Know which option to back before it reaches market.
Pack and message testing puts your pack designs, messages and claims in front of the buyers you need to win, side by side with the alternatives, before anything is produced or launched. You see which option they prefer, what they take from it, and what to fix before you commit the budget.
Pack and message test
Option B wins the choice and lands its message. Option A is missed on shelf.
Preferred option
Option A Current pack
Option B Claim-led design
Option C Benefit-led design
Stand-out on shelf
38%
61%
52%
Correct message take-out
57%
72%
44%
Believability
64%
67%
51%
More likely to buy
36%
49%
33%
Per cent of each matched group of buyers; 55% and above up, below 45% gap
Key takeout. Back Option B: it is the one buyers pick, and its claim is understood and believed. Keep Option A's colour cues so current buyers still find the pack on shelf.
Example report view · brand names and figures illustrative
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What it answers
The questions it answers.
Which of our pack designs will stand out on shelf and get picked up?
Will a pack refresh keep the shoppers who already buy us?
Which message gives buyers the strongest reason to choose us?
Are our claims believable, and do they land the way we intend?
What we measure
What we measure.
Preference between options
Each option shown to comparable groups of buyers, so you see which one wins and by how much, not just which one people say they like.
Stand-out and recognition
Whether a pack or design gets noticed among competitors, and whether people can tell it is yours.
Message takeout and fit
What people take from a pack, message or claim in their own words, and whether it fits what they already think of your brand.
Appeal and likely action
Appeal, relevance, believability and whether it makes people more likely to buy or consider you.
Also available inside a tracking wave, so new ideas are tested against the same competitive baseline you already track.
What you receive
A clear choice and the reasons behind it.
A written report and a live debrief: which option to back, what is working and what is not in each one, and the changes most likely to strengthen the winner before launch.
Pack and message test
Option B wins the choice and lands its message. Option A is missed on shelf.
Preferred option
Option A Current pack
Option B Claim-led design
Option C Benefit-led design
Stand-out on shelf
38%
61%
52%
Correct message take-out
57%
72%
44%
Believability
64%
67%
51%
More likely to buy
36%
49%
33%
Per cent of each matched group of buyers; 55% and above up, below 45% gap
Key takeout. Back Option B: it is the one buyers pick, and its claim is understood and believed. Keep Option A's colour cues so current buyers still find the pack on shelf.
Example report view · brand names and figures illustrative
Recommendations
Four priorities for the next twelve months.
- 1MediaShift weight from persuasion to reachAwareness, not appeal, is the constraint. Hold message, widen reach in the two regions where unprompted awareness trails.
- 2CreativeLead with proof of value and easeBoth sit in the priority gap. Brief the next campaign to prove them, not to restate reliability.
- 3SearchBe findable at the shortlist momentBuyers who search before shortlisting are your best converters. Match paid and organic to their questions.
- 4MeasurementRe-read in twelve monthsWave two tests whether the reach shift moved unprompted awareness, against the same competitor set.
Key takeout. Every priority traces back to a finding in this report, and wave two will show whether each one worked.
Example report view · brand names and figures illustrative
Example report views. Brand names and figures are illustrative. Client results are never published.
When it fits
When it makes sense.
Before a pack refresh
Check a new design will not lose the shoppers who already buy you.
Before a message or claim goes into market
Make sure it lands the way you intend before anything is produced or the media is bought.
When positioning or repositioning
Test which message gives buyers the strongest reason to choose you.
Inside your tracker
Add a pack or message test to a tracking wave instead of commissioning a separate study.
Ways to run it
Pack and design testing
Designs compared against each other and against the competitors they sit beside.
Message testing
Messages ranked on appeal, believability and fit with your brand, before any ad is made.
Claims testing
Product and brand claims checked for believability and whether they give buyers a reason to choose you.
Works best alongside tracking.
Run pack and message tests inside a tracking wave and every option is judged against a trended, competitive baseline, then tracked once it is in market.
“Essential Flavours has partnered with Brand Health for many years. They help us understand what our customers really want so that we can focus our energy and resources on what matters most.”
Terri MartinCommercial Director, Essential FlavoursHow it works
How we work.
- 01
Brief
A free consultation about the decisions you need to make and what you already know.
- 02
Design
Questionnaire, sample and competitor set, built around your category and your decision.
- 03
Field
An accredited online panel of your real buyers, with your own customer lists added where they help.
- 04
Report
A written report with an executive summary, a key takeout on every chart and numbered priorities.
- 05
Debrief
Presented live to you and your stakeholders by the researcher who designed the study.
Questions
Common questions.
What can you test?
Pack designs, messages and claims, before anything is produced or launched. Finished ads are tested through advertising effectiveness research, before and after they run.
How many options can we test at once?
It depends on what you are comparing. Each option is shown to a comparable group of buyers so the results are a fair comparison, and we recommend the number of options in the consultation.
Can testing be added to our tracker?
Yes. Pack or message tests can run inside a tracking wave instead of as a separate study.
What does it cost?
The cost depends on how many designs or messages you test, since each needs its own matched group of buyers, and on who those buyers are and how much reporting you want. Pack or message tests can also be added to a tracking wave. We’ll quote once we understand what you’re testing and roughly what budget you’re working with. The pricing page explains what moves the price.
Make smarter brand decisions
Find out what’s holding your brand back.
Book a free consultation with a senior researcher. We’ll talk through the decisions you need to make this year and how research could inform them.