"Data vs. Creativity.

Around 120 industry representatives gained exciting insights into how marketers and creatives are facing up to this area of tension. Experts from Havas Switzerland, Admeira, Goldbach, TBWA, Baidu and the host Adello had their say.

Adello Country Manager Sandor Laczko got straight to the point: while the advertising industry is focusing on the technical possibilities of "programmatic advertising," "big data" and "real-time optimization," the creative industry is challenged not to go on the defensive. In the pursuit of efficiency, it is sometimes forgotten that data-savvy mobile devices offer a gigantic but still largely untapped creative playing field - interaction between people and products will play an important role in the creative process of the future.

Havas Switzerland is meeting this challenge with commitment and success. In his keynote address, Chairman & CEO Frank Bodin urged the industry not to lose sight of the actual goals of advertising in the face of the brave new world of data; the long-term maintenance and strengthening of brands requires ideas that are able to seduce, touch, move and win people. While technology is an important tool, he said, human creativity is indispensable for developing ideas. Bodin concluded with a plea to treat consumers, but also the creative industry, with respect and to reward creative achievements appropriately.

Admeira COO Marc Sier explained how the new marketing joint venture aims to break down the silo thinking of the advertising industry and create an alternative to Google or Facebook with "100% Swiss based data". The technological and creative possibilities are to be advanced in cooperation with the advertising clients, for example in the connection of online and TV ("Blue Button") or in re-targeting from TV to mobile devices. Sier took the opportunity to emphasize that, like the rest of the industry, it faces challenges in data use, especially to satisfy the high demands in dealing with the anonymized data of owners.

At Adello, according to CEO Mark Forster, the development of the programmatic solution is at the center, but the leading Swiss mobile advertiser has consistently taken a leading role in the creation of new forms of advertising since the very beginning. A major challenge is dealing appropriately with the tension between expectations and real possibilities; silo thinking and closed systems still often prevent the efficient use of data-driven advertising. At the same time, it is important to set limits for oneself. Privacy must be respected and a positive user experience must be guaranteed. Within these rules, however, the creative possibilities are almost unlimited. Using a series of creatively challenging mobile showcases, Forster demonstrated how, for example, the sensor technology of the devices can be used for campaigns and the evaluation of interactions can lead to real-time optimization.

In the subsequent panel discussion, Matthias Kiess (CEO TBWA) and Martin Radelfinger (Goldbach Group) were joined by Vicki Xiao, Director M&A at Baidu. Baidu is currently focusing on the acquisition of data-driven companies that support the "Google of China" in filtering out the relevant information from the "noise". Asked how TBWA is positioning itself in view of the transformation of the advertising market, Kiess said that demands have grown and the agencies' areas of responsibility have become more demanding and comprehensive; at TBWA, the question is which functions should be covered in-house in the future and where it makes sense to call in external expertise. Collaborative systems are becoming increasingly important. In response to the question from the audience about how to deal creatively with the limited formats of mobile devices, the experts were in agreement: while Sier emphasized that the creation and establishment of new formats already represented an actual creative process, Radelfinger stressed that the different possibilities of the channels should be used individually and at the same time the channels should be connected in such a way that a seamless user experience is guaranteed.

With this event, Adello continues its traditional mobile event series, which for several years now has claimed to transfer thought leadership on the topics of "Mobile Marketing" and "Technology Driven Advertising" to the Swiss market together with key Swiss and international market players. As in previous years, the reactions of the audience to this year's event, the chosen topic, the presentations and the subsequent panel discussion were very positive.

More photos in the print edition after next Werbewoche.