Here's how you can transform failure into growth in your Creative Strategy career.

Failure is a great way of learning to go deeper and deeper in avoiding the stupidity of taking things at face value. I was very lucky to have had a number of very different roles in very different industries before I began in advertising. The discipline of always having a fully thought through an agreed “brief” was what made things click. A well constructed brief by all concerned is the key to success. Every single time. If you haven’t yet got into this discipline, then a lot of things may go horribly wrong. Clients hate that, but are probably the most guilty of jumping on the latest band wagon rather than being clear about the objectives.

Creative strategy requires the scientific method. When your ads ‘don’t perform’ you may see it as a ‘failure’. But hypothesize WHY they didn’t perform. Review Thumbstop, average watch time, CTR, click-to-conversion, CPMs, AOV to diagnose where the weakness is. Maybe you can make the ad a winner by adding a UGC clip to the hook. Maybe you need more compelling copy. Or maybe you need to drive it to a bundle offer instead of a single inexpensive product. The faster you cycle through the learning loop, the faster you improve. And skip the self-criticism. Everyone knows it takes a lot of testing to get winners. So keep testing!

Don't (only) work with assumptions and/or educated guesses, but really try to find the true problem and the core of why things went differently. Only failure is not wanting to realize, where you did zig, when it zagged and then learning from it.

Turn failures into a case study. If a campaign didn't work, write about why and prove you learned a valuable lesson from it. And make sure you include a "what I'll do differently next time" section.

Absolutely! Embracing failure as a source of learning is pivotal in fostering a growth mindset, especially in creative strategy. Each setback offers invaluable insights that refine your approach. To foster a learning mindset, consistently reflect on both successes and failures. Analyze what worked, what didn't, and why. Encourage open dialogue within your team to share lessons learned. Cultivate a curiosity to explore new ideas and approaches. Finally, prioritize adaptability and resilience, viewing challenges as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles. This continuous learning approach not only enriches your professional development but also enhances your expertise in creative strategy.

I think the word failure needs to be replaced with something a tad more appropriate. You only fail when you give up. Learnings, both positive and negitive with impact the journey. Stay the course, power through, use the findings to impact your next steps and push through for the win.

I’m not too keen on this article talking about how to manage failure in creative industries. Like … we’re supposed to fail. How can we be coming up with innovative, never-seen-before ideas if we’re not taking risks and trying new things? Therefore we can’t actually fall back on previous learning and experiences, ergo we must be prepared to fail and fail often. Seems a little silly to be concerned about failing when our job is literally to lead the charge into the unknown.

For example, if a marketing campaign fails to engage the target audience, delve into the data to understand which elements didn't resonate. Was it the messaging, the channel, or the timing? Once you've identified the root cause, brainstorm ways to address it, perhaps by adjusting the creative concept, re-targeting the audience, or exploring new platforms. It's also valuable to seek feedback from colleagues or mentors, gaining different perspectives that can spark new ideas. By embracing failure as a natural part of the creative process, you can cultivate resilience and adaptability, using each setback as a stepping stone toward a more robust and effective strategy.

There isn't exactly anything wrong with failing in your creative process, it's simply another lesson of what's not working, and of course an eye opener on better ways to go about things, that's how innovation thrives

It's crucial to shift the focus from failure to experience. When navigating uncharted territory in creative strategy, there's rarely a clear-cut right or wrong path. Instead, it's about the decisions made along the journey and the experiences gained from them. By reframing setbacks as valuable experiences, you cultivate a mindset that prioritizes growth and exploration. Share stories & examples to highlight the importance of learning from every experience, whether it leads to success or redirection. This not only encourages resilience but also fosters a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. In the realm of creative strategy, it's not about avoiding mistakes but leveraging experience to propel you closer to your goals.