Jon Suarez-Davis, VP, global media and strategy, The Kellogg Company, was speaking at this year’s Festival of Media Global.

The reality is that the media department is the new creative department, says Jon Suarez-Davis, VP, global media and strategy, The Kellogg Company.

Speaking at the Festival of Media Global in Rome, Suarez-Davis was joined on stage by Rob Davis, EVP, managing director, Starcom for the ‘Men or Machine: the False Choice’ session.

The discussion looked at the fundamentals to a strong partnership but also the inevitable need for evolution and reinvention in today’s marketplace.

“A lot of the time people think creation equals creative – but I think we’ve learnt that that’s far from the truth. The question is not ‘am I creative?’ it’s ‘how am I creative?’” said Suarez-Davis.

Data alone is just “ones and twos”, he added.

Kelloggs and Starcom have worked together for 66 years now.

“There needs to be an element of creativity and fun. [Suarez-Davis] and I agree that strong relationships result in better outcomes,” said Davis.

Davis described three drivers of better outcomes: Creativity, co-creation, conviction.

Discussing the opportunities of data-based and programmatic buying, Davis described programmatic as a “tactic” rather than a “strategy”.

“It’s more than just hitting a button – it’s a team sport,” he said.