Concept and message testing setup

Overview

Concept and message testing checks whether a specific idea or message resonates with your audience, before you've committed to a specific creative execution. Unlike TVC or animatics testing, which test a video ad in a particular format, concept and message testing can use a much simpler stimulus, a static image, a written statement, or a simple mockup, since the goal is to test the idea itself, not the execution.

When to use this instead of testing a finished creative

Use concept and message testing early, before you've decided on a specific ad format, visual direction, or channel. It's the right method when you're still deciding between different messaging directions, or validating whether an idea resonates at all, rather than refining how a specific execution performs.

How to set this up in Decode

Use a Media block or Image Response block, depending on your stimulus format, see Set up a media block or Set up an Image Response block and view results. Upload your concept as an image (a static message board, a simple mockup) or a short video if your concept needs motion to communicate.

If you're testing multiple concepts or message directions against each other, use Group & Randomization to set up a monadic design, so each participant evaluates one concept independently without being influenced by seeing the others, see Sequential vs monadic design.

Add follow-up questions focused on:

• Message clarity — do participants understand what you're trying to communicate
• Relevance — does the message feel relevant to them personally
• Differentiation — does it feel distinct from what they'd expect from a competitor
• Appeal — do they respond positively to the idea itself

What to look for in results

See Read media block results for Media blocks, or the individual response view for Image Response blocks. Since you're testing an idea rather than a finished execution, weigh your open-ended and structured follow-up questions more heavily than attention or emotion data alone, those signals matter more once you're testing a specific finished creative.

What to do next

Once a concept or message direction is validated, move into TVC effectiveness setup or Animatics testing setup to test how it performs as an actual creative execution.