ARTIST & MARKETER

Is there something the artist can teach the marketer?

Absolutely.

I am a marketer and an artist. A hybrid, as a former boss called me. A hybrid who indeed floats daily between the corporate and the arts world.

The artist has taught me 3 things:
1. Don’t be scared (or lazy) to reinvent yourself.
2. Balance your rational and your emotional side, 50/50.
3. Action first, the story comes afterwards.

2026 is a year that calls for more experimentation.
For reinvention.
(And more inspiring stories.) Not just in marketing.
Not just in our industry. Not just in our roles.

As marketers, we focus on target accounts, opps, ROI, and other KPIs to
achieve growth for the business. The influenced pipe, the net new names,
the leads…you name it.

Often, when I share with people that I paint and illustrate, they leave remarks on how to best monetise it, or which gallery I should go to and ask to exhibit in. They mean it kindly, but they miss an important point: The joy of the creation and the process without chasing a goal.

Is the artist in me the antidote to what I do as a marketer? Yep.
Being in my artist role, there are no performance or financial targets.
My often abstract paintings do not convey any message or intention that I want the audience to understand. They are a creation of the very moment I painted them in.

With some of my illustration work, yes, I want to put women of colour and different cultural backgrounds front and center and celebrate their beauty.

But in most cases, I have no intention to make my audience feel and think in a certain way. I don’t know how my artwork will be perceived by my audience. I leave it to them. I have not even made an effort to find out my ideal audience. Because the only most important ICP, that is me.

It is completely different when working in marketing. I want to anticipate the needs of my audience, my persona. I want to understand how they think, what they feel in their role with their challenges, pain points to overcome and their goals to achieve.

“As marketers, our job is to help buyers clearly see what will change if they act, and what quietly erodes or is at risk if they don’t.” — Jocelyn Sexton

It’s my daily yin and yang.
It’s logic versus soul.
It’s perfectionism versus letting go.
And I enjoy it.

The back-and-forth of these two different roles, and worlds has given me not only a feeling of balance, but it also helps to keep focus, it uses ideation, builds resilience, keeps curiosity, adds meaning, context and creates patience.

As a marketer, I care about attribution. As an artist, I care about contribution. But in the end, it is always about transformation and connection. Moving someone from ‘not knowing’ to ‘understanding,’ or from ‘feeling something’ to ‘feeling alive.’