I ran cross country in high school. Rick Beattie  – who doubled as my coach and European History teacher – used to tell us “The clock doesn’t lie.” If I performed poorly at a meet, I could say that my shoelaces were too tight, the rain slowed me down, or my mind was wandering. But the fact of the matter was this: I had a number waiting for me at the finish line, and that number didn’t lie.

Fast forward (gulp) 20 years. Cut to a Union Street Media Internet marketing meeting. We’re gathered around a conference table looking at a spreadsheet of numbers. I think of Coach Beattie and say, “The data doesn’t lie.”

This is a universal truth. Before the Mad Men-esque advertising brainstorm meetings you envision, before graphic designers turn winning ideas into marketing reality, before a catchy slogan ever hits the printed page, there’s a common foundation: data.