Data gives you a floor. The problem starts when it becomes a ceiling for creativity.
When we all use the same tools (Meta Ads, Google Analytics, attribution platforms), we all end up optimising in the same direction. The result is a sea of sameness: brands that look and sound alike. A/B testing is excellent for improving what already exists, but it can't anticipate a leap. If Apple had tested the iPhone with the data of the day, it would have ended up putting bigger buttons on the BlackBerry.
Data is a logbook: it explains very well what already happened. Predictive models built on data are incredibly effective when what you're after is more data. But when what you're after is a communication idea, that's another story. Creativity is a quantum leap: it dares to go where nothing exists yet. In 2026 anyone can read a dashboard, an AI does it with a prompt. The marketer who makes the difference is the one with the nerve and the vision to approve an idea trusting the instinct that it will connect with local culture. At Merci we use data to understand the problem, knowing that what sets us apart comes from the gut, not from a spreadsheet.