies.
Education A Low Priority For Aussies More Concerned With Cost Of Living Forethought Study Reveals
Study finds Aussies cutting back on education due to cost of living. Booze & Uber Eats sales remain largely unaffected.
“I’m Still The Same Person That I Was”: Rikki Stern Says “Fucc It” To Cancer Stereotypes
B&T always happy to promote the anti-cancer cause. Even brands that massively overdo it with the hot pink.
The Unapproved Climate Certification Allegedly Causing Mass Greenwashing
Are you left flummoxed in the canned tuna & free range eggs aisle? Just wait till this green certification gets up.
TV Ratings (22/04/2024): Fans Mock “Over The Top” Reaction To New MasterChef Judges
MasterChef returns for its 2024 season. B&T stands by putting peppercorns in Gravox & no one will be any the wiser.
Dentsu Restructure: Muddle, Harvey & Johnston Take Leadership Baton As Bass & Yurisich Exit
A large broom has swept through Dentsu's local ops this morning, taking with it some big names & the air con's cobwebs.
Industry Shares Trends Shaping The Industry This International Creators Day
B&T's asking adland creators to reveal their top trends. And it's not good news for your Jenny Kee cardigan collection.
Mable Extends HOYTS Sensory Screenings Partnership
Mable has extended its HOYTS sensory screening partnership. Vigorously defends its two-star Oppenheimer review.
Orphan Launches ‘They Need Our Help. We Need Yours’ For Children’s Cancer Institute
Anything to do with childhood cancers has B&T's 110% support. That said, we do ignore the red meat & alcohol warnings.
Smile Team Orthodontics & Keep Left Collaborate On Smile-Inducing Campaign
As parents would attest, given the cost of orthodontics you'd expect this campaign to be a lavish production indeed.
Opinion: How Video Calls Neglect Learning Diversity
Need an excuse to duck out of a video call this arvo? Show this to your boss.
DoubleVerify Achieves First-Of-Its-Kind Responsible AI Certification From TrustArc
DoubleVerify receives responsible AI certification. However, not its robotic vacuum that's been seen menacing the cat.
Smile For A Good Cause: The Social Media Campaign Giving Back To The Community
Are you known as the office Austin Powers? More for you teeth than shagability? Get snappy new fangs with this news.
Elon Musk Mocks Albo After ESafety Wins Court Injunction Against X
Albo's 2024 from hell continues - Rabbitohs in crisis, down in the polls and now feuding with world's richest man.
Real Estate Developer In Hot Water Over “Sexually Exploitative” OOH Campaign
Real estate agents again tops in the 'least trusted profession' polls, nudging used car salesmen & ad creatives.
Epsilon’s Shane Hanby: Post-Cookie Era Relies On “Teamwork” Between Brands, Marketers & Tech
This pro predicts more "teamwork" in a post-cookie era. Which spells bad news for the uncooperative or plain stubborn.