A huge passion for data and statistics, but with a human touch. Because on its own, data can’t explain everything in marketing or generate value.
What is the relationship between strategy, creativity and marketing? To find out more, we met with Alessandro Scartezzini, founder and administrator of Webperformance, a digital media agency specialized in performance marketing, and a Blossom partner since January 2023.
With a degree in economics, previous experience as a criminologist, a publication on web marketing and over twenty years of experience in the digital world, today Alessandro is an authoritative voice in the performance marketing field.
Q. How did your passion for data come about?
A. I’ve always been a bit of a nerd… My best present ever was the Commodor 64 for my tenth birthday! Even when I was studying economics, I never stopped being interested in IT. My graduation thesis was about online tax fraud. After graduating, I worked at an international criminology research center where I focused on cyber crimes, before entering the digital world as an entrepreneur and founding one of the first-ever online advertising agencies.
Q. And what do you do today?
A. Well…my mum still doesn’t understand [he laughs]. In technical terms, let’s just say I help entrepreneurs to improve their businesses through online tools.
Q. What is the biggest challenge for you today?
A. For me, the challenge of today boils down to making digital business sustainable.
Q. In what sense? Explain to us what Performance Marketing means in 2023?
A. Until a few years ago, the concept was clear: it meant delivering measurable results to clients, such as leads and conversions. This is no longer the case, however. Tracking and tracing actions back to single actions is very difficult now because the average user comes into contact with a product and brand multiple times prior to a purchase or lead. For example, we found that over 60% of users came into contact with a brand through at least 5 other touchpoints before purchasing from our e-commerce sites.
Today, investment on Google or Meta isn’t really what leads to success; results are achieved when the investment is an optimal mix, on the right touchpoints.
Q. So, would it be safe to say that the word “performance” has taken on a new meaning compared to 10 years ago?
A. For sure. Today we tend to think of performance in much broader terms. This is very interesting because it enables us to add brand awareness campaigns to our work, which are difficult to measure in the short term but have proven to yield huge returns in the long term.
Q. There is an extensive overlap of disciplines and knowledge in your line of work. How important is this kind of training in your field?
A. Overlap and cross-fertilization are fundamental, especially in something as complex as the digital world. For example, just stop to think about the right to privacy, which in the last few years has become the most important driver in how we do digital marketing. So, human sciences, law, economics, statistics…they are all interconnected and we need to have a good grasp of all these subjects. Obviously, we can’t master them all. For example, I completely lack aesthetic sensitivity, and my art director never fails to remind me about this [he laughs].
Q. Speaking of art direction, we have reached the crux of the matter: what is the relationship between data and creativity? How are they linked?
A. Well, the truth is that they hate each other [he laughs]. On a more serious note, I believe we really need to be able to differentiate between pure performance campaigns and awareness campaigns. The former requires creative professionals to adapt: if a video of more than 15″ doesn’t work in ADV, then we simply must surrender to this fact. In the latter case, however, creative freedom is paramount.
Q. Has data ever contradicted a choice you made? Or led you to a decision you would never have thought of?
A. For sure. Data is awful in this sense. It’s always right. It tells us we’re wrong every single day, especially as far as the creative part of our job is concerned…
After hours of stacking on the color of a button, the A/B test can give an unexpected response. And, in these cases, even the most certain art director gives up.
Obviously, it is important to know how to read, or even better, predict data. This is only possible with experience, which is an immense value in this field
Q. So data is never wrong?
A. No, it never is. Mistakes are possible, but only when factors that prevent correct collection enter the picture.
Q. So is the take-home message that data always wins over creativity?
A. That’s not how I see it. I believe in a great alliance, obviously as part of an ongoing discussion. In brand awareness campaigns, for example, creative professionals can benefit immensely from numbers: if creativity is strong, numbers confirm the necessary budget for its spread. Free spaces for creativity have ceased to exist: gone are the days in which beautiful creativity is seen by 50K with 100K followers. Now, if you fail to invest, you’ll be lucky if it is seen by 100. So, data is saying that creativity requires investment, always.
Q. This seems like good news for creative professionals…
A. Yes, it is. But it isn’t the only one: the way I see it, creativity remains the single most important lever of performance.
Knowing how to use platforms is important, knowing how to use machine learning is useful, but these are commodities. Creativity is what makes you win over competitors.
Q. Obviously, creativity is confirmed by data, right?
A. Of course. If proven wrong by data, then there’s no discussion, it needs to change.
Q. Does all the data you analyze for your clients give you an overview of trends?
A. Trends are fundamental: we always analyze market and competitor trends for each client. For example, seasonality plays a prime role. Knowledge and understanding of trends are also important for forecasting purposes: we need to understand where we will be during the campaign and during the investment. For example, even when we’re doing brand awareness, we measure the effects of our investments by means of surveys in partnership with Meta.
Q. So what trends will there be in 2023?
A. The scenario for us will be something like this. There won’t be a tremendous rise in the costs of clicks and purchases, and the fact that they will stabilize is positive. In economic terms, trends will vary from sector to sector. The positive trend in tourism will continue, following an already excellent year. We imagine the food and beverage industry will remain stable, with more difficulties for fashion in which there has been a digital setback due to a resurgence of in-store purchases. We see great opportunities for B2B where there are also lots of new tools for lead generations… we’ll just have to wait and see.
