While under the proverbial marking and communications gun, I often say (well, whine, actually) “What we do is so subjective…” Usually I utter this phrase while trying to anticipate what a client will or won’t like, or in response to a client’s feedback that I don’t agree with or find surprising. I often think about subjectivity while we are in the throes of developing a conceptual print ad, webpage, or tagline.
Metrics aren’t subjective
But a little deeper thinking reveals that marketing and communications may not be so subjective after all. Take the obvious importance of metrics, which reveal the success and failure rate of marketing and communications initiatives in cold, hard objective numbers. Metrics let us know if we’ve won or lost — hit the target or missed.
Artists versus graphic designers
One blog I recently read even changed my mind on another one of my steadfast marketing beliefs, that “graphic designers are artists…” Not so fast, according to Bobby Hewitt, a digital designer based in New Jersey. In a blog post on this topic, Hewitt makes a very compelling argument that subjectivity taints the marketing process:
“Simply stated art is created for the artist and the artist alone. The artist paints a picture solely for the purpose of self-expression of how he or she sees the world. Anyone can look a piece of art and like it or dislike it. Art is subjective…
Design on the other hand is not created for self-expression but for a client with a particular goal in mind. If a design accomplishes the desired goal , for example to increase the response rate of a particular message by 63%, then it has satisfied its objective and purpose for being created. If subjectivity is added to the process of design approval the purpose of design has been completely removed and has become subjective.”
Snowflakes and marketing
Hewitt changed my thinking around a bit on the issue of subjectivity — but not entirely. As we have all heard and come to accept — every snowflake, every human being — is different. We sport different genetic makeup and experience the physical and social environments around us through our amazing, yet imperfect senses. Hence our opinions and our biases are formed, and change, throughout our lives. (Nature vs. Nurture, and all that!)
And so it is, when we work to develop a brand, a tagline, or print ad — we must take into account the unique identity, as well as business line, of our clients. Yes — branding, marketing, business development actions are taken to accomplish a goal, yet coming up with a “look and feel” and copy that is truly characteristic of our clients and their organizations must yield concepts that are unique and authentic, just as much as the human beings/clients themselves. So marketing and creative work is not about the creative person developing the concepts, but it is about the client — and allowing people to connect, on some emotional level, with that client. How much more subjective can you get?
