Annual Ad Testing Campaign for OTC Drug Company

16 Jul 2020

Annual Ad Testing Campaign for OTC Drug Company

Marketing Problem

TV and online commercials are popular ways to increase brand awareness, equity, consideration, and usage. One of the most popular laxative brands uses this advertising tactic to maintain its strength in the US market. As a result, every year, the brand refreshes its advertising.

The laxative brand advertising agency often comes up with multiple commercials to test. As a result, the companies commission Provoke Insights every year to determine which campaign idea resonates with its core target audience.

By testing the ad concepts before producing the commercials, the laxative brand can select the idea that will be most successful. It also allows the agency to enhance the commercial before final production.

Subsequently, the ad agency produced video storyboards in order to test the commercials before production.

Market Research Solution

Provoke Insights conducted an online ad testing survey among those who suffer constipation. Respondents see one video (at random) using a monadic test. Monadic ad tests prevent bias because respondents only see one concept at a time. That way, the other concept ideas will not influence their opinions.

The test included the following:

Video of the commercial;
A question on unaided brand recall;
An open-end explanation of the commercial’s central message;
An assessment of the video against a list of traits (likelihood to purchase, innovative, etc.). During the analysis, we compared traits to overall and OTC industry norms.
The survey showed the commercial a second time, and respondents use an in-house video sentiment tool. The interactive tool allowed respondents to click on parts of the ad they liked or disliked, allowing for real-time feedback.

Also recommended by Provoke Insights was the MaxDiff technique to test messaging used to interest the OTC to consumers. Max Diff is used to understand which attributes influence the purchase decision. The Max Diff is a great option compared to a standard rating scale, which often leads one to believe that every claim is essential. This questioning forces respondents to choose between statements, resulting in a more robust data set.

The survey randomly presents five attributes at a time to respondents, who then rate each one. Then, once all of the responses are collected, the analysis predicts each possible combination’s response. This gives an exact amount that an attribute leads to sales, and how much more valuable they are than the other qualities.

Results of the Research

The annual research study was fielded every year before the launch. Each time Provoke Insights conducted the study, a clear winner emerged as the right campaign to launch. Each video, including the winner, had feedback and comments so that the videos could be improved.

One year, an ad tested exceptionally negatively. The majority of respondents did not like the ad and found it offensive. The OTC brand did not move forward with the commercial and avoided hurting their brand equity.

The MaxDiff feature gave a ranked list of 20 attributes. The search allowed for the ad agency to decide on the most resonant message among their target audience.

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