What is Success?

When I was at school getting an 'A' in Maths was seen as a success. My parents were delighted as this meant that I had got at least 75% of the questions correct. Moving on to University achieveing 50.1% was a success. Friends and family congratulated me on getting my degree despite there being a chance that I only understood half of the course. Upon starting work in an accountants office it was not entirely a surprise to learn that getting a set of accounts 80% correct was not considered a success...a few years ago that would have got me and A+ instead of unpaid overtime.

Success therefore would seem to be a matter of perspective. What an agency considers to be a successful campaign may be a failure in the eyes of a client. It may win awards and generate column inches in the trade press but did it increase sales? Did it achieve the objectives of the brand? A response rate of 1 in 100 may be a failure in the eyes of one client and beyond the wildest dreams of another. It all depends on how you look at it.

The next time you pick up a brief from a client it may be worth spending a bit more time establishing what they would consider to be a success rather than trying to crack the 'big idea'. A sampling campaign may not be original or exceptionally creative but when the client wants their product in the hands of potential customers it might be just the ticket.