The Rundown on Creative Testing: A Step-by-Step Guide

You know how movies or episodes of TV shows are often shown to test audiences in order to gauge the audience’s reaction to the overall or certain elements like plotlines or characters? These tests are done to find out information which can make the movie more pleasing to the audience. The results of these tests often lead to significant changes like scenes being cut out or an alteration of the plot altogether.

Well, creative testing is the exact same concept, except that it involves scrutinizing advertisements. Marketers do creative testing to study how elements of an ad are received by an audience so that they can be improved to maximize marketing efforts.

Imagine you enter a baking competition. You decide to bake cupcakes. You’re undecided whether the cupcakes should have vanilla or chocolate frosting, so you ask some friends to taste test and tell you which one they like better. Your friends liked chocolate better, so you went with that one. That’s basically the idea of creative testing.

Various ad creatives, the textual, visual and audio elements of an ad, of the same ad framework are presented to a test group and whichever element performs the best is chosen. That way, an optimum version of the ad can be created.

Step-by-step Guide to Creative Testing

Here’s how to go about the process:

Step 1: Perform a Gap Analysis to Identify Weaknesses

The first step in creative testing is known as a gap analysis. Gap analysis is where you study your current ads to figure out what’s missing from making them more successful. Challenges can be found in the format, budget, placement, etc. This allows you to know which ad creatives need to be targeted and modified.

Here’s a gap analysis questionnaire template for you to get started.

Step 2: Set a Goal

You can’t just perform the test blindly, you need to define a clear goal you want the ad to achieve. Once this goal has been decided, you can base a hypothesis on it. For example, a short headline is better than a long one. Hypotheses are the foundation of creative testing. It determines which ad creatives will be tested and the approach to take.

Step 3: Identify the Target Audience

Now that you’ve identified the challenges and set a goal, you must zero in on your test audience. You can use data gathered from previous campaigns or tools like Facebook Audience Insights to profile your intended customer base.

Once you have an idea of your audience, split them into the experiment group, the ones exposed to the new ad variant, and the control group. This will allow you to better measure the effects of the variant.

Step 4: Identify the Variables You Want to Test

Pinpoint which creatives you want to test, whether it’s the font, copy, image, etc. Create a control ad and a few variants, keeping these variables in mind. By creating multiple variations of different elements, you’ll gain a different perspective on your audience’s likes and dislikes

Step 5: Choose a Methodology

You have a variety of methodologies to use to measure results in the creative testing process. Some key approaches include:

A/B Testing

Also known as split testing. In this testing, two versions of an ad that contain one differing creative element are compared to see which one performs better. For example, the caption in Version A is reworded in Version B, and the latter performs better. The benefit of this method is that you are able to isolate the element that improves the success rate.

Sequential Monadic Testing

A variant of monadic testing. In monadic testing, the participant is exposed to only one concept. In sequential monadic testing, participants are exposed to multiple concepts one after the other. To prevent bias, the order in which the concepts or products are shown is changed up according to each test group.

Multivariate Testing

It is a thorough testing of multiple creatives to find which combination of elements works the best. It is a resource-intensive process so this method is generally recommended for large-scale campaigns.

Lift Testing

This method assesses the impact of an ad campaign on the success of the business compared to a situation where it was not executed. You can use this method to measure the success of a creative in increasing a specific KPI versus an ad where it is not included.

Step 6: Time to Launch!

Now that we’ve got a clear framework, it’s time to put everything to the test.

Make sure to lay down guidelines for the test, such as distribution of ads and duration of testing.

Step 7: Analyze the data

How exactly do you analyse the data?

For starters, note down all the elements that were tested and the most successful concepts.

You can put this data into a visual format like charts or graphs, which enable you to visualize the performance metrics and compare which variations had the most success. Organizing your data makes it easier to draw conclusions and will be helpful for crafting future campaigns.

Step 8: Make It a Habit

Creative testing should be done regularly to ensure the optimization of ads. Continuous analysis and implementation of the results will ensure your ads remain fresh and relevant to the audience, ensuring your business stays on top.

Creative Testing: Best Practices

Here are some practices you should implement so you can get the best mileage from your data

Base It On a Solid Hypothesis

Your test should be based on a specific hypothesis which will act as a roadmap for the process. Having a hypothesis will help you decide which assets to test and the logic for why you choose the assets you did at the end.

Set a Budget

In A/B testing, the cost of each acquisition should be multiplied by the number of conversions. So if you have a $30,000 conversion goal and your CPA is $2, then your test’s budget is $60,000. Each element of your test should have a similar budget to ensure equal results.

Choose A/B testing if you’re a novice

If you’re new to creative testing, then it’s best to use A/B testing as your method. You’re able to narrow down the variable which increases the success rate, thus it’s easier to track the best strategies and you’re not overwhelmed with data.

Avoid Comparisons with Older Campaigns

Comparing your current ad to a previous campaign is not recommended because the previous campaign may have been refined and enhanced, probably already undergoing several rounds of creative testing. Contrasting it with a cloned campaign is better to prevent tainted data.

Integrate Automated Testing Tools

Creative testing can be a tedious and laborious process. Use automated tools to ease your workload. They can be used in every sphere of the process, from creating variables and handling the budget to setting up the campaign and targeting your demographic.

Avoid Exposure of Competitor Ads

During the testing process, your target audience should only see your ads. Exposure to other ads can lead to ad fatigue or encourage them to take action. This changes your audience’s behaviour, leading to biased results.

Additionally, during a new round of creative tests, a new audience should be utilized.

Use a Scientific Approach

Set clear goals and hypotheses and perform a thorough gap analysis. Find out which assets are relevant and worth testing.

Build dashboards to visualize the data and organize your creatives in cloud folders

Arranging your data and materials makes it easier to access the information and single out the working components, optimizing testing efforts.

Be patient

Creative testing takes time and can sometimes be a tiring process, but if you want to see actual results you need patience. Remember that in the long run, you’re saving more resources and improving the performance of your ads than if you skipped creative testing.

Save Your Data

Your various rounds of testing have paid off in a treasure trove of data. You now know more about your audience — their age group, profession, interests, and the creative elements that engage them. Keep this data and apply it in later marketing efforts and product creation.

How Creative Testing Can Help Your Company

Creative testing can help your business in many ways. Some benefits include:

Optimizing Advertising

Through creative testing, you’re able to see what ads resonate the most with your audience. Knowledge of which assets appeal to your audience ensures that future campaigns will be tailored to their preferences.

Gain A Deeper Understanding of Your Demographic

It unlocks an understanding of your target audience’s thoughts towards your marketing. This is an invaluable insight which will help in crafting future creatives.

Save Time and Money

Creative testing reveals which creatives speak to the audience ultimately creating more engaging ads. This helps the company avoid wasting valuable resources in building ineffective advertisements and maximize ROI.

Though testing may take some time, it still saves more time in the long run by narrowing in on effective creatives than wasting time running useless creatives without tests.

Build Better Future Campaigns

The data you gain in finding which creatives your audience likes best can be used to build effective campaigns throughout the lifespan of your business. You also gain insight into the concepts and mediums preferred by the audience, providing a framework to build successful advertisements in the future.

Streamline Your Creative Testing Process with SurveySparrow

Creative testing is great, but it can be a lot of work. That’s where SurveySparrow comes in handy.

SurveySparrow is a tool that helps you create surveys and collect feedback. Here’s how it can make your creative testing simpler:

Quick Surveys: You can easily make surveys to ask people what they think about your ads. It’s simple and fast.
Reach the Right People: Send your surveys to exactly who you want to test your ads on. No fuss, no muss.
See Results Fast: As people answer your surveys, you can see the results right away. This helps you make quick decisions about your ads.
Works with Your Other Tools: SurveySparrow can connect with other marketing tools you use, so everything works together smoothly.
Ready-to-Use Templates: Start with pre-made surveys for testing ads. Just tweak them a bit to fit what you need.

Using SurveySparrow for your creative testing can save you time and hassle. It helps you gather information more easily, so you can make better ads that really speak to your audience.

Remember, good creative testing isn’t just about doing tests – it’s about getting useful information and actually using it. SurveySparrow helps you do just that.

Give SurveySparrow a try. It could be just what you need to make your ad testing simpler and more effective.

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What is Creative Testing?