Chapter 5 - 2

02 Marketing

Pretesting vs. Post-Testing

Pretesting and post-testing offer ways for advertisers to gain a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of advertising.

Both pretesting and post-testing analyze the popularity and public opinion of a particular advertisement.

These different methods of assessing advertising are used by many advertisers in order to reach consumers in the most effective ways.

In pretesting, advertisers ask the public various direct questions about the effectiveness of their advertising techniques.

This takes place before the ads are aired on television, radio, magazines, or other media.

Often, people are invited to view an ad in a controlled environment.

The advertisers then ask if a particular ad conveys its intended message.

Advertisers also want to know if the ad is likely to motivate people to purchase the product or service.

In addition, advertisers want to see if it had the desired effect upon consumers.

In the case of a humorous commercial, the advertisers have the opportunity to see whether or not it will actually make the viewer laugh.

Through the use of direct questions, they can discover if specific goals of advertising are being met.

Responses can be utilized to test possible alternative advertisements.

Advertisers can increase the level of control in the early parts of a commercial’s developmental stages.

On the other hand, post-testing involves methods that analyze ads after they have aired.

Respondents are often asked questions similar to those in pretesting.

In post-testing, though, respondents are often asked to compare a certain commercial to other commercials.

The goals of both types of testing are similar.

However, advertisers also ask viewers to consider their message in relation to their competitors.

This allows advertisers to discover the extent to which a commercial will be remembered amongst competing ads.

This feedback from recall tests gives an idea of how memorable, and thus impactful, the advertising technique was.

A commonly used means of testing the efficacy of a campaign is the attitude test.

This test evaluates the feelings of the respondents toward a particular advertisement after repeated exposure to it.

If the respondents begin to dislike an ad after only a few viewings, the advertisers know that their commercial was not effective.

Pretesting and post-testing each have benefits and drawbacks for advertisers.

Pretesting allows advertisers to receive feedback before their commercials air.

This allows issues involving weak or ineffective advertising to be resolved before going public.

Thus, advertisers can avoid wasting money on an ad that does not have the desired effect.

On the other hand, post-testing allows the effectiveness of ads to be tested based upon real market findings.

This is in opposition to being tested in a simulated situation.

Because pretesting is performed in a controlled environment-often an advertising agency-results may differ significantly from when the ad is viewed on television.

The results of post—testing, however, come directly from those who viewed the ad in a natural setting.

The findings, then, will be similar to the experience of the general public.