One of the most memorable marketing campaigns from early in my career was the Labatt “Out of the Blue” campaign, created in 1998 by Ammirati Puris Lintas .

True, as a Gen Xer, I was probably the right demographic, but I remember this campaign vividly. I loved the insight that often the most fun and memorable times are entirely spontaneous. I also loved how the brand image could be enhanced by this. I loved the idea so much, I even hosted an “Out of the Blue” themed party on a cold, dark January night. It was a great commercial.

Today, it could have been so much more.

Fast forward to 2023, and I think about all of the amazing things (beyond a commercial) the company could have done to engage its consumer, 25-year-old me.

Imagine if Labatt had audience research and data analytics tools to better understand its audience, their behaviour and to more finitely target that audience.

Imagine if it had listening tools available to build on that broader insight.

And imagine if it had platforms to identify and engage the target audience in real-time moments and further amplify its message.

My 25-year-old self says it would’ve been epic.

We can do all of this today. And this is the power of Humanology.

When human insights and technology converge.

Great advances in technology have enabled businesses to reach buyers with more precision, at more stages of a complex customer journey and with faster and more accurate measurement than ever before. Leveraging the full power of technology has allowed us to transform marketing from one ad in one space into a constantly evolving, rapidly innovating, fully immersive customer experience.

Yet the core of what makes those messages effective remains the same – human insights driven by deep understanding of human nature. Technology has evolved, but the power of ideas driven by human insights is as strong today as it ever was.

And there is a compounding effect. It’s like Jim Collins’ flywheel effect brought to life in modern marketing:

When human insights and technology converge, the results can be game changing. At Jan Kelley, we call this Humanology. It’s how we unlock the true potential of a brand. When sparks created by the impact of ideas and technology set off a chain reaction, this produces more sparks and, ultimately, better results. It's how the magic happens.

So what’s holding us back? The Humanology Paradox.

Those who work in the field of marketing will have experienced the tension that exists between creativity and technology at some point in their work. And they will most likely acknowledge that—even with the best of intentions—creativity and technology often have a conflicting relationship.

Why does this tension exist?

The most compelling creative ideas are rooted in human insights, but marketers often lack unique perspectives to come up with original ideas that stand out. The result is a lack of originality.

Technology, on the other hand, provides access to data, which provides insights, drives decisions and informs direction. But it can also potentially limit creativity. When one relies solely on data to inform decisions, we risk missing out on new and innovative ideas that could drive growth and success.

In order for brands and companies to win in today’s world, they must fully harness the joint power of creativity and technology. In fact, recent research by Capgemini suggests that convergence of creativity and data is not only possible, but essential.

This is what we call the Humanology Paradox.

A paradox is “a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory but in reality expresses a possible truth.” And as we come out of the first wave of digital marketing transformation and prepare to enter the next one, the power of the Humanology Paradox is clearer than ever. In order to win, marketers need:

Creativity rooted in human insights AND technology that informs then amplifies.

Creatives no longer have to rely on their instinct alone during content development; they can test ideas quickly, gather a data-driven collective response and iterate before launching the end product. At the same time, data experts can enrich their insights via a more creatively nuanced presentation, using the analysis to design a message that carries emotional as well as data-informed weight.

When we combine the brilliance of humanity with the most powerful digital technologies, we spark ideas, generate momentum, drive long-lasting growth and realize the true potential of a brand.

How did I come to this conclusion?

Over the last two-and-a-half decades of my career, I have experienced massive change and transformation in our industry:

The late 1990s: A focus on traditional forms of advertising including television, print (and a few websites). Creative – and brand building – is king.
Early 2000s: Increased focus on the use of data and analytics enabling “database marketing,” CRM and the early days of the internet.
2006–2010: The rise of social media and mobile marketing. Content is now king.
2010–2015: The explosion of e-commerce, MarTech and AdTech to make us smarter, better, faster.
2015–2020: Data-driven performance marketing – there is a new “black box.”
Today: An emphasis on using data to create positive interactions throughout the customer journey. Customer experience is now king.

Over this period, every time a new technological innovation was introduced, someone declared, “This is the end of marketing.” What’s more, every innovation seemed to contradict what came before it.

What I have come to realize is that every time a new innovation is introduced, it is just the beginning. Effective and successful marketing is not any one of these things—it’s all of these things. This is the paradox.

Why does Humanology matter? Why should you care?

Marketing organizations (both client side and agency side) are typically either creatively led or digitally led—very few are both.

This often creates a dilemma for marketers and marketing organizations. Digitally led organizations lean so singularly on data, they limit their ability to gain useful human insights and build on these insights to creatively connect with an audience. Alternatively, creatively led marketing organizations likely don’t harness the full power of the flywheel effect available in modern marketing.

Humanology brings both of these disciplines together. Humanology fuels creativity by bringing together data and human insights to produce breakthrough creative ideas, before leveraging technology to drive game-changing business results.

Ok. Give me some proof. Show me Humanology in action.

Recently, building materials manufacturer and marketer Dörken Systems (also a client of Jan Kelley’s), put Humanology into action to hypertarget two important audiences (architects and builders) with unique messaging on LinkedIn.

Dörken harnessed the power of a key insight – “I have to choose between design integrity and protection” – and then tapped into LinkedIn’s advanced algorithms and internal data to reach each audience with relevant and engaging messaging, convincing them that Dörken’s DELTA®-FASSADE SA could achieve both.

The campaign drove substantial business results, generating 427 leads, and also earned a silver Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) Award.

LinkedIn campaign for Dörken DELTA®-FASSADE SA

Another great example of the power of Humanology is the Reddit Superb Owl Campaign, Social & Influencer Grand Prix Winner at the Cannes Lions 2021.

In the weeks leading up to the 2021 Super Bowl, the power of online communities to drive real-world action was made abundantly clear, as a group of Reddit underdogs took the financial world by storm. Given the massive global reach of the story, Reddit’s response needed to be as big as the moment itself. Reddit capitalized on the insight that “fans always root for the underdog.” Reddit hacked the system with a five-second commercial that dominated the conversation on television’s biggest stage, celebrated the power of Reddit’s passionate communities and shifted mass perceptions. This five-second spot spiked site traffic by 25%, was covered by more than 300 news outlets, earned 6.5 billion impressions and, most importantly, increased brand relevance by 31%.

Reddit Superbowl 2021

I see your point. Now how do I apply Humanology to my business?

You now agree that Humanology is a new marketing imperative and you want to fully harness the convergence of data and creativity to drive results. But where do you start?

Start with seeing Humanology as a mindset, a skillset and a toolset. From there, it’s all about taking a systematic approach to building culture, developing skills and implementing tools.

This includes:

Building a data-centric culture where data is accessible to all
Building a customer-obsessed culture grounded in curiosity and constant learning, and focused on identifying and solving customer problems and pain points
Connecting quantitative and qualitative insights through storytelling
Creating strong multidisciplinary teams who understand how and when to use data to inform, inspire and drive decisions
Building high-trust, high-collaboration teams who don’t shy away from wrestling through differing cross-discipline perspectives and don’t let themselves fall into GroupThink
Implementing design thinking and lean startup tools that help identify meaningful insights and fast-track learning
Focusing on progress over perfection: listen, learn, adapt and deliver what matters to customers
Implementing a Humanology Toolset: a disciplined approach and platform to support experimentation, learning and continuous optimization

Remember, it’s a philosophy and an approach, not a gimmick. In order to harness the full potential of Humanology in business, it should be woven into everything a company does, from planning and ideation through to reporting.

That’s how you’ll solve the paradox of Humanology and create a powerful marketing flywheel.

Our Approach to Marketing in the Modern World

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