• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 22, 2024

Missed opportunities cost a lot, but success is what marketers make of it.

An ad campaign launched Monday from analytics and research company Semrush redefines the meaning of success for marketers and shows them how to forge a new path to achieve it.

Success takes on new meanings in each of the three 30-second video ads. In one, the commentator says: "At Semrush we see that success has changed. It meant long hours and a paycheck. Today it's about the pride of building your own business. It used to be rides in fancy limousines. Now it's executing your marketing strategy barefoot."

The campaign's tagline -- Success is what you make it - make it with Semrush -- came from the volume of start-ups in the past few years, which peaked in 2022 at 5.4 million. Only 70% of businesses survive beyond two years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, meaning that the businesses are now entering a phase of required growth. 

Semrush’s marketing department developed the messages and is responsible for all advertising placements.

The video ads were shot in Budapest with local talent. The Make It ads campaign will run across several channels in organic and paid social media with support from influencers, paid video and display ads, email, and affiliates. 

Success might mean learning something new or working for yourself, signing on a new customer or enjoying a scare-free Sunday. Or it could be making a deadline and attending soccer practice. Success is not a one-size-fits-all concept. There are as many types of success as there are people. 

The video ads for the campaign show marketers how to redefine success in order to fit in their own unique and personal way.