Do you think testing the effectiveness of your marketing campaign is expensive and time-consuming? Not doing it might prove more costly, according to Senior Analyst Line Arneberg at Penetrace.
Many organisations carry out campaigns without evaluating the effect they have had, and will readily use similar campaign material without adjusting and optimising it. Then you miss out in terms of communication effect, because you’re not learning from the process. This could cost you dearly.
“More businesses should take the time to evaluate the effect of a campaign to identify its impact and how well the creative material has worked. Too many focus purely on short-term digital parameters and fail to measure the impact of the campaign on the brand,” says Line Arneberg of Penetrace.
In order for a campaign to be successful, it is essential to define what the campaign should achieve. After that, you should measure whether it is actually working as intended. Set clear goals, so it will be easier – even fun – to measure.
“Many people think it costs a lot to test campaigns, but it's more expensive to run campaigns with material that doesn't work,” says Arneberg.
“A campaign test will uncover strengths and weaknesses in the creative aspects and give you useful insights into what should be changed for the next campaign period. If you don't carry out tests, you risk spending a substantial part of your advertising budget on something you’re not sure works,” she continues.
Penetrace has extensive experience in measuring the impact of campaigns. Arneberg is one of the most experienced people in Norway with such tests and highlights Clear Channel as a good example of a company that takes campaign effect evaluation seriously.
“Clear Channel has conducted more than 140 campaign surveys on behalf of their customers. The feedback is clear: There are very useful lessons to be learned in order to optimise the campaign effect of the OOH media,” Arneberg elaborates.
A post-test not only provides answers about how many people have seen, heard, or read the advertising campaign; it also evaluates the creative concept and the content. In order for the campaign to be able to stand out among thousands of ad spots, all the elements of the campaign have to work in an optimal manner. We need to understand who is talking and what they are saying, and it has to be interesting and relevant.
If you want to know if your new communications concept will work before it goes live, Arneberg recommends a pre campaign-test.
“Then the advertising material is tested against the communication target group it is intended for, and you have the opportunity to make adjustments before going live.”
By standardising campaign metrics with a tool like Penetrace, you can compare your campaign’s results with relevant benchmarks within your industry or category, or with your own historical results. Penetrace currently has a unique database of nearly 10,000 surveys across various industries and categories.
“The customer can follow their own development over time, while seeing how the campaign is performing against competitors and the industry,” explains Arneberg. She continues: “The aim of an advertising test is to learn, so that the effect of the communication improves over time.”
