Most marketing case studies are advertisements wearing a lab coat. A vague before-and-after, a percentage with no baseline, a client quote that could apply to any agency in any industry. They exist to make the agency look good, not to actually document what happened. I’d rather publish fewer case studies and have every one of them be real.
A case study worth publishing starts with the actual starting point, including the parts that aren’t flattering. What wasn’t working. What had already been tried. What the constraints were — budget, timeline, internal buy-in — because context is what makes a result meaningful instead of just impressive-sounding.
It documents the actual decision, not just the outcome. Anyone can report a number went up. What’s useful to a reader is why a specific choice was made instead of the alternatives, what the reasoning was at the time, and where that reasoning turned out to be right or wrong. The interesting part of a case study is almost never the final number. It’s the judgment call that led there.
It’s specific about what didn’t work, too. A case study with zero friction, zero wrong turns, and zero mistakes isn’t a case study — it’s a highlight reel, and readers can tell the difference. The version that includes what got adjusted along the way is the version that’s actually useful to someone trying to learn from it.
And it’s honest about attribution. Results come from a combination of strategy, execution, timing, and factors outside anyone’s control. A case study that claims sole credit for outcomes shaped by a dozen variables isn’t confidence, it’s dishonesty with better formatting.
This category will be built out with real, specific work as it happens — documented the same way, with the same standard. A result worth publishing is a result worth explaining honestly, including the parts that don’t flatter anyone.