How well a promotion works depends on the strength of its appeal and its fit to the category and brand. PromotionScreen® allows a large number of promotional ideas/concepts to be evaluated at relatively low cost. The greater the number of promotional ideas tested, the more likely it is that really outstanding promotional ideas/concepts will be identified.

How Does PromotionScreen® Work?

The promotion concepts or ideas are translated into rough print ads-each consisting of a headline, an illustration, and the promotional text (or the concept can be text only). A sample of 200 to 300 target-audience consumers are recruited to review and evaluate the rough print ads via the Internet.

Each respondent sees all of the rough print ads (up to 20) twice. First, the respondent reviews all of the promotional ads or ideas. After the second viewing, the respondent answers questions about each ad. The answers to these questions feed into a mathematical model that computes an overall index score for each ad. These comparative index scores identify the promotional concepts and ideas that are worthy of further development and testing.

PromotionCheck® is designed to tell you approximately "how good" the promotion is and to provide rich diagnostic feedback in the form of verbatim comments to help you "flesh out" and improve the promotion before it is aired or is submitted to a more comprehensive evaluation.

How Does PromotionCheck® Work?

A representative sample of target-audience consumers are recruited to our survey site to review a promotional idea. Typically, 75 target-audience consumer are asked to review and evaluate the promotional ad.

A promotion can be tested on the following forms:

• Rough or finished print advertisement
• Television storyboard or animatic
• Finished (or near-finished) TV commercial
• Radio script
• Radio commercial (rough or finished)
• Outdoor billboard

Each promotional ad or commercial is tested monadically. That is, each respondent sees and evaluates only one promotion. After respondents review the promotion twice, they are then asked a series of standard closed-ended questions (that can be compared to normative data), plus a series of open-ended questions to determine how the promotion could be improved. The report includes answers to standard questions, compared to Decision Analyst's action standards, as well as verbatim responses to open-ended questions.

PromotionTest® provides a comprehensive overview of the promotion's probable effectiveness, including extensive diagnostics as well as the effects of the promotion on the brand's image. The SellingPowerT score can be compared to normative data (competitive and historical) to aid in predicting the promotion's likely impact. It's especially important to measure the effects of promotions on brand image over time, so that promotional activity is building the brand-not destroying it. Promotions can be tested in the following forms:

• Rough or finished print advertisement
• Television storyboard or animatic
• Finished (or near-finished) TV commercial
• Radio script
• Radio commercial (rough or finished)
• Outdoor billboard

How Does PromotionTest® Work?

A representative sample of target-audience consumers is selected from one of our Internet panels. These consumers match the target population in terms of geography, gender, age, income, ethnicity, and category usage. A total of 300 respondents come to Decision Analyst's encrypted web server to view the promotion and complete a battery of questions and diagnostic ratings. Each promotion is tested monadically (i.e., no respondent evaluates more than one promotion). The results are tabulated and the promotion's SellingPower™ score is calculated. This score is compared to our action standards for successful new promotions.

SellingPower™ Model

This predictive mathematical model calculates an overall SellingPower™ score for the promotion, based on the following variables:

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