You don’t need to take Psyc 101 to know the difference between the left brain and the right brain: Our left brains are logical and our right brains are creative. As a future marketing major, I believe the beauty of marketing is that it brings the two halves of our brain together, striking a balance between science and art to deliver powerful messages.
Left Brain Marketing
Left brain marketing is the data analytics side. In an article for insights.samsung.com, David Gilbert says that being able to “quickly identify patterns in data collected from customers can be a major boon.” Market researchers comb through massive amounts of data to gain a better understanding as to how a company’s product or service is perceived. Data is collected through either primary or secondary means and then processed with the help of analytical tools such as Kissmetrics or Google Analytics.
This element of marketing is highly technical. Questions a market researcher might ask, according to a blog by Anne Murphy, include:
- What is our strategy?
- Will it generate leads and revenue?
- Has this worked in the past?
- Are we aligned with sales?
Right Brain Marketing 
Right brain marketing is the side that focuses on “emotions, visuals and telling stories,” according to Bulygo. Copywriters, graphic designers and social media managers all fall under this side of the marketing spectrum. Right brain marketers are responsible for creating awareness about a company’s brand image and the products and services that the company sells.
This element of marketing is highly creative. According to Murphy, questions a right brain marketer might ask include:
- How will it make our audience feel?
- Will it stand out?
- Does it tell a story?
- Is it truly innovative?
Putting the two together
Just as the two halves of the human brain work together, the two sides of marketing are inherently intertwined. Right brain marketers come up with campaigns based on insights generated by left brain marketers. Left brain marketers then analyze lagging indicators following a marketing campaign to generate more insights. These insights go back to right brain marketers starting the cycle all over again.
A good chief marketing officer needs to be able to strike a good balance between right and left-brain marketing. In a blog about analytics and marketing, Zach Bulygo writes: “If you focus too much on the science side, your website and marketing will become robotic.” He goes on to say: “favoring the art side too much means that you won’t know what’s actually resonating because you’re not measuring.”
The two sides of marketing are inseparable. One must aim to find the ideal blend between logic and creativity to launch a truly successful marketing campaign.
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References:
Pictures taken from:
- http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/whats-blocking-corporate-creativity/
- https://insideiim.com/tag/data-analytics/
- http://depressivedisorder.blogspot.ca/2009/12/ice-water-and-googles-therapeutic.html
- https://insights.samsung.com/2017/03/02/a-winning-cmo-marketing-strategy-must-combine-art-and-science/)
- https://marketeer.kapost.com/art-and-science-of-content-marketing-infographic/