Isn’t that always the way? Just when you think you can get comfortable in the air conditioning, out the door you go again. This time you have an important goal. You want to know if all your bright ideas are actually going to work on the target audience.

 Pre testing is an art form in itself so, if your budget doesn’t have a big line for experts - you had better be a little careful here. If you get miss leading pre testing results it’s almost as bad as directing your campaign at the wrong target audience. The results are the same in any case: you will fail to achieve your objectives.

 Pre testing is when you choose a sample of your target audience and see what affect the slogans and copy will have on them. A lot of “Experts” like to combine pre testing copy text with pre testing images.

 I do not subscribe to that idea and here is why. Until you know exactly what your slogan and text will be you cannot possibly have any idea what your images should look like. Another important point is that few if any designers, photographers or illustrators like to work on several different art works and layouts just for you to test. That’s their time you are asking for. Time they could be producing real work for actual use. How would you like it if the boss asked for 5-6 different campaigns so that he could choose the one he liked best?

 Pre testing will almost always indicate a few “points” where you “ got it wrong.” Pre testing will also usually indicate a few ways to make it better. Use those ideas to refine your copy, and then test it again until you are getting a consistent majority response in favor of what you want to happen.

 Why did I say majority and not 100% positive response? Because, oh great one, you will never get everyone to agree on one message or art work, no matter how hard or how long you try. And, if you should get them all to agree the material would be so bland and empty of content that no one would get anything out of it any way.

 Just remember what Bill Cosby once said, “I don’t know how to please everyone, but I do know that trying to please every one is the perfect formula for disaster.” So get the perfection bug out of your system right now. It simply is not possible to create the perfect campaign. If you can hit 75% approval you will have worked a wonder. 60% and even 50% are still considered pretty good, but aim for 75% or better in per testing because the people you test on will not always be telling you the exact truth about what they feel.

 You may find you’re self-going through the pre testing process several times before you finally have it “right”. Just be patient and keep at it. Remember if you get it wrong here you have failed, no matter what you do next! Just don’t get too carried away trying to be perfect, eh?

 Here’s a word to the wise. Sometimes you get to the pre testing stage, try it on the people, refine it a bit, and then realize you are simply on the wrong tract. That is when you must be brave enough to take a deep breath, scrap the current campaign concept and start all over again. Never forget, it’s that or produce a bomb, so best start again and try to get it right the next time. Sure it’s work, but it’s a lot easier than eating crow or rewriting your CV.