The Competitive Advantage of Constant Testing in Media and Creative Strategy

In today’s fragmented and rapidly evolving media landscape, brands face a fundamental choice: continue investing in proven strategies that deliver predictable outcomes, or embrace ongoing experimentation in pursuit of greater efficiency, scale, and competitive advantage. While both approaches have merit, the brands that consistently test new media channels and creative strategies are often better positioned to outperform over time. 

At its core, sticking with “what works” provides stability. Established media plans and creative formats offer reliable benchmarks for performance, clearer forecasting, and lower perceived risk. For many organizations, predictability is a valuable performance metric. Proven channels tend to have known costs, defined audiences, and historical performance data that simplifies decision-making. Similarly, creative assets that have performed well in the past can be replicated or iterated upon with confidence, ensuring consistency in brand messaging and results. Efficiency is the name of the game.

The Challenge With Predictability

This reliance on historical success can also become a constraint. Media consumption habits are not static; they evolve alongside technology, culture, and consumer expectations. Heck, there have been rumblings that Gen Z is over TikTok because it feels more like the early days of Reddit than what they are used to from TikTok. Channels that once delivered strong returns may become saturated, more expensive, or less effective over time. Creative formats that once captured attention can grow stale, leading to diminished engagement.

This is where continuous testing creates a meaningful advantage.

Testing Builds a Wallet Full of Options

Test and learn roadmaps are a core deliverable for our clients, who are bought-in to investing in the New. Whether it’s a new platform, a different audience targeting approach, or an innovative creative format, testing allows brands to identify pockets of efficiency that competitors may overlook. 

Some tests succeed. Some fail. Such is the nature of testing. We measure tests with both platform metrics AND business metrics in analytically designed test and control experiments. Recent test winners for us include:

• Driving App Downloads: App Downloads tend to provide a more recurring and predictable purchase pattern for users that engage with the App. Advertising through Apple App Store and Google Play were new to the client but proved to have meaningful results with test markets that served App Store media saw 2.5x more new customers to their stores compared to control markets. This allowed us to expand our channel mix for future campaigns.
• Pressure Testing Marketing Mix Models: While Search (Google) has been part of our media plan for a particular client, our mix modelling data would suggest it drives significant results for this client. We decided to put this to the test and amplifying Search spend against certain markets to see if they showed lift in results. Test markets saw a 5% lift in traffic compared to traffic numbers before the test began leading us to increase Search spend across the board

One of the biggest advantages to continuous testing is that our clients have a wallet full of options to deploy for specific situations. When faced with a fast turn-turnaround time to increase sales or traffic, we can now pull those tactics out of our wallet rather than hoping something untested will become the magic growth elixir.

Additionally, markets can shift quickly due to economic conditions, competitive actions, or changes in consumer behavior. Brands that are already accustomed to testing can pivot more effectively, reallocating budgets and adjusting strategies in real-time. Those that rely heavily on fixed, proven approaches may struggle to respond quickly, putting them at a disadvantage during periods of change.

Balance Stability With Experimentation 

That said, testing should not come at the expense of stability. The most effective brands strike a balance between proven strategies and experimentation. A common approach is to dedicate a majority of the budget to known performers, ~90%, while reserving the remaining ~10% for testing new ideas. This structure ensures that core business objectives are met while still enabling innovation and growth.

If it feels scary to try something new, take that risk. Growth comes from stretching beyond our comfort zones.