How Mars uses attention testing to create more effective ads

Brian Carruthers

Mars has built its own testing tool, called Agile Creative Expertise (ACE), that allows the food company to identify those ads that will grab attention and drive sales.

When it comes to advertising impact, “attention is the gatekeeper”, according to Sorin Patilinet, Director/Consumer Insight at food company Mars, Inc.

“It’s the first thing you need. When you have an exposure without attention, there’s no next step.”

As implied in the phrase “next step”, attention alone won’t do the job any marketer requires, which is to get a brand lodged in people’s minds. At least one more wheel needs to turn in order for that memory structure to be built – and this is where emotion comes into play.

“Emotion is the oil that makes that wheel turn and...

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