It should be no surprise that B2B Advertising and Testing go hand in hand. We often see significant differences in results between campaigns with the same hypothesis but different creative approaches.
But it can be easy to get testing wrong.
It is 50 years since Alan Hedge wrote “Testing to Destruction: A Fresh and Critical Look at the Uses of Research in Advertising” but I think its findings often get lost in the noisy rabble of all the many marketing channels out there.
We are big fans of his here at Radiate B2B – not surprising given how much we love data, testing and behavioural science.
On B2B Advertising Testing
Hedge argued that traditional testing methods fail to capture the nuances of human behavior and creativity.
Instead, by focusing on rigid metrics, advertisers risk stifling innovation and undervaluing the emotional and psychological aspects that make campaigns truly effective.
We have a strong mantra of testing at Radiate B2B – test test test. Every marketer should be doing it. But how you do it is important.
Hedge argued that pre-testing and audience panels tended to result in uninspired campaigns that did not predict real-world performance accurately.
Worse, it tended to lead to conformity. You don’t have to look far to see how many B2B ads tend to confirm to a template or two.
Being Bold
Today, we can test in real-time. We can see exactly how the real world is reacting and adjust. But you also need to be bold.
To standout from the crowd. Hedge suggested you balance research insights with intuition and bold experimentation.
B2B Advertising Psychology
Every marketer understands that at some deeper level it is about the person. In that moment, logical decisions do not describe the entirety of the decision.
The image of an iceberg is often used here to illustrate this. There can be more that is hidden out of site than what is visible on the surface. It is this psychological impact that plays a big part in advertising, brand recall and ultimately the action taken.
Emotion and storytelling have been the buzzword of the past few years in B2B and Hedge argued that research should focus more on emotional resonance and long-term brand perception rather than short-term metrics.
In B2B, this is often tricky as the decision-making happens over a prolonged period. It is impossible to attribute one thing to the decision.
But brand building and emotional resonance are something that sticks much longer than logical facts. The latter serves to re-enforce the emotional feeling.
In the end, the best B2B advertising balances research, real-time testing and creative that connects, inspires and drives action.