PRE-TESTING | ADVERTISING | MARKETING

 Pre-testing: This is the test of the copy before it is given to the media.

The purpose of pre-testing is as follows:

• To spot errors in the copy

• To make communication more effective

• To design the ad better

• To reduce wastage in advertising

• To ensure that the money is spent prudently.

Pre-testing is a type of research that involves gathering reactions to messages and materials prior to widespread use. Pre-testing is the stage of advertising research in which a complete ad is tested. It is important that the objectives of pre-testing research relate back to the agreed advertising strategy. 

Pre-tests may occur at a number of points, from as early on as idea generation to rough execution to testing the final version before implementing it. More than one type of pre-test may be used. A number of variables can be evaluated in pretesting, including the ability of the ad to attract attention, comprehension by the reader/viewer, recall, persuasion, attitude toward the brand, credibility and irritation level. Pretests should be used as guides and not as absolute predictors of winners or losers.

In pre-testing it is always best to use multiple measures to evaluate. In particular, the multiple measures recommended are:

1. Impact: The ability of the advertising to be noticed and remembered.

2. Communication: The ability of the advertising to impart a message, which is clearly and uniformly understood by the target market.

3. Relevancy: The ability of the advertising to persuade consumers that their needs will be met by the product.

4. Affinity Building: The ability of the advertising to generate consumer affinity (liking) for both the advertisement and the brand being advertised.

5. Call to Action: The ability of the advertising to motivate consumers to try or re-buy the brand being advertised.

6. Brand Building Ability: The ability of the advertising to create, change or reinforce certain key predetermined brand attributes (features, benefits, feelings) as encompassed in the brand’s positioning objectives and strategy.

7. Involvement: The ability of the advertising to involve the consumers or keep him/her interested.

8. Brand fit: The ability of the advertising to demonstrate brand fit or keep him/her interested.

9. Creative Diagnostics: The pre-test should elicit a host of creative diagnostics to help answer the “whys?” that always emerge from behind the above measures.

 

Print Pre-testing:

Print pre testing methods:

1. Consumer Jury test

2. Portfolio test

3. Paired comparison test

4. Order-of-merit test

5. Mock magazine test

6. Direct mail test.

7. Direct Questioning

8. Focus Groups

 

1. Consumer Jury Test: Few consumers form a group and act as jury to show their preferences for one or two ads out of several ads being considered. The jury members rank the ads and respond to the questions like which was the most impressive ad or which ad provoked you most to go ahead and buy the product or which ad did you notice first and so on.

2. Portfolio test: In this pre-test, a portfolio of advertisements is used. The respondent is asked to go through the portfolio, then it is taken away, and the respondent is asked; What advertisements do you remember seeing?' The recognition test may thus be combined with the recall or impact test.

3. Paired comparison test: Paired-comparison designs (in which the consumer is asked to use two copies and determine which copy is better) appeal to our common sense. The Paired-Comparison is a wonderful design if presenting evidence to a jury, because of its "face value" or "face validity." It can be a very sensitive testing technique (i.e., it can measure very small differences) between two copies.

Also, the paired-comparison test is often less expensive than other methods, because sample sizes can be smaller in some instances. Paired-comparison testing, however, is limited in value for a serious, ongoing copy testing program. The paired-comparison test does not tell us when both copies are bad and does not lend itself to the use of normative data. It is heavily influenced by the "interaction effect" (i.e., any variations in the control copy will create corresponding variance in the test copy 's scores).

4. Order-of-merit test: Here the ranking of the advertisements are done by a group of people called the jurors. The point system is given to an average of 4-5 copies that they are given to rank. The order of merit is the one, which determine which the best advertisement by the jurors is and which has been rated as the worst. The points given by the jurors are then added together to determine which is the ad, which has got the maximum points. This is the one that is the chosen one.

5. Mock (“dummy”) magazine test: Readers are told the magazines publisher is interested in evolutions of editorial content and asked to read the magazines as they normally would. In an improvement on the portfolio test, ads are placed in “dummy” magazines developed by an agency or research firm. The magazines combine regular editorial features of interest to the reader, as well as the test ads, and are distributed to a random sample of homes in predetermined geographic arrears. Then the interview-generating capabilities of the ads are assessed. The advantage of this method is that it provides a more natural setting than the portfolio tests. Readership occurs in the participant’s own home, the test more closely approximates.

6. Direct mail test: Direct mail is the most common form of direct marketing, advertising that conveys its messages straight to the consumer or another business rather than using an intervening medium such as television or print advertising.

7. Direct questioning: Direct questioning - elicits a full range of responses from which researchers can infer how well advertising messages convey key copy points. It is especially effective for testing alternative ads in the early stages of development. The heart and soul of copy research is the depth interview, a lengthy (one to two hours), one-on-one, personal interview, conducted directly by the copy researcher. Much of the power of the depth interview is dependent upon the insight, sensitivity, and skill of the researcher. The interviewing task cannot be delegated to traditional marketing research interviewers—who have no training in motivational techniques.

8. Focus group: A number of respondents (participants) convened by an interviewer to discuss questions or issues relating to the research topic. The interviewer’s role is to facilitate & moderate the discussion and ensure it covers the key questions & issues. Participants may raise important new issues/questions.

 

Broadcast Pre-testing:

Television and radio advertising:

1. Trailer tests: Large Screens in shopping malls show advertisements. A real life like shopping environment is created to measure consumer behavior. One group is given coupons to purchase selective brands, and the other group is not given the coupons. The redemption rate of the coupons may give an idea about the effectiveness of the test ads. Interviews conducted in a set location, (typically either a field research facility in an office or a shopping mall) for the purpose of interviewing people in that area.

2. Theatre test: During a regular show in a theatre, advertisements are shown in regular slots and are tested for recall. The audiences in the theatre are unaware of the tests and are asked to recall the ad. Consumers in the theatre are asked then to remember the ad (or maybe even all the ads) – to check if the ad is clutter breaking.

3. Live telecast tests: Ads are put on air either by narrow casting or live telecasting. These ads are test ads, and not the regular ads. Later, viewers are interviewed to know their reactions. Here the inaccuracies of artificial testing environment are not encountered.

4. Clutter test: It is the method of pre-testing in which commercials are grouped with noncompetitive control commercials and shown to prospective customers to measure their effectiveness in gaining attention, increasing brand awareness and comprehension, and causing attitude shifts. Commercials are shown with non competing control ads to determine attitude shifts and detect weaknesses.

Challenges to pre testing

Factors other than advertising creatively and/or presentation may affect recall during pre-testing. Interest in the product or product category, the fact that respondents know they are participating in a test, or interviewer instructions (among others) may account for more differences than the ads itself.

Recall may not be the best. Some researchers argue that for certain types of products (those of low involvement) ability to recognize the ads when shown may be better measures than recall.

Limitation of the juror: Jury selected may not be competent enough to evaluate the ad copy.

Limited concepts: Even the quantity of concepts exposed to the respondents is limited. Here creativity is restricted.

 

Halo effect: Halo effect is the greatest limitation of pretesting. When we consider a person good (or bad) in one category, we are likely to make a similar evaluation in other categories. Thus the 'Halo effect' is when a person's perception of another is influenced by their appearance.

Most commonly attractive people are judged as having a more desirable personality than someone of average appearance. A common example of the halo effect is when a person is assumed to be smart because he or she is wearing spectacles. Another is that good-looking school children (or a good-looking person versus a more plain looking person) are assumed to be more clever.

The halo effect may or may not have anything to do with the physical appearance of the person. It is equally applicable to any attribute one holds as valuable. A person who is good at “X” is deemed to be good at “Y” even if the two items are not related. Of course, the halo effect does not actually confer accuracy, it simply addresses that the reasoning is flawed. In marketing, a halo effect is one where the perceived positive features of a particular item extend to a broader brand. It has been used to describe how the iPod has had positive effects on perceptions of Apple Computer are other products. Sometimes participants rate an ad good on all characteristics because they like a few and overlook specific weaknesses. This tendency, called the halo effect, distorts the ratings and defeats the ability to control for specific components.

Of course, the reverse may also occur-rating an ad bad overall due to only a few bad attributes. Subjective reaction on the part of consumers noticed by researchers when attempting to analyze consumer attitudes and their relationship to the market structure, particularly in the area of advertising or brand evaluation. For example, in theory, an individual should be able to evaluate each feature of a given brand independently and should have no difficulty giving a high rating to one feature while giving another a low rating. However, in practice, researchers have noticed that respondents have a tendency to give a high rating to all the brand's features if they like the brand, and a low rating to all the features if they do not like the brand. This is known as a halo effect.

The halo effect makes it difficult to evaluate brands in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. However, if a brand name has a quality reputation in the marketplace, the halo effect may work to the brand's advantage, particularly when the company is introducing a new product into the line.