Versions are not the same as a test

It is easy to launch five variations of an ad and call it testing. When one wins, the team learns which ad performed in that week, with that audience and that budget, but not why. The next brief starts from scratch.

Start with the question

A useful creative test begins with a hypothesis about the customer, for example that a product demonstration will persuade new customers better than a lifestyle image. The versions are then built to answer that question, with as little else changing as possible.

  • What do we believe about the customer, and why?
  • Which single element changes between versions?
  • Which audience and objective does the result apply to?
  • What result would change what we make next?

Record what you learned

Write the conclusion down in a sentence, including the uncertainty. A finding such as “demonstration hooks held attention better with new audiences, but sample sizes were small” is more useful to the next brief than a list of winning ad names.

Over time those sentences become a library of evidence about the customer, which is worth more than any single winning ad.

Creative strategy at EqualiserThe commercial gap should come before the creative brief