Howdy folks. Just a quick one today. We digested the Reuters left brain vs right brain marketing report so you don’t have to. Here’s a healthy breakdown of the juicy bits in case you missed it, served alongside my own thoughts. 

Their report serves as a necessary reminder about the urgency to prioritise the creativity of the right brain hemisphere over the analytical and data-driven left hemisphere. All framed by this year's surge of AI developments that are quite literally all around us.  

Groundbreaking and revolutionary? Maybe not. Insightful and important? Definitely. So without further ado, grab your napkin and let’s dig in.  

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Creativity beats data

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When discussing what the best direction for impactful marketing, they say although using data is indisputably a major point of focus for measurable changes, the real magic lies in what you don’t know. ‘Nine times out of ten the data will tell you what you already know, or thought you knew’. 

However, they argue that the real value comes from human instinct and creativity; from studying behaviour, patterns and all that juicy organic stuff that allows you to serve up content that people will love.  

Jose Castillo (head of global marketing programs at PGIM) argues that, ‘data is just a tool’ and that is is people’s expertise that makes it an effective one. He argues that it is only through human instinct that we are really able to come up with intuitive means of using data, and that it is this that will give business owners the upper hand in the years to come. 

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Fun, useful, beautiful and inspiring

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What jumped out at me was the discussion of the ways different people, and types of people, respond differently to content and why it's crucial to make sure you’re putting things out that your specific audience will be interested in. 

Now this doesn’t sound like a particularly original notion, but they go on to explain how the London Stock Exchange Group uses an attention model called FUBI to understand how to address audiences better. 

Their acronym stands for fun, useful, beautiful and inspiring - and they note how ‘all content falls into one of those four categories’. Though the examples they discuss are within the financial sector, it isn’t hard to see how this outlook can be applied to ecom. 

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The robots have already infiltrated us 

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Naturally, AI had to get prodded a bit more. The usual spiel about it changing the face of the industry was accompanied by the statistic that 80% of creative roles will now be required to harness AI in their processes - which is interesting in the face of the stat that only 60% of CMO’s will likely adopt further authenticity measures. 

What ensues is the regular commentary about how this will ultimately cause a decline in quality, advising folks to stay vigilant against AI hallucinations and “dirty data” as Castillo eloquently puts it. 

In my opinion, where this report falls short is in its analysis of our present reality. Shoddy AI-produced content is already a recurring issue, as it has been for a long, long time now. It’s already painstakingly apparent how the gaping void of the knowledge gap is growing increasingly wider. 

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Thinking forward 

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Reports such as these, with the intention of managing the “tension between the art of science and marketing” as clear as it is, need to be bolder and more decisive than merely stating facts and speculation. Forecasting the present won’t solve anything and unfortunately this has become the norm with AI related content. 

On the other hand, where this report succeeds is its brevity and clarity of purpose. With AI becoming a greater factor in the industry with every passing day, the urgency for brand owners and industry leaders alike to understand the bigger picture is critical. 

Elaborate fifty-page documents that require multiple readings to digest will only hamper the general awareness and understanding of the subject. And for a topic that affects literally everyone, accessibility and ease have to be top priorities if any efforts to educate people are genuine.

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If you run an e-commerce brand and are looking for a digital marketing partner to take your business to the next level, book a call with one of our team.

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Written by Conel Freeman Harrison - Content Marketing Executive

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