Most brands are familiar with message testing, but many are still using methods that don’t capture the full picture.
Think about your typical day. Chances are, you're constantly connected, bombarded with messages from social media feeds, streaming platforms, traditional media, and more. But what actually breaks through all this noise and grabs your attention? That’s exactly what brands aim to discover through message testing.
When we talk about "messages," we’re referring to a wide range of communications—slogans, taglines, positioning statements, product benefits, advertisements, “reasons to believe” and more. Each of these elements plays a role in how a brand communicates its value to consumers. They can be tested individually or together to ensure they truly resonate with the audience.
That’s where message testing comes in.
What is message testing?
Message testing is the process of evaluating how well a message connects with your target audience. It helps uncover what resonates—whether it’s the wording, tone, or visuals—while identifying potential pitfalls. By using tools like surveys, focus groups, or A/B testing, message testing not only improves clarity and impact but also reduces the risk of missteps that could embarrass your brand. For customer insight pros, it’s an essential step in crafting messages that engage, align with audience expectations, and strengthen brand trust.
Today, message testing isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential to standing out and driving the right consumer behaviors. Yet, as more brands invest in refining their messages, traditional research methods are falling short, demanding more innovative and dynamic approaches.
Why message testing is more important than ever
The media landscape is crowded, and consumers are bombarded with content every day. In this environment, delivering the right message—at the right time—can make or break a campaign. But there’s more to message testing than just ensuring your content is memorable.
There are three key reasons why it’s become so critical today:
- Crowded media landscape – We live in a virtual sea of noise: from social feeds like Instagram and TikTok, to streaming services like Hulu and Peacock, and not to mention more traditional media like cable, outdoor, and even print. If your message doesn’t capture attention, it's as good as lost.
- Cultural relevance – Even if your message is seen, it won’t land unless it speaks directly to your audience. Consumers today expect brands to "get" them, and culturally relevant messaging is essential to create that emotional connection.
- High risk of getting it wrong – Poorly executed messages aren’t just ineffective—they can damage your brand. There are countless examples of campaigns that missed the mark, leading to lost revenue and long-term damage to brand reputation.
Having an effective message testing program that addresses all three of these areas is critically important.
Moving beyond traditional testing approaches
Most brands are familiar with message testing, but many are still using methods that don’t capture the full picture. Traditional techniques can be slow, disconnected, and often fail to capture the emotional response that drives consumer behavior.
For example, traditional survey-based message testing provides some insights but often lacks tangible context, leading to superficial, recall-based feedback that struggles to capture real-time emotional or unconscious reactions. Focus groups can offer deeper insights, but can be time-consuming, expensive and may not reflect real-world behavior. And these are just a couple of techniques that are coming up short.
In our recent masterclass webinar on message testing, our senior research consultant Nicole McKay pointed out that traditional message testing often misses two critical things: System 1 and System 2 thinking.
- System 1 refers to the fast, automatic, gut-level reactions we have. It’s emotional, intuitive, and happens almost instantly.
- System 2 is more deliberate and analytical. It’s the rational, reflective thinking that takes longer to develop.
Effective message testing needs to capture both—and more.
Conversational insights: the key to unlocking deeper reactions
Conversational research provides an answer to challenges in old-school message testing approaches. It captures dynamic, in-the-moment reactions through mobile chat-based surveys powered by AI, blending quantitative, qualitative, and video feedback into a seamless experience. This engages respondents more naturally—almost like texting a friend—which results in more honest, real-time feedback.
The Reach3 Insights approach, using the Rival Platform, captures all the missing pieces.
- Gut-level reactions (system 1) – capturing those immediate, instinctive responses to a message.
- Emotional and functional drivers (system 2) – understanding why a message works (or doesn’t) by digging deeper into its emotional impact and functional appeal.
- Brand linkage – uncovering which messages consumers associate with specific brands and determining ownership of certain messaging territories.
Breaking it down: how conversational message testing works
Quick disclaimer: each research project is different and can vary by industry, category, and audience segment. What’s most important, is to have a flexible framework grounded in key pillars but adaptable to the specific needs of a project.
Let’s take a closer look at how our conversational message testing approach plays out in practice.
1. Real-time feedback
We engage with consumers via mobile chat to capture their immediate reactions to different messages. Respondents are asked to rate messages on how they feel about them using a simple, fast interface—emojis are often used, making it as intuitive as a swipe on Tinder. This rapid-fire response helps us capture those gut-level System 1 reactions that are often missed by slower, more rigid methods.
2. Emotional resonance
Once we’ve captured the initial reaction, we dive deeper. Through open-ended questions or video, we gather qualitative insights that reveal the emotional dynamics behind their reactions. In fact, our research has shown that video responses through our platform provide a 700% increase in words versus open-end questions. This is a lot of detailed feedback!
3. Understanding brand linkage
A crucial part of message testing is understanding which brand a consumer associates with a specific message. We assess brand favorability and ownership, identifying whether a message is strongly tied to your brand or a competitor's. This ensures that you can confidently “own” certain messaging territories, while also spotting vulnerabilities where competitors may be making inroads.
With the help of AI market research tools, we process and analyze this data quickly and efficiently. Our analytics suite includes tools like Correspondence Mapping (to visualize brand associations) and TURF Analysis (to identify the most effective combinations of message elements). AI also helps us sift through unstructured data, like video responses, to pinpoint themes and emotional drivers more accurately.
Why conversational research methods work so well for message testing
The conversational research approach is designed to be fast, flexible, and adaptable to the needs of modern brands. Unlike traditional message testing, it’s built for speed and engagement, making it easier to capture in-the-moment reactions that reflect today’s consumer behavior.
Mobile chat-based surveys are quick and feel natural to respondents, driving higher participation rates and richer feedback. Most importantly, our method bridges the gap between immediate emotional reactions and deeper, reflective responses, providing you with a complete view of how your messages are received.
What this means for your brand
Effective message testing isn’t just about crafting a catchy tagline or a compelling ad. It’s about understanding the emotional and functional appeal of your messages and ensuring that they resonate with the right audience, at the right time, in the right way.
With the insights gained from conversational message testing, you can:
- Fine-tune messaging to ensure it breaks through the clutter.
- Create culturally relevant communications that connect emotionally.
- Identify and “own” specific messaging territories, reducing the risk of costly missteps.
In an era where consumer attention is scarce and missteps can be damaging, you can’t afford to skip message testing. With conversational insights, you can move beyond traditional approaches and gain the depth of understanding you need to create messages that truly resonate.
Interested in learning more about how our conversational message testing can help your brand stand out? Watch a recording of our masterclass webinar on in-the-moment message testing or reach out to us at Reach3 Insights to chat with an expert.
