The creative process often begins with a large number of creative concepts (or advertising ideas). How well advertising works depends on the strength of the creative concept — the basic underlying logic, messages, and images. Once generated, creative concepts can be tested to narrow the choices down to only the best ideas.

How does CopyScreen® work?

The advertising concepts or ideas are translated into rough print ads—each with a headline, illustration, and body copy. Then a representative sample of 200 to 300 respondents are recruited from our Internet panel. These respondents review and evaluate the rough print ads via the Internet. Each respondent sees all of the rough print ads (up to 20) twice and answers a series of four questions about each advertising concept.

The answers to these four questions are fed into a mathematical model that computes an overall score for each ad. These scores identify the advertising concepts that are worthy of further development.

Advertising tends to work on the strength of the creative concept (i.e., the basic underlying logic, themes, and images). The creative concept can be tested in the form of a rough execution—before the expense of final production.

How Does CopyCheck® Work?

A representative sample of target-audience consumers are recruited to visit our website and view each advertising concept. The respondents see only one ad (i.e., monadic test) and then answer a series of questions about their reactions, including both open-ended and closed-ended questions. A typical CopyCheck® study is based on 75 completed interviews.

CopyCheck® provides a “directional” estimate of an ad’s probable effectiveness and provides insightful diagnostic feedback in the form of normative data. The report also includes verbatim consumer responses to open-ended questions. The verbatim responses are extremely helpful to the agency’s creative staff in guiding creative development as the advertising moves into final production.

No one knows how consumers will respond to a given ad. Without research, it’s just a “guessing game.” CopyTest® helps take the guesswork out of advertising. It’s a safeguard—to make sure you are getting your money’s worth. CopyTest® gives you the diagnostic insight to improve your advertising from year to year. Better advertising, in turn, helps build brand equity and boost long-term profitability.

How Does CopyTest® Work?

Typically, a representative sample of category users is exposed to the advertising under a controlled, forced exposure setting over the Internet. Respondents see the advertising twice. Then the respondents complete a battery of 60 questions and diagnostic ratings about the advertisement. Recommended sample size is 300. The results are input into the SellingPower™ analytical model to calculate overall advertising effectiveness. Based on historical normative data, internal diagnostics, and analytical models, the respondents’ results reveal whether the advertising is likely to be effective or not, and indicates what needs to be changed to improve the advertising.

SellingPower™ Model

This analytical mathematical model is the primary measure of overall advertising effectiveness based on 20 key measurements. The major variables in the SellingPower™ model are:

• Persuasion (brand purchase intent)
• Brand reinforcement
• Possible increase in frequency of usage
• Attention value
• Brand registration
• Brand remembrance
• Stimulation
• Empathy/Identification
• Wearout
• Memorability
• Pass along potential

CopyTest® Advantages:

• SellingPower™ Model. CopyTest® relies on a predictive mathematical model to determine overall advertising effectiveness.
  
• Diagnostics. CopyTest® seeks to explain why a commercial is effective or not.
  
• Geographic Flexibility. CopyTest® can be executed in any geographic area with its Internet methodology.
  
• Normative Database. While a normative database of advertising pretests is maintained to serve as a rough benchmark, Decision Analyst strongly recommends the use of competitive and historic pretests to help set action standards for a brand’s advertising.
  
• Worldwide Internet Panels. Decision Analyst’s global Internet panels, containing over 7 million consumers, provide sampling flexibility and a consistent, precise data collection platform across countries.
  
• Validity. Major measurements in CopyTest® are validated for new and established products.
  
• Media Breadth. One of the few systems that measures all types of advertising.

Respondents answer questions concerning the following topics:

• Unaided recall of brands advertised
• Aided recall of commercials
• Brand linkage to commercial
• Advertising message recall
• Advertising evaluation ratings

CopyRecall™ is a sound method of determining if a commercial is intrusive enough to be noticed and remembered.

CopyTrack®, our industry-leading, Internet-based advertising tracking system can help you monitor the effectiveness of your advertising over time, compared to major competitors. It can tell you when a campaign begins to wear out. It can identify which commercials and ads are doing the best job.

No one knows for sure how an advertising campaign will play out over time in the real world. Even if the advertising is tested before airing, it’s virtually impossible to predict its long-term effects. As soon as a campaign goes on air, five types of distortion begin to occur. They include the following:

• Competitive Activity. Competitive advertising campaigns can confuse consumers and blur the messages they actually receive.
  
• Perception Bias. Consumers tend to notice certain parts of commercials more than other parts.
  
• Memory Bias. Consumers tend to remember some messages and images from your advertising better than other messages and images.
  
• Threshold Effects. Your advertising campaign (or parts of it) might not achieve threshold levels sufficient to break through the clutter and noise.
  
• Contamination. Other marketing variables (sales contests, trade promotions, consumer promotions, distribution levels, publicity, etc.) can interact with media advertising.

The data are collected via continuous, or pulsed, Internet interviews. CopyTrack® is tailored to the product category and the client’s objectives. CopyTrack® is designed to accurately measure an advertising campaign’s long-term effects, including:

• Brand awareness
• Advertising awareness
• Advertising message recall
• Advertising recognition
• Brand image
• Media usage