Download Copy Testing

Evaluating Creatives*
 Concept Testing: Assessment of potential
creatives
 Communication Research: A Look at the
Advertising Creative
 Copy Testing: Assessment of creative
achievement
*
The word creative when used as a noun refers to an
actual advertisement
Copy Testing
 Communication research is performed during creative
development and is diagnostic in nature
 Copy testing takes place after creative developments
using actual ads, and is evaluative in nature (more and
more MR firms are treating Copy Testing as diagnostic,
as a follow up to concept testing, making it more like
communication research)
 Independent marketing research companies specialize in
copy testing, and have established a set of norms upon
which go/stay decisions are made
 The majority of copy testing is done on television
advertising, although options exist for print, radio, and
outdoor advertising as well
 Television advertising is far more expensive to create
and run than other media, hence the abundance of tv
copy testing
Post Test Creative Selection
 Statistical vs. Pragmatic Choice
1) Establish a confidence level a priori; if
copy measures differ to that extent, the
winner is obvious; otherwise use
judgment call as each copy is
statistically equivalent
2) Choose a criterion measure, and use this
as the ‘ultimate’ judge; whichever copy
has the higher score on this measure is
the winner, regardless of the magnitude
of difference
Four key decisions to make
 Place: in home viewing or out of home
 Naturalness: forced versus unforced
exposure
 Number of exposures before data collection
 Key measures:
 Recall
 Message communication
 Persuasion
 Purchase intention
 Brand Attitude
 Ad attitude
 Et cetera
Key Measures
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Intrusiveness: measure of the ads ability to break through
the clutter and earn a place in the consumer’s mind
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Unaided recall – correct brand
Proved unaided recall
Proved brand aided recall
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The Lead Idea is the idea that is most often cited by
respondents
Communication: identifies the ideas that consumers got out
of the ad
Persuasion: ad’s ability to generate favorable brand
attitudes
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Purchase intent
Standard brand attitude measure
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Standard ad attitude measures
Commercial Reaction
Typical structure of Television
Copy Test
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Show a sample of 200 respondents a 30 minute program with test
ad imbedded
Program is broadcast on an unused cable channel so respondents
may view the program in their homes
The day after viewing, respondents are contacted and asked to
name the commercials they remember seeing during the program
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If unable to name the commercials, they are prompted with correct and
incorrect answers
This tests both aided and unaided recall
Purchase intent can be ascertained with a pre-post exposure
measurement
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Prior to watching, respondents are asked what brand they are likely to
purchase next time
After exposure, respondents are asked what brand they would prefer to
win
Asking the same preference question in a different context masks the
purpose of the question to ensure accurate responses
Typical Structure of a Magazine
Copy Test
 125 respondents are recruited through mall intercepts
 They are asked questions about media and product
usage
 They are provided a fake magazine with test ad
imbedded and asked to quickly flip through and give
initial reactions
 Ask respondents what ads they remember seeing
 Have them look through magazine again, for a longer
time this time
 Now ask recall, persuasion and communication
questions
 Direct respondents to the test ad and ask them to
read it
 Ask customized communication and diagnostic
questions
Typical Measures in Print Copy
Testing
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Recall/Recognition
Idea Communication
Brand Attitude
Ad Attitude
Purchase Intent
Stopping Power
 Noted Readers: only remember seeing it
 Associated Readers: read part of it
 Read Most Readers: read more than half of it
Copy Testing Notes
 Methodology should be as close to
“real world” as possible
 Using multiple exposures and
collecting different data after each
exposure allows identification of long
term effects
 Responses are more valid when
exposure occurs without respondent
knowledge of participation
When Using Outside Firms
Research Services
 Some measures between companies may
have similar names, but measure
completely differently. Understand the
method completely so you can truly
ascertain the meaning of the data
 Know what the “norms” are, and be sure
that they are current and appropriate to the
product
 Ensure that measures used by research
firm are reliable and valid; if firm does not
share, or claims to not know, reliability and
validity diagnostics, be wary of results