An ad needs to be many things: it needs to stand out, resonate, and it needs to be appropriate for the viewer. Ticking all of those boxes is no easy feat.

Achieving all of these elements with your next campaign is more important than ever before. Data from 2015 suggests that the average consumer in America sees between 4,000 and 10,000 adverts every day. So, it’s increasingly necessary to stand out.

How you choose to stand out is up to you. You could opt for a focus on parody (like Oasis), or purpose (as most beer brands do these days), or opt for the cute factor (like these other brands). The tactics you use will depend on who you’re trying to get through to, and your brand’s personality in general.

Add to that another piece of the puzzle; avoiding offending consumers. It may sound easy to do, you’re not aiming to be offensive (probably), but time after time brands hit the spotlight because their adverts have caused controversy. It can be a narrow line to tread: trying to stand out for the right reasons, or to rock the boat without falling overboard yourself.

All in all, creating an effective advert is shaping up to be a complicated task. So, let us help. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the creative testing process, from what it is, to why people do it, how they use the results, and how brands and agencies alike accomplish all of this with Attest. You’ll discover how to test your creatives for the key checkboxes above, maximising your ROI and protecting your media budget in the process.