Developing test plans
Larry D. Kelley, Kim Bartel Sheehan, Lisa Dobias, David E. Koranda, Donald W. Jugenheimer · 2022
Every brand is looking for the optimum way to allocate its funds. Some brands spend a lot on advertising, others don&s;t. Some use television, others use print. Because every brand is unique, it is important to develop a base of knowledge that, over time, guides the brand&s;s support. That&s;s why many brands develop test plans – it is a relatively safe and low-cost way to learn what works and what doesn&s;t for your brand. Test marketing is the use of controlled tests in one or more geographic areas to gather information about the brand, its customers, and its competitors. There are two basic reasons to test market: the first is to gain knowledge about a new product or line extension in a limited area before rolling it out nationally. The second is to test different marketing-mix strategies for an existing brand. These strategies can include a media-weight test, a media-mix test, a comparison of different copy strategies, or a test of a different blend of advertising-to-trade support.