What was your least effective marketing campaign? What went wrong?

What You Need to Know
Entry Level Example
Answer Example
Experienced Example

The interviewer would like further details on a marketing project that went sideways. This interview question is not meant to solely highlight what you did wrong, but to see how you react when things do not go your way in the workplace. Give an overview of the problem while focusing primarily on the action you took to make corrections. Be sure to express what you learned from the situation.

"I studied many marketing cases when attending university. The takeaways I gained from this research will be highly beneficial as I enter my career in marketing. When a campaign goes awry, I believe it often stems from a misunderstanding of the brand voice, the ideal customer avatar, or both. This misunderstanding is usually a result of a lack of research and data before the project begins. I am sure that by studying these cases so closely, I am prepared to lay the necessary groundwork to ensure successful, well-thought-out campaigns."

"My least effective marketing campaign was a social media-driven hashtag campaign that initially flopped. I believe that the tagline was not catchy enough, and the copy was too wordy for assets that were meant to be shareable. I have solid skills in data analysis and reporting so luckily I did catch the issue early on. I worked with my team to change the campaign's course and re-executed it. Although the results picked up, we did not ever gain the momentum we had hoped. After that situation, I took additional coursework in social campaigns and am much stronger in that area now."

"Nobody has had a career of perfect launches, including me! Earlier in my career, I was involved in a print advertising campaign for a local clothing store. The campaign was for a kids' store, but the font chosen was difficult to read for adults and children alike. Customers complained, and we had to dismantle the resources we had already ordered for print and start anew. It was a waste of money and a loss for our agency; however, a valuable lesson that less is more, and simple always wins in the end."