Creative Way to Test Advertising: Part Two

On the blog last week, we talked about the first two parts of testing advertising: believable and relevance. Today, we’re exploring the “U” and the “M.”

3. The next area in the BRUM test is the “U” for uniqueness.   There are two kinds of uniqueness:   One refers to how the ad is different from other ads in the category.  The other aspect is how “wacky/way out” is this ad?”  The trick is to first discover which unique quality does the ad communicate or determine if it is both.

Questions to ask if it is same/different than other ads in this category:

• In what ways could I replace the name of the product/service in this ad with a competitor?

• What promise does this ad make that no competitor can ever hope to beat?”

• How does this ad make you think about this product/service in a new way?

          Questions to ask if the ad is “wacky/way out” in the unique factor:

•  In what ways does the fact that this ad is very different hurt or help the level of information about the product/service offered?

• How is the level of “wacky/way out” style helping make the product information memorable or not?

• What’s your take:  Will people talk about clever wacky/way out style OR the product/service being sold?”

What is interesting to note is that many ads are not “unique” when it comes to presenting information.  For example, take Chevy and Ford Trucks.  Past campaigns for one have the tagline: Like a Rock, the other says built Ford Tough.  That is essentially the same message, and the ads could be exchanged so that one could read:  Ford Trucks:  Like a Rock and the other could say Built Chevy Tough.   What did make each ad stand out involved not only the uniqueness of the taglines or the presentation of information but rather, over time, the way each car company created a “story” around their slogans with images that resonated in the minds of viewers.  No one thinks that is a Ford truck on top of a mesa in Arizona and no one thinks it is a Chevy truck dropped from a one-story building.  At the time the concepts for both were first tested, neither would have gotten a “unique” score.  But now, they are both remembered as “different/unique” for the story that has been woven.

4. The last area of the BRUM test is a dicey one.  The “M” factor for motivation.  Some clients want moderators to ask respondents: “Will you buy the product/service” you have seen in the ads shown today?    On the surface that seems benign but in reality, any response given at that point in time is bogus since the buying behavior is in the future and way outside of what is being discussed in the research setting where the question originated.  

Of more value to clients is to ask respondents about motivations now that they have seen ads.  By asking questions such as the following, a researcher can uncover the “drivers” that make for a particular set of motivations now held by the consumer:

• What did you hear/see in the ads that make you want to know more about the product/service?

• What did you hear/see that pulled you toward this product?”

• “What did you hear/see that pushed you away from this product?”

By exploring the push/pull factor with respondents, a lot of information is generated about elements of the ad that create interest/appeal [pull] or confusion/dislike [push].  From that understanding, advertisers can move along a dimension from tweaking elements to replacing elements to create a final ad that is consistent with strategy, helps them stand out from the clutter and hopefully drives increased sales.

In analyzing the BRUM scores for ads or concepts tested it is lovely when an ad pulls a 4.0 for all four factors “winning” with consumers.  But when 3 out of 4 are mentioned for one ad or concept that is a good thing as well.    What often happens is that the BR and M factors pull good scores while the “U” factor is often where an ad doesn’t.  

If one were to review 100 ads currently running on TV now, they would find that many score well on BR and M factors and only a rare few also get the “U” score.

Three out of four is wonderful when testing ads!

Written by: Naomi Henderson, CEO & Co Founder