Illustrative engagement. A representative scenario showing how we approach this kind of work in advertising. It does not describe a specific client; outcomes are described qualitatively.
Industry overview
What is shaping advertising
Agencies and advertisers need to know whether campaigns will work before launch and whether they worked afterwards, across TV, digital and outdoor.
- Pre-testing reduces the risk of costly campaigns
- Brand lift is measured across channels
- Audiences are fragmented across platforms
Client background
A packaged-foods advertiser, working in Metro and tier-2 India. This is an illustrative engagement: a representative scenario showing how we approach this kind of work, not a named client project.
- Organisation
- A packaged-foods advertiser
- Sector
- Advertising
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Quantitative research, Online surveys, Reporting & insights
Client challenge
Two creative routes for a festive campaign were finished, and the media plan was booked. The brand team needed to know which film would be remembered and linked to the brand before committing the budget.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: pre-testing a festive TV campaign before media spend.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of category buyers.
- Produce results that can be compared across groups and locations.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 3 weeks.
Target audience
The work focused on 1,200 category buyers.
- category buyers1,200
Audiences we typically reach in advertising
Target audiencesBrand managersMedia plannersViewers and readersAgency teams
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Metro and tier-2 India. Market: India.
- India
Research methodology
A structured quantitative design, so results could be compared across groups, locations and time.
- 1Brief
- 2Online ad pre-test
- 3Second-by-second reaction trace
- 4Insight
We showed each route to matched samples of category buyers online, measuring recall, branding, message take-out and purchase intent, with a moment-by-moment reaction trace to see where attention rose and fell.
Quantitative researchOnline surveysReporting & insights
Sampling strategy
- category buyers
- 1,200
- Business respondents were screened on role, company size and involvement in the decision before being invited.
- Online respondents were drawn from verified panel members who matched the screening criteria, with quotas on key profile attributes.
Data collection
- The online survey was mobile-friendly and offered in respondents' languages.
Data quality & validation
- Digital fingerprinting and duplicate checks
- Attention, speed and straight-lining checks
- Review of open-ended answers
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Comparison of concepts, messages or products against each other
Key findings
- One route was clearly better branded; the other had the stronger emotional peak but the logo appeared too late.
A strong story only works if viewers know whose story it is.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: a strong story only works if viewers know whose story it is.
- Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: one route was clearly better branded; the other had the stronger emotional peak but the logo appeared too late.
- Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.
Business impact
- The agency moved the brand reveal earlier and aired the improved version.
What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: where is the audience?