Experimental marketing is probably cheaper than failing

"Experimentation in marketing is almost a century old, and there have been some world changing examples along the way. Pepsodent toothpaste got the ball rolling by testing the effectiveness of magazine and newspaper ads in the 1920s using nothing more than coupon copy. Predictably, it took a science-based company to pioneer these first A/B split tests and Google use exactly the same principles today to optimise AdWords. And how can anyone overlook the impact that the first Pepsi Challenge taste test had in 1975?"

"Their solution showed how experimentation can be cost effective by working with their packaging; at first increasing the box size and filler, latterly experimenting with box labelling like 'fragile' and 'this way up'. But their most effective solution was packaging their bikes up like they were a TV. In a box, marked TV! Fragile! They even printed a TV on the side of the box. All to make the delivery guys treat the packages with care."

Experimentation in marketing dates back nearly a century, with Pepsodent testing magazine and newspaper coupon ads in the 1920s and the Pepsi Challenge revealing taste-test power in 1975. Science-based A/B split tests underpin modern digital advertising such as AdWords optimization. Many companies underutilize testing of creative, messaging, and propositions despite digital accessibility and established web optimization culture. VanMoof used a real-time research framework to iteratively test packaging—changing box size, filler, labels, and finally disguising bikes as TVs—to reduce damage during delivery. Simple, low-cost experiments produced measurable improvements and a new productized packaging offering.

Read at The Drum