Awareness testing

Our definition of Awareness Testing: 

A research technique to determine how many consumers have heard or seen a specific product, advertisement, or promotion. Awareness testing is particularly effective when launching a new product, and is best performed over time using a continuous fielding methodology.

When unveiling a new brand, product, or promotion, it is important to let interested consumers know about the option that is now being made available to them. An awareness test is a tool for measuring how effectively potential customers have retained the relevant information to a marketing effort. The goal of any company is to achieve maximum awareness of the promoted idea at the minimal required cost.

Awareness testing is employed by market researchers to judge how effectively the brand identity sticks. This is especially valuable when it is used regularly during a marketing campaign. Short term changes in consumer awareness can signal areas where specific marketing is proving more successful. This might allow a company to engage the consumer with more effective advertising.

In the original phase of a plan, an awareness test might provide useful data for decisions about specific directions to take with a promotion. As the project unfolds, new information can be acquired with subsequent tests that will help the company decide ways in which to tweak the product and its marketing presence. Consistent testing techniques are required in order to isolate the performance of the brand; every experiment must have clear and stable controls. This reliable methodology will expose the relationship between specific events and changes in name awareness.

Awareness testing could also provide useful data about competing brands or promotions. Ultimately, winning the brand identification battle could mean a sure victory for any successful consumer product. Consumers gravitate towards familiar names and ideas.

While the awareness test is only one component in a full arsenal of market data tools, it remains consistently valuable throughout a campaign. Generating name awareness is a continuous process. As time passes, valuable resources need to be shifted to different business needs. Awareness testing allows for clear understanding of the value of marketing efforts, the need for future promotion, and the attitude of the consumer towards the product. This allows a company to shift resources into and out of promotional efforts to maintain the desired level of name awareness.