“Only 7 percent of companies are delivering on the growth triple play by unifying creativity, analytics, and purpose.…Linking purpose to creativity and analytics helps companies recognize the opportunities that are going to resonate most deeply with customers.”
– McKinsey & Company, The growth triple play: Creativity, analytics, and purpose, June 2021
Driven by purpose, informed by analytics, fueled by creativity—that could be the Montage mission statement. The powerful combination of capabilities reflects what we have long believed: that marketing is about forging strong connections and inciting positive change through audience-centered, data-driven, creatively delivered solutions.
McKinsey & Company validated this belief in a recent article, designating creativity, analytics, and purpose as the ‘growth triple play.’ The consultancy found that companies unifying these three skillsets experienced revenue growth 2.3 times that of their peers from 2018–19. The advantage increased to 2.7 times in 2019–20.
We saw the power of the growth triple play in real-time when the entire Montage team came together in late August. It was our first all staff, in-person gathering since early 2020, and for many employees, the first time meeting their colleagues face-to-face.
Over the course of two and a half days, we built deeper relationships, welcomed new team members, brainstormed innovative ways to support our clients and partners, and planned for future growth. Creativity, analytics, and purpose underscored every conversation. And, of course, we also made plenty of time for fun. Here’s how the growth triple play played out at our 2022 all-staff meeting.
PURPOSE-DRIVEN
Purpose has always been our North Star. It is the reason we opened our doors in the first place, and it is the foundation upon which we have continued to build over the past seven years. Our purpose—to make something better than before—informs every decision we make, for our clients and for the agency.
During the all-staff, we took time to look back and celebrate the impact we made over the last 12 months. We went back on the road in 2022, taking the All of Us Journey across the country to continue to support the efforts of the National Institutes of Health and enroll more people from underrepresented communities in the All of Us Research Program. We created engaging awareness guides, videos, and other materials to enhance the efforts of the Department of the Air Force in preventing interpersonal and self-directed violence in its ranks. We led marketing efforts to help the Minority Business Development Agency’s MBDA InVision Tour empower minority innovators and entrepreneurs through access to federal R&D resources, funds, and technology programs. And we completed multiple projects with the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection to help the County achieve its recycling and waste reduction goals.
All these projects reflect our commitment to purpose-driven work and our desire to partner with organizations, individuals, and institutions actively creating positive change in the communities they serve.
CREATIVITY
Ahh the organic creative energy that comes from in-person collaboration! On Day 2, we channeled our team’s creativity through an exploration of our own brand. Never short on ideas, employees worked in small groups to create interactive storyboards and presentations—and even fully illustrated rhyming storybooks—to tell their own versions of Montage’s story and how our core values inform our culture. Each group’s finished product reflected the diverse perspectives, ideas, talents, and experiences we bring to the work we do. Who knew there were so many ways to express connection, openness, innovation, and commitment? Scroll down to see some of the fruits of these engagements.
ANALYTICS
Data and analytics are a rapidly growing segment of Montage’s portfolio, reflecting the importance of providing data-informed solutions to accompany the marketing strategies, products, and engagements we offer our clients. This increased analytical horsepower enables us to better understand the nuances of audience segmentation and hone in on the KPIs that drive the results our partners seek.
Our dynamic data team showed us the power of analytics to help craft targeted, data-driven outreach, engagement, event, and communications solutions that maximize value for our clients and spur our own creativity. The tools and dashboards they have developed, including a CTA Finder that filters frequently used URLs and QR codes based on answers to needs-based questions, inform strategic decision-making and enable real-time responses to changing market conditions.
PLAY
While it’s not officially part of the growth triple play, we know that play itself is key to unlocking creativity and powering problem solving skills.
We lived into the notion that “creativity = intelligence having fun,” an equation that Paul Charney, the founder Funworks, uses to help companies understand the value of having fun to generate extreme collaboration and progressive design thinking. From game night in the office with giant versions of Jenga and Checkers to bowling and video games at a local arcade, we built plenty of playtime into our agenda. It turns out there are some seriously good bowlers and arcade gamers on the Montage team!
We created a short video to relive our all-staff gathering. Watch and witness the joy of being together.
