The Secret Behind Successful Campaigns: Hypothesis-Driven Insights
At Ideabar, we understand that every strong story is backed by even stronger research.
Research gives clients a clear view of who they are and where they stand in the market. It helps them better understand who their current clients are as well as who their future target consumers may be. It gives them insights into their branding, a view into their market, and an awareness of who their competitors are. In sum, research allows our clients to see themselves more objectively and enables them to make smarter, data-driven decisions about their business. Furthermore, research provides the strong foundation needed to build any successful campaign.
So, while I admit there are perhaps few who enjoy statistics and consumer insights as much we do here at Ideabar, successful marketing and media agencies everywhere understand how essential research is, especially when putting together a creative campaign. And the key to a powerful research-based creative campaign? Hypothesis-driven insights.
As described by Facebook, Hypothesis-driven insights “tests people-centric hypotheses with audience data, enabling marketers to gain the confidence to ideate, develop and execute effective creative.”
But how does it work?
- First and foremost, it means closely listening to the client’s needs and fully understanding the client brief. After all, you want to be sure you’re matching the client’s goal to the target audience they are hoping to reach.
- Next, it means giving life to the people in this target audience – what do they look like, what do they behave like, what are their attitudes, what do they value and prioritize?
- Now for the most exciting part: creating a hypothesis. Your hypothesis must address the particular insight that ties your target audience to the client’s goal. What is the hidden motivating factor? What is secretly (or even overtly) turning your target audience off of the client’s product? Your hypothesis, in summary, addresses the why in the equation. And no need to limit yourself to just one! In fact, a strong starting point would be to have multiple hypotheses – that way if one or two of them lead to nothing insightful, you’re left with other theories to explore.
- This brings us to the next phase: testing. Once you have a strong group of hypotheses, it is essential to test each one using reliable resources and statistically-valid data points. If your data contradicts or disproves your hypothesis, you know you’ve got to get back to the drawing board and tweak your original theory, or move on to your next hypothesis. If your data validates your hypothesis, dig in even deeper and use your data to further strengthen and deepen your insights.
- Lastly, once you’ve gathered your actionable hypothesis-driven insights, it’s time to turn them over to the incredible creative team! A creative brief, which lays out the problem being addressed, the target audience being reached, and your newly found insights, will serve as the catalyst for ideation as the creative team does what they do best: create a strong and thoughtful campaign made up of powerful messaging and imagery that truly resonate with the target audience.
“Rich data points on people’s behavior can inspire more impactful, meaningful and brave creative work.”
Nico Westermann, Global Strategy and Insights Lead at Facebook Creative Shop
It’s been seen time and time again that hypothesis-driven insights are the driving force behind a successful campaign. In fact, according to Facebook’s recent internal analysis of Brand Lift studies, campaigns using hypothesis-driven insights in their creative methods “perform 1.5x better in terms of ad recall and 1.3x better in terms of message association compared to its respective vertical and regional norms.”
So, the secret is out. Understanding the people that you are marketing to is key to creating a campaign that connects. Understanding the why behind their decisions is what makes the campaign, and the client’s story, truly unforgettable.
Every organization has a valuable story to tell — one that impacts the bottom line. We tell powerful brand stories through marketing + media services. Come to Ideabar. Own your story.
Contact Ideabar:
(561) 820-4280
ideabar@coxinc.com