Science vs. Art Marketing
Similarities and Differences of Analytics and Creativity in Marketing

A common misconception about marketing amongst those who are unfamiliar with the field is that marketing is simplistic and its value not as necessary as “hard skill” fields such as finance and accounting. However marketing is the key to optimum success in that a carefully concocted balance between creativity and analytics are necessary for brand recognition and profit. It involves science marketing, which involves predominantly market research, focus group studies, and data analysis, along with art marketing, focusing on creative strategy and branding. Although it may appear these focal areas of marketing are from opposite ends of the spectrum, they share several similarities and depend on each other to thrive. According to BusinessDictionary.com, scientific marketing is the “application of analytical testing and statistical methods in gathering and interpreting market information”. It is the understanding of society’s demand through predominantly scientific testing and reasoning. Scientific marketing requires fluency in statistics and figuring out consumer behavior through demographics and numbers derived from data mining from digital outlets and marketing information systems, focus groups, referring to rivals, experimental research, and tapping into marketing partner expertise. The market research process involves defining the problem and researching objectives, developing the research plan, collecting information, analyzing it, presenting the findings, and making a marketing decision (Marketing Management: An Asian Perspective). Market research can be both quantitative and qualitative. Scientific marketing can also involve neuromarketing, which is the use of brain-imaging technology to better understand consumers’ behavior and preferences to reveal