Improving campaign return on investment
Investing in any form of communications campaign (whether it be advertising or otherwise) typically involves a significant investment. Testing and evaluation can help to minimise the risk and maximise the return associated with this spend. Metrix can develop a one-off or ongoing research program to inform creative development and/or evaluate campaign performance.
We know that when done poorly, advertising testing and evaluation research can stifle creativity. But we also know that when you get it right it can unlock new ways of thinking, identify territories not previously considered and optimise activity for greater effectiveness.
Creative development research
Before you even write the campaign brief, it’s important to consider how much you really know about your target audience. Do you even know who you should be targeting? Do you have any insights regarding what is going to motivate them? What levers can you pull to get them to change their attitudes and/or behaviour in the way you want them to?
If you brief a new campaign into your creative partners, the first thing they will ask you is ‘do you have any research’. That’s because every good creative agency knows that the best ideas stem from good insight. We can help you source these insights to shape your campaign brief towards an end result that generates the response you are looking for.
Creative pre-testing
Once you have campaign concepts and before you go forward to final production, there are opportunities to optimise the campaign to ensure maximum effectiveness in market. Even small changes can have a big impact on how people respond to a piece of communication. From high-level campaign territories through to detailed animatics, we can test creative ideas to determine which direction will work best. We can also provide recommendations regarding how to refine the communication to ensure your message cuts through and resonates with your audience.
Post campaign evaluation
You can often determine the effectiveness of your campaign activity through measures such as website clicks or sales. But this doesn’t give you the full picture. You’ve probably heard the famous saying “I know half my marketing budget is wasted, I just don’t know which half”. Campaign evaluation gives you the insight you need to make sure you’re investing for maximum return.
Campaign evaluation research can provide insight into things like:
- Campaign recall – how memorable was the campaign? (This data complements estimated reach figures from your media agency).
- Brand linkage – did people associate the ad with your brand, or are they attributing it to one of your competitors?
- Message take out – did people interpret the ad in the way you intended?
- Response – did people take any form action as a result of seeing the campaign?
You can establish benchmarks for campaign performance and evaluate how your different campaigns perform relative to one another over time. Importantly, evaluating a campaign isn’t just about looking back on how your last campaign performed. It’s about gaining insights that can be used to optimise your next campaign, to continually improve the return you get from your marketing investment.
If you want to make your advertising dollars work harder for you,
talk to us today about advertising testing and evaluation.