One of the most effective ways to ensure the success of a brand campaign is to build in a creative pre-testing phase to determine the optimal message strategy, ad sizes, placement and formats prior to launch. Creative pre-testing can be conducted by the ad network, in conjunction with a research partner such as InsightExpress, and has proven to significantly increase the lift in key brand metrics for advertisers.

Using an online survey, your target audience is exposed to the ads and then asked questions based upon your objectives, ranging from awareness, to association, message recall and purchase intent. Also tested in this phase is the likeability of the ads, clarity of the message, effectiveness of various ad sizes and formats. The results typically help identify improvement opportunities prior to launch. Once the data is in, the advertiser can then make modifications to the creative, maximizing the overall brand impact of the campaign.

Ideally, a creative pre-test is done prior to the campaign launch. When time does not permit, it can run during the campaign and the creative can be optimized as the campaign is live. Depending on the size and scope of the campaign, creative pre-testing can be an easy and effective way to increase the efficiency of your online branding campaign. This type of research does require an additional (albeit small) testing budget and, ideally, some upfront time prior to the campaign.