Step 2: Analyze the results
It is time to start connecting the dots. The goal of analysis is to identify the connections between elements of your program, moving from what happened to why it happened by developing insights.
Based on your observations, you should have ideas for a number of potential connections to investigate. Your knowledge of the program will guide your analysis and identify connections beyond that which a pure statistical analysis, a focus on creative executions, or media placement would uncover.
At a minimum, your analysis should include the top performers, the laggards and trends, and changes in performance during the program.
By connecting observations like flighting, colors, or call to action (as opposed to specific placements or creatives) in addition to performance and outcomes, you will develop a much better understanding of the core drivers of performance.
Exercise
If your observations did not include best and worst performers and trends in performance through the program, add them now to the list you made in the first exercise. For each observation:
- Identify the connections -- What other observations are connected? What other elements of the program influenced it or did it influence?
- Find the "why" -- For each trend, outcome, or result you observed, determine what the most likely drivers are, beginning with the connections you identified.
With these insights in hand, it is time to apply them and identify new opportunities.
