Case Study
Ad Testing: Rapid Response Agile Method for a Major Financial Services Company
overview
In 2012 (before “agile” was a buzzword in the consumer research space), a consumer insights department for a major financial services company asked C+R to develop a quick and efficient customized ad testing tool.
Working closely with the client to understand the brand and communication objectives, we created a questionnaire and designed a reliable monadic exposure testing approach that delivered invaluable, focused information. This new product, C+R’s Rapid Response, allowed clients to choose creative material with the best chance of success, all in half the timeline of previous testing.
Since 2012, we’ve continued to increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and functionality of Rapid Response, defining and refining agile research (again and again).
THE PROBLEM
Wanted: Customized Early-Stage Communications Testing Tool
The consumer insights department for a major financial services company was tasked with finding a quick-turn, early-stage communications testing tool. On the must-have list: the testing model had to be customized to their advertising objectives, demonstrably predictive of advertising in-market performance…and of course, able to deliver reliable, repeatable results in days, not weeks. Not a simple ask.
OUR APPROACH
Defining “Agile Research” – Reliable Results in Less Than 48 Hours
Working closely with the client to understand the brand and communication objectives, we developed a questionnaire and designed a reliable monadic exposure testing approach that speedily delivered invaluable insights via C+R’s Rapid Response.
Over time, C+R continued to innovate Rapid Response, shaving more and more time off the delivery calendar. After running hundreds of ad tests, Rapid Response had shown that it could provide solid insight in choosing among ad concepts – providing reliable results in less than 48 hours.
With timeframe efficiency goals accomplished, C+R Researchers were ready to improve Rapid Response’s ability to predict how finished ads perform. To do this, our Advanced Analytics team worked with the client’s statisticians, business owners, and senior management to correlate and compare the scores of historical Rapid Response ad concepts to the tracking performance of on-air ads. This thorough analytic process led to a new configuration of the same measures and a +30% increase in the model’s ability to predict in-market performance of ad concepts, all without making changes to the core questionnaire.
The evolved Rapid Response model also provided a concise and insightful ad scoring system perfect for producing easy-to-digest graphics. Leveraging the new data view, C+R developed a custom portal accessible to the entire client organization. The straight-forward and intuitive portal includes easy-to-read insights, full drill-down into diagnostic measures, and seamless access to the entire library of more than 500 past ad test results as benchmarks.
The result
A Custom Portal for Making Confident Decisions on the Fly
Today, our client can open their custom portal in the middle of a stakeholder meeting or on a client call and make confident, specific decisions about which concepts to pursue – the very definition of agile.
The continued evolution of the already invaluable Rapid Response approach shows that we don’t have to sacrifice data quality standards, customization, or insightful analysis in pursuit of agility. We can have it all.
proven experience
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