Copy testing: practice and best practice
Tim AmblerLondon Business School
Scott GoldsteinNextel Communications
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Copy testing, otherwise known as pre-testing, is intended to improve advertising performance by providing diagnostic information for the agency to improve the ad, and information for the client to decide whether to run the campaign. This paper addresses the second purpose, namely the extent to which copy testing provides reliable support for the campaign decision. Copy testing is a contentious area that has attracted an unceasing flow of both criticism and support. This is not a definitive guide to copy testing as a...