Branding can feel like a leap of faith. So when we’re accountable to boards and balance sheets, naturally we seek hard evidence to back our decisions.
But when we’re deciding between Pepsi and Coke, Audi or Toyota, Commbank or Westpac; are human choices patterns that can be tracked, or does looking too closely at data make us miss what’s between the lines?
PATTERNED BUT NOT PREDICTABLE
Personally, I lean on the side of Determinism—that our behaviour is more likely because of external or internal factors. But, the multitude of possibilities—like where a person is in self-actualisation—can make behaviour almost impossible to track. People are patterned enough in their biases to track, but we need to make room for individual unpredictability.
DATA LIVES IN THE PAST
Data and research play an important role in any project. But how we collect and interpret that data is even more crucial.
Throughout my career, I’ve come across reports that have justified a decision. Though the trajectory of a bar chart follows the right uphill trend, what must be questioned is the foundations of the data. Were the questions specific to the business challenge or have they been taken out of context? What is the sample size and how were the contributors selected?
At times, causal research that explains WHY something happens is also used to predict WHAT WILL happen in future, despite these being two completely different tasks that require different approaches. People often look at data at face value, without questioning what’s behind it and asking for it to be meaningfully interpreted.
How could we forget New Coke? When Coca‑Cola adopted a formula preferred in taste tests of nearly 200,000 consumers. What these tests didn’t show, was the bond consumers felt with classic coke, and the thousands who protested a return to the original formula.
It’s when we take data as gospel that we risk missing real change. When I was first learning strategy, I asked how to know the right direction to take. The answer I continually got, was that at some point you have to trust your gut and go with it. The role of leaders is to be visionary. To set the business on a track and keep all aspects moving in that direction.
Our relationships with brands can be through minute interactions built over time. If there is a slight dip in performance, sometimes big brand ideas are cut short for all the wrong reasons. By focusing on data, which by its nature lives in the past, we can miss opportunities for innovation and ideas that are truly exciting.
THE SPEED OF CHANGE
What was in my algorithm last month is long forgotten. From world news to reality TV, my knowledge and perspectives are constantly changing. The information available to me is continually informing my opinions and consumption choices.
So while there are options for real time or fresh data—we still need people who can see beyond these patterns and anticipate how to be meaningful and relevant, while recognising opportunity in what is absent.
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