Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Alex Song is the CEO and founder of Proxima , a data science company that helps brands better reach consumers across all major platforms. getty The advertising industry is widely known for its creativity. It combines innovative thinking, stunning art and powerful language that creates strong bonds with its audiences.

Not surprisingly, it's one of the only fields where "creative" is its own job title. However, as the world becomes increasingly data-driven, creative strategists will need to get much more comfortable using data to enhance the quality and impact of their work. Of course, data has long powered nearly every aspect of performance and brand marketing.

It enables precise targeting, real-time optimization and comprehensive attribution in performance marketing while offering deep insights into consumer perceptions, content preferences and brand health in brand marketing. An Invesp report noted that "businesses that employ data-driven personalization delivered five to eight times the ROI on marketing spend" as businesses that don't. Measuring the success of creative has traditionally been subjective.

For decades, creative strategists relied on gut instincts and assumptions about how their ads would perform, largely because data was not available to them like it is today. In most cases, it was virtually impossible to prove any tangible link between ad campaigns and revenue increases. Even today, most growth marketers ha.