Why bold creative work needs ‘gut data’

While generative AI may help provide immediate ideas for challenger brands and their agencies, it’s unlikely to provide the creative strategic leaps necessary for brave and impactful work.

That’s according to advertising agency VMLY&R appearing at a session held at the inaugural 2023 SXSW Sydney. As proof, the Melbourne agency cited FitChix, work which has won it a Cannes award. 

About FitChix

• VMLY&R worked with the Honest Eggs company, a Victoria-based Australian egg farmer that wanted to set itself apart from its competitors. 

• The egg category is full of misleading terms, such as cage-free, barn-laid, and free-range eggs, resulting in many consumers buying eggs from producers who engage in unethical farming practices. 

• Australians eat 6.6 billion eggs a year, most of which are produced in crammed factory farming environments. Honest Eggs Co only has 30 chickens per hectare, while the big egg conglomerates cram up to 10,000 chickens into the same area. 

• To prove its chickens were truly “free”, the Honest Eggs Co, in tandem with VMLY&R, designed the world’s first fitness tracker for chickens. 

• The chicken’s average daily step count is printed on the eggs. Honest Eggs Co prototyped and tested multiple devices until they had a lightweight, chicken-friendly piece of technology to record their natural movement.
• Online conversions have jumped 493% since the introduction of the tracker. 

• For the past nine months, Honest Eggs has been 20% short of consumer demand for their eggs.

Takeaways

• Impactful advertising is about creating a subconscious connection with people. 
• “Gut data” enables marketers to make creative decisions that are rooted in the emotional and visceral connections needed to make truly memorable campaigns.
• The risk of technological developments such as smartphones, wristwatches, laptops, and generative AI is that it tells us how to think, thereby “designing out” the creative process needed to come up with original ideas. 

Key quote

“We are not data haters but we are here to resist the tyranny of it. The story of going with your gut is told in the history of humanity. It’s also our best hope of thriving in the future” – Alison Tilling, Chief Strategy Officer, VMLY&R Australia & New Zealand.

Author: Duncan W Craig