Gorillas with Calculators – Can Predictive Science Aid the Creative Process?
As Nate Silver, the Godfather of modern predictive analytics puts it, ‘Prediction is both an Art and a Science.’
This year in Cannes we will predict the winners of some of the Lions categories. It’s a bit of fun really; predictions are powered by looking at the movers and the shakers across agencies in the last 10 years, and this, augmented with social sentiment is used to predict this year’s creative genius.
Predictive technologies are very good at estimating the power of creativity. We are often able to predict the popularity of a new film or product with huge accuracy before it even takes off. But can we turn the gun around and use predictive power to aid the creative process?
If you are expecting a robot to design your next advert, we are probably a few decades away… but already predictive science is being used to work out whether it will hit your target market before you even start really spending your precious advertising budget.
At Black Swan Data, our creative team embrace the ability to narrow down the target from “give me a killer idea” to “give me a killer idea that will resonate with 21-23 year olds in London that have been to an American football game, as we predict they are our best target.”
So. Predictive analytics is good at forming a brief. Although a long way from replacing the creative process, it may well replace clients soon…
