What won’t save you from mediocrity helps you figure out what will

Data tells us what works. And that’s great.

But if you don’t have ideas — well, then nothing works. Because nothing’s there.

In the Wall Street Journal, the relationship between creativity and data was described as symbiotic — at least in advertising. Alan Schulman wrote:

Too often, people in our industry waste time arguing over whether advertising is an art or a science. The truth is that it’s both.

And that’s true. Because advertising is about what kind of creative works.

Data can help you prepare, data can help you build, but data won’t save you.

What will save you is meaning. Without it, there is actually nothing to measure.