Creative vs. Marketing

I was struck by a recent article in the NY Times about The Economist (which I used to read in my Wall Street days.) The editor was quoted as saying, “Once you start trying to segment and work out what people might want to see, I think that would be a journey to some type of psychological hell.” I had to laugh when I read that. That’s pretty extreme language! You can almost hear the contempt in his voice.

It’s a common attitude in print media. And, of course, we rely on journalists to report on what they judge to be the important issues without bias. I’m a huge fan of the NY Times and The New Yorker. But it’s a horrifying statement to anyone with a background in marketing. What, you explicitly refuse to pay attention to your customers?

It’s the creative impetus behind most art: indie films and bands, poetry, some fiction. There is no better experience than enjoying the creation of a brilliant artist who holds us in thrall as he weaves a tale or sings a song. Mad Men is a great example of a superbly-realized vision of a brilliant creator, (as was its precursor, The Sopranos). There’s no question that management by committee can suck the soul out of any project. Most Hollywood films are good examples.

But is that the way a major magazine should be run? Isn’t that the misplaced creative impulse of an editor who would really rather be writing novels? Shouldn’t he care about knowing his audience? He would say he’s leaving that up to his marketing and circulation departments. He’ll be damned if he’s going to let them run his newsroom.

I’ve never worked in print. But I can’t help feeling that this kind of attitude is distinctly old school. He’s not Bob Dylan (whom I’m listening to now). But no one in new media would dare to make that statement. We are acutely aware of how our audience uses our sites. We study usage data religiously to better understand their preferences and better serve their needs in the next iteration. It’s in our DNA because the metrics are there every day.

Are we then slaves to our customers? Where do we have creative latitude? Apple is famous for not using focus groups. The rest of us get to benefit from Steve Job’s genius, unadulterated by less talented marketing “experts.” But most of us aren’t Steve Jobs or Matthew Weiner. In the tech/new media world, we don’t have the luxury of building what we think people want. Of course, we start with a creative vision. But we won’t be around for long unless we pay very close attention to users’engagement with our products. We have to prove we’re worth their time every day. We don’t want to be slaves to the lowest common denominator or the metrics. But we’re not writing poems or novels.