Creative Testing is Not a Popularity Contest

Written by Katy Barrilleaux

I am a huge proponent of testing creative before it is run. It’s a small investment to ensure the success of a campaign. However, I find the temptation is to test to see which ad the target likes the best. This popularity contest is the least effective form of creative testing for several reasons.

First of all, creative is subjective so it’s impossible to get full consensus on anything, much less an ad. Secondly, the comparison process may be misleading because it requires you to pick a best and a worst, which may not be the case. And finally, just because you hate an ad does not mean that it doesn’t effectively communicate the advertiser’s message - case in point “Head On.”

When testing creative you should test to determine whether the ads effectively communicate what you intend them to communicate - from your unique selling proposition down through all the key supporting points. Do the ads support the company’s brand? From an execution standpoint, would the ads get the person’s attention? Would he read the ads? And anything else that you need the ads to accomplish. Each ad should be reviewed and evaluated independently based on predetermined factors such as these.

You may find that all of the ads effectively communicate your message. Great, then you get to choose which ad to run. Or the alternative may happen where none of the ads effectively communicate the message. If that’s the case, the moderator hopefully probed as to why it wasn’t effective. So you will have valuable input that will guide you in the changes needed to overcome the negatives.