By Bill Heilmann
For years, performance media agencies have been obsessed with algorithms. The spreadsheet became a muse. Every click, every conversion, every percent was worshipped like a small god of efficiency. But somewhere along the way, imagination and inspiration went missing. Performance became mechanical. Media became math.
Now the best performance agencies are starting to rediscover something radical: creativity.
The Algorithm Can't Feel
The problem with purely data-driven media is that it's predictable. Algorithms optimize toward what's safe. They find what already works, not what could. If you only chase efficiency, you eventually end up with mediocrity. Fast-loading, high-performing mediocrity.
Creatively led media flips things on its head. Instead of asking “What's the cheapest way to get a click?”, we ask “What will make someone actually care enough to click in the first place?” A million impressions don't matter if they don't leave an impression.
Great media performance starts with cultural resonance. People don't respond to frequency, they respond to feeling. That's why performance agencies need to blend behavioral data with cultural context. Analytics need to be used to find where the energy is and then creativity should inject the brand into the moment.
Left Brain, Meet Right Brain
At StrawberryFrog Media, we believe media is a living system. Data guides where we go, but creativity decides how we show up. Our planners sit next to our strategists, who sit next to our creatives, who sit next to our analysts. It's not creative versus performance. It's creative and performance having a beer together…or maybe two.
Here's the truth: in today's fragmented media landscape, the best performing media isn't just efficient, it's imaginative. It's the kind that earns attention instead of renting it. It's media that moves people, not just pixels.
Yes, we still hunt conversions. Our love affair with ROAS and CPA is still going strong. But we start every plan with something a dashboard can't quantify: curiosity. Kickass campaigns are born from ideas that enthrall people, make them feel something, and give them a reason to act.
One drives clicks. The other drives culture.
The future belongs to those who do both.