• by Tobi Elkin , Staff Writer @tobielkin, March 29, 2016

Data. Stories. Creativity. At Adobe’s Summit 2016 last week, John Mellor, the company’s vice president of strategy, spoke to attendees about the connection between data and creativity in the session “Bringing Creativity to a Data-Driven World."

“We have to turn data into stories, stories that evoke emotions, and emotions that drive change," Mellor said.

How is data turned into “stories”?

Stories, well-told, can evoke emotions. And yes, emotions can incite change. But how exactly does one turn “data into stories”?

Data can tell a story. You can use numbers to tell any story you want. The numbers are the numbers, but the context and spin that you place on those numbers is up to the storyteller.

Mellor went further to discuss how technology can help organizations build a narrative for their data, allowing brands to become more creative in telling stories that their customers want to hear. By combining content and data, not only can brands tell stories but they can improve the customer experience, he suggested. Delivering a positive customer experience keeps customers loyal and coming back for more.

Using data to tell stories that help brands become more creative sounds great in theory, but what does it really mean?

That's what I want to know.