What types of creative assets should you test?

Creative testing isn’t limited to finished ads. You can test virtually any creative asset, or even any element of a creative asset, from taglines to imagery to CTAs and everything in between.  

Products with creative brand assets like logos in them

Here are some of the assets and elements that brand marketers and insight professionals commonly test. And we’ve also added some real-life example questions from actual consumer research we’ve run.

Video/TV ads

Video or TV ads are a creative testing classic! And because so much work goes into them (storyboarding, scripting, shooting, editing, voiceover…), it’s crucial to make sure it’ll be time and money well spent. that 

Bear in mind the location of your ad, and how this might affect the creative. For example, people are more likely to sit through a network TV ad (they don’t have much choice) so those ads can have a slower pace than a YouTube ad, which people might be able to skip after 5 seconds.

Static ads

Billboards, social media, newspapers… static ads are as relevant as ever.

Again, think about placement. People’s attention spans on social media are much shorter than they are when they’re waiting at a subway station, so make sure your creative works in its context.

Website elements

Imagery, headers, copy, CTAs, the general user experience. When it comes to your website—arguably your brand’s biggest ‘always-on’ advert—the list of elements that can benefit from creative testing goes on and on.  

Taglines

A small number of words—a huge impact. 

Your tagline should neatly summarize what your brand stands for—no pressure. Whether you’re working on a tagline for a static or video ad, or for your website’s homepage, or for your latest product’s packaging, creative testing helps you find the one that’ll make the biggest impact.

Claims and proof points

This is all about testing the proof points you add to your creative. 

Think about something like toothpaste. You could say Recommended by 85% of dentists or you could say Contains protection against plaque. Both of these might be true, but which one will impress your buyers the most?

Product packaging

Among all your competitors’ products on a shelf, what will make yours stand out? From design to color choice to material, creative testing is how you find out. 

Logos

We’ve all seen those graphics showing how massive brands’ logos have changed over time. In almost all cases, those brands will have run extensive creative testing to make sure their update won’t ruin all of that valuable brand equity and reputation they’ve built up. 

Because your logo is so fundamental to your brand awareness, even subtle tweaks can have a big effect. 

Audio 

Effective audio for your creative can be the difference between buying and bypassingTesting your song choice or voiceover is a must! 

The Consumer Research Academy is brought to you by the Customer Research Team—our in-house research experts. Any research questions? Email or chat with the team.