Despite extensive research, 95% of marketing campaigns fail to achieve their objectives. This isn’t just a disappointing statistic—it signals fundamental flaws in traditional communication testing methodologies. How is it that, despite rigorous research processes, so many campaigns still miss the mark?
We believe that the answer lies in testing methodologies that rely on legacy metrics and “proprietary benchmarks” that produce reports filled with numerical grades but devoid of actionable insights. This leaves marketing and agency teams without the rich context needed to effectively refine their messaging.
That’s why we reimagined communication testing—not just to evaluate messages but to transform them. We go beyond numbers to generate future-forward insights that help brands launch their strongest creative into the market. We don’t just assess; we make sure the message truly resonates.
Our methodology is based on four key principles that set us apart from traditional methods:
- From Legacy KPIs to Strategy-Led Performance Rubric
Traditional comms testing delivers reports filled with metrics such as memorability and motivation. While these measures are important, they don’t provide insight into the attributes that truly drive success. This is why we prioritize the alignment of business and brand strategy with messaging. We use a proven 3B’s framework to define your specific strategic goals based on three crucial dimensions – Belief, Behavior, and Brand – to create a customized rubric. This allows us to evaluate your comms holistically, considering their alignment with your brand, their impact on business objectives, and their ability to drive recall and persuasion.
This approach taps into goal-setting theory in psychology, which emphasizes the importance of clear, specific goals for motivating behavior (Locke & Latham, 2002). It helped a global medical device brand, in aligning its campaign with its long-term strategy of becoming an earth-friendly brand. By applying the strategy-led rubric, we evaluated their campaign not just on memorability, but on how well it communicated their sustainability mission. The result was a more targeted, futureproofed campaign that improved both brand perception and customer loyalty.
- Contextual Insights Through Cultural & Competitive Analysis
Most testing methods evaluate creative in isolation, disconnected from the competitive and cultural landscape in which the message will be received. We believe category context is crucial. That’s why we incorporate a deep analysis of the semiotics—the signs, symbols, and codes—prevalent in your brand’s category. This analysis reveals how meaning is constructed and helps us identify IdealSpaces™ where differentiation can thrive.
Our method taps into cultural frame theory (Benford & Snow, 2000), which posits that communication is most effective when it resonates with an audience’s shared cultural beliefs. By positioning a brand’s comms within the broader context, we find that the message not only stands out but also connects deeply with all stakeholders. By understanding these dynamics, we help brands answer key questions:
- What saturates your category, and where are the opportunities to differentiate?
- How does your brand messaging align with or diverge from competitors?
- What cultural meanings are your visuals and language evoking, and how do they align with the brand’s goals?
For a leading pharma brand launching a new rare disease treatment, we performed a semiotic analysis of competitor advertising and cultural perceptions of the illness. By uncovering how imagery (e.g., freedom vs. restraint) influenced patient attitudes, we helped the brand position itself around patient empowerment—an untapped space in the market.
- Going Beyond Rational Response: Harnessing Social Science
Most traditional testing methods capture only System 2 responses—rational, deliberate thinking processes. They neglect System 1, the automatic, intuitive processes that drive most human behavior, as popularized by Daniel Kahneman in Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011). That’s why many campaigns fail to tap into the unconscious responses that determine their true impact.
We understand the dual nature of human cognition and capture both rational and emotional insights using our proprietary WithInsight™ methodology. This holistic approach draws on dual-process theory (Evans, 2008), which posits that both System 1and System 2 thinking are essential for decision-making. By combining techniques like Somatic Pulse Scaling (which measures physiological responses to stimuli) and Implicit Association Testing (which uncovers unconscious associations), we ensure that your comms resonate both intellectually and emotionally.
For instance, a client sought to understand why their new drug’s ad campaign, which scored highly on clinical efficacy, wasn’t driving prescription uptake. Using our dual-process approach, we discovered that while the campaign communicated benefits effectively, it also triggered unconscious associations with complexity and patient burden. Simplifying the messaging resolved these issues, resulting in significantly higher HCP engagement and prescriptions.
- Continuous Optimization with AI-Powered Feedback
In traditional testing, respondents provide feedback once, and then they’re gone. Brands are left with recommendations but no way to validate the effectiveness of changes made post-research. Getting new feedback and continuous iteration become expensive and time-consuming.
We eliminate the guesswork by using our proprietary Gen.AI agent Stella.ai to create digital Avatars—virtual representations of respondents based on real data collected in the research phase. These avatars provide on-demand feedback, allowing brands to optimize messaging continuously without new respondents or additional research.
This innovative approach uses supervised machine learning which allows AI systems to learn from specific data sets and make informed predictions. By creating these avatars, we give you the ability to extend the impact of your prior research.
This helped a global oncology brand iterate a complex, multi-market campaign. Stella.ai created Avatars from their multi-market campaign research data and used them to provide real-time feedback on creative iterations. This process allowed the brand to deliver a campaign grounded in global strategy while customizing executions for each market—without the delays and costs of traditional follow-up research.
Future-Proof Your Comms Testing
At Shapiro+Raj, we are redefining communication testing. Our future-forward approach leverages the TechManity™ framework, our unique blend of human empathy and tech amplification—to provide brands with deep, actionable insights that go beyond traditional testing methods.
By aligning messaging with strategy, providing cultural and competitive context, incorporating social science techniques, and enabling continuous optimization through AI, we empower brands to craft messages that resonate deeply, stand out in the marketplace, and drive real-world impact.
The future of communication testing is not just about responding to the market—it’s about shaping it.
Contact Shapiro+Raj today at [email protected] to discover how we can help you transform you communication strategies today.