Creative Agility: Move Fast and Change Minds [Watch]
Want to know if your creative will make an impact before spending money on production? At Advertising Week 2024, Swayable showed how concept testing changes the game for brands. Through a combination of scientific testing methods, AI and iterative development, marketing teams can now validate concepts, measure creative impact, and make smarter decisions before deploying campaigns.
In this fireside chat with The Drum's Associate Editor Kendra Barnett, Swayable CEO/Founder James Slezak reveals how leading brands are transforming their creative development process.
The evolution of concept testing
Traditional testing methods were slow, expensive, and often delivered results after campaigns had already launched. Waiting months to know if your creative works doesn't make sense anymore. Swayable's innovative pre-market testing platform delivers results 30 times faster than standard methods, so marketing teams can make decisions when they matter—when there's still time to pivot and improve performance.
Science meets creativity
Why guess when you can know? Swayable applies scientific testing methods—the same ones used in clinical research—through randomized control trials to measure exactly how creative affects consumer behavior. This approach reveals what works and what doesn't, taking the guesswork out of creative decisions.
Rapid concept testing in action
Want better predictions of campaign success? Then test and learn throughout the creative process. By using prototype creative, mock-ups, and storyboards that are exposed to a real audience, marketers get true evidence of what will change consumer minds before spending money on full-scale production.
Here's proof: One leading client of Swayable ran five-week creative sprints to test and refine their messaging. They found this approach led to ads performing ten times better than their starting point. One leading tech company has already run over 400 tests to strengthen its creative strategy. They’ve fully embraced creative agility in their marketing approach and are seeing outsized campaign impact.
AI's role in better testing
Artificial intelligence does more than just speed up the creation of testing materials. It opens up possibilities. Marketing teams can now explore dozens of creative options quickly and affordably. Want to know if a celebrity spokesperson will outperform customer testimonials? Marketing teams can test these big creative decisions before spending money on expensive production. AI makes it possible to explore more ideas than ever before.
Moving past surface metrics
With pressure to show immediate ROI, focusing only on clicks and purchases is tempting. But these metrics don't reveal if creative actually persuaded anyone. That's why measuring "brand lift" is crucial—the fundamental change in how people think or feel about a brand after seeing creative content.
It's essential for upper and middle-funnel marketing, which aims to change perceptions and build brand value beyond immediate clicks. Testing for brand lift reveals exactly how well creative changes minds, not just drive clicks and view counts.
Smart concept testing targets better audiences
Most brands follow a standard playbook: define audience segments first, then create ads for them. But testing shows this might be backward. By measuring actual lift across different groups, brands often discover their creative resonates most strongly with unexpected audiences.
The bottom line
Every brand needs creative that works—and needs to know if it will drive results before spending their budget. This is especially crucial in fast-moving industries like entertainment, consumer goods, and technology, where quick decisions directly impact campaign success. With Swayable's rapid concept testing, brands can match the right creative with the right audience to create winning campaigns.
Ready to boost campaign performance? Schedule a Swayable demo to see concept testing in action.