Ad Pre-Testing: Will Your Ad Campaign Be Effective? - Persuadable Research Corporation

Research isn’t that important… until it “saves your bacon!”

Advertising Pre-Testing: A form of concept testing which: • Identifies strengths of weaknesses of an advertisement • Measures the overall appeal and appeal to different target groups • Scores against a battery of attributes: uniqueness, relevance, eye-catching, etc. • Identifies memorable phrases and moments • Analyzes the ability to recall ad elements

Advertising is fun.  Advertising is creative.  It can be edgy, exciting, and even thrilling when creative genius and a great story intersect.  But, every once in a while, what might seem like genius in the conference room, can:

• Slow sales
• Confuse consumers about the brand
• … or even turn into a disastrous public relations nightmare.

Testing your advertising gives you valuable insight into your creative execution prior to its launch.   Your new concepts are tested against your existing ones, as well as competitors, in an effort to ensure that your campaign will out-perform those already in place.

Pre-Testing Saves the Day

We’ve seen a lot of advertising, well ahead of the general public.  Most of the ads we test do well. They can be cute, funny, and impactful.  There is almost always some element within an ad that connects with consumers.  On several occasions, however, we have identified ads with tremendous potential to harm a brand, sparing the client tremendous stress, embarrassment and fiscal disaster.

In one case, a national Tequila brand wanted to present “edgy” print ads to grab some attention.  When the agency delivered on that request, the client suddenly worried that they were too close to “the edge.”  Concerned about a public relations nightmare, the ads were tested among the target audience to determine potential for backlash.  One ad was quickly identified as a career killer and quickly eliminated. Two ads held great appeal with women, but were toned down slightly, so as not to alienate men. The fourth ad was good to go.  The lesson:  just because you think it’s cute and funny doesn’t mean it’ll be received that way by your ideal consumer.

For another example of ad testing, click here for our TV Ad Case Study

What is Ad Pre-Testing?

For most people, the first time they learn about a new product, service, or brand is through some type of advertising campaign.  Whether they see a commercial for it on TV, hear about it on the radio, or come across an article on it while researching online, ads are everywhere.   In many cases, your ad is either a critical first impression or a tool to reinforce, or change, pre-existing consumer perceptions. Ad Pre-Testing helps identify where your creative campaign is strongest and which elements you need to spend time tweaking.

When pre-testing your creative, we show your ideas to category consumers.  These can be print ads, animatics, storyboards, or even fully finished commercials.   Respondents evaluate the creative against a battery of attributes, helping us understand how persuasive, memorable or offensive your ad may be.  We also ask questions about recall, i.e. can they name the brand that was advertised? (You’d be surprised at how often this is a problem.)  In addition to testing your new ads, we also test your best historical ad and your competitor’s current ad. The results are compared to the new creative executions to make sure your new ideas will out-perform what’s already out there.  You will be able to see which elements are performing well and which need improvement.

Advertising Pre-Testing can help optimize and perfect your creative campaign prior to its large scale launch, protecting you from underperforming advertisements, potentially saving you thousands of dollars and preserving your brand reputation.

Ad Pre-Testing at Persuadable Research

At Persuadable Research, we are experts in helping brands get the most out of their advertising.  If you are interested in pre-testing your creative, call us at 913-385-1700, or use the form on this page to reach out.  One of our Solutions Experts would love to talk with you.