Message & Content Testing

Communications Research Services

Brandspeak delivers B2C and B2B communications research that evaluates how concepts, messages and different types of information perform across packaging, print, digital and in-store channels, from the first written idea to the finished brochure, web page or set of instructions.

Our work supports the development of clearer, more engaging communications that reflect brand intent and meet audience expectations.

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Why Brandspeak for Communications Research

Whereas advertising research determines whether a piece of creative persuades, communications research asks whether information is noticed, read, understood, believed and acted upon. That applies equally to ideas still in words, such as a product concept, proposition or name, and to finished material, such as a financial product brochure with performance charts or a set of instructions. Brandspeak carries out communications research in every sector, from FMCG and retail to healthcare and B2B.

This kind of material almost always makes sense to the people who produced it. Problems tend to surface only after it has been designed, printed and distributed, when they are expensive to fix and have already cost the brand enquiries, applications or sales.

Brandspeak puts the audience in the room before that point, testing how people notice, navigate, read and respond. The result is evidence, rather than opinion, on what to progress, what to strengthen and what to cut, together with clear recommendations on how to make each improvement.

Brandspeak has been delivering communications research for over 20 years. We are AQR and Market Research Society members, the UK's professional bodies for market research.

The Benefits of Communications Research

Investing in communications research before launch improves the effectiveness of your marketing spend and reduces the risk of costly mistakes.

Sharper Concepts and Communications Before Launch

Concept testing reveals how your target audience responds to a new product or service concept while it is still in written or spoken form, showing what is understood, believed and valued, and why.

The same applies to early-stage evaluation of content for brochures, web ads, product documents and customer service emails. In both cases, research ensures that what you take forward into design, development or final production has the strongest chance of success.

Optimise Content Clarity And Resonance

Communications research identifies where content is unclear or overlooked, and makes sure that text, charts, diagrams and instructions are noticed, easy to follow, quickly understood and more likely to be remembered.

Ensure Communications Alignment With Strategic Objectives

Communications research checks whether each execution fulfils its intended role within the wider marketing strategy, so communications reinforce priorities and support the outcomes the organisation is aiming for.

Protect And Reinforce Brand Equity

Communications research assesses how well brand personality, values and cues land, so every execution strengthens credibility and builds recognition rather than diluting it.

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Communications Research Methods

Brandspeak uses focus groups and depth interviews, workshops, eye-tracking, implicit testing and online surveys to evaluate concepts and communications. Qualitative methods explain how audiences read and interpret an idea or a piece of material; quantitative and behavioural methods measure what is noticed, how it is understood and how it performs at scale. Together they give a clear read on what is working and what needs to change.

Focus Groups & Depth Interviews

Explore the audience's communication needs, perceptions and behaviours in rich qualitative detail.

Workshopping and Co-creation

Work collaboratively with participants to understand the impact of existing communications and develop new ones.

Eye-Tracking & Visual Attention Testing

Measure where audiences look, what they read and what they miss on a page, pack or screen, revealing whether key information is noticed at all.

Implicit Testing

Measure instinctive attitudes and emotional reactions to communications at scale for clear, reliable evidence.

Online Surveys

Capture statistically reliable communications feedback to quantify understanding and impact.

Communications Research Services

Brandspeak's communications research services help organisations evaluate ideas and refine marketing, sales and customer materials with evidence-based insight at key development and optimisation stages. They include:

Concept testing evaluates an idea while it is still expressed in words, before it is designed, produced or launched.

The idea may be a new product or service, a proposition, a name, a price or promotional offer, or the central thought behind a communication.

Testing establishes how clearly the concept is understood, how relevant and credible its claims are, how it compares with what the audience uses today and whether people would buy it, sign up to it or act on it. Where several concepts are in play, it identifies which to progress and how each could be strengthened, so that design and development budget goes to the ideas most likely to succeed.

What a brand means to say and what an audience takes away are not always the same. Messaging research tests how people interpret your communications, whether the message is relevant to them and where wording causes confusion or lacks impact. By comparing alternative versions, it shows which copy works best, so decisions rest on evidence rather than preference.

Visual communication analysis evaluates how layout, hierarchy and design affect what people notice, read and understand.

It is particularly valuable for detailed material, such as a financial product brochure with performance graphs, a flowchart or a set of step-by-step instructions, where the audience has to find, interpret and act on information rather than simply absorb a message.

Eye-tracking shows exactly which elements are seen and which are passed over, pinpointing anything that slows scanning, distracts or obscures key information.

The findings guide decisions on structure and visual emphasis across packaging, websites, emails, social content and marketing materials.

In packaging research, the same approach establishes whether a pack conveys its intended message and stands out on shelf.

Brand communications evaluation explores how well tone, character, values and brand cues come through in content. It can take the form of a communications audit of existing materials, or a test of new executions with relevant audiences. Either way it identifies alignment gaps and shows which elements strengthen brand expression across channels and touchpoints.

How to Get Your Insights

As a full service market research agency we support research in 40+ global markets, working with native-speaking moderators and trusted in-market partners to ensure cultural accuracy and insight quality. Wherever your audience is, we can reach them and deliver insight that drives better decisions.

Step One

Fill in the form and click submit.

Step Two

Our team will contact you within 24 hours.

Step Three

We learn about your needs and goals and how to achieve them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Communications research, sometimes called communications testing or message testing, evaluates whether a communication does its job: whether its audience notices it, reads it, understands it, believes it and acts on it. The communication might be a concept, a headline, a pack, a web page, an email or, to take one example, a financial product brochure with performance charts and account-opening instructions; the same principles apply in every sector.

It is used before design and production budget is committed, or before existing material is reissued, so that unclear content, overlooked information and off-brand executions are identified while they are still inexpensive to change.

Concept testing evaluates an idea while it is still expressed in words, before it is designed or built. The idea may be a new product or service, a proposition, a name, a price or promotional offer, or the central thought behind a communication. It measures how clearly the concept is understood, how relevant and credible it is, and whether it generates intent to buy or take it up, and it shows which of several concepts to progress and how to strengthen them.

Advertising research follows a piece of advertising creative through its development, from creative routes and animatics to finished film and in-market tracking, and asks whether it persuades.

Communications research asks whether a communication works as information: whether a concept is understood, whether a brochure's charts and instructions are read and followed, whether a pack says what it is meant to. It covers concepts, messages, packaging, web pages, sales materials and customer communications. The two are complementary, and a concept or message tested here is often the starting point for the advertising that follows.

Written concepts, propositions and names; packaging; print, brochures and direct mail, including material that carries performance data, graphs, flowcharts and instructions; web and product pages; emails; sales and B2B collateral; social content; and point-of-sale, in-store and on-screen messaging. The approach adapts to the audience, whether the communication is aimed at consumers or at business decision-makers.

Both have a role, and the question being asked usually decides which. Qualitative methods, such as focus groups, depth interviews and workshops explain how an idea or a piece of material is read, where it is misunderstood and how it could be strengthened.

Quantitative and behavioural methods, such as online surveys, implicit testing and eye-tracking, measure clarity, appeal and impact at scale. They show which elements are noticed and which are missed, and allow concepts or messages to be ranked with statistical confidence.

Allow three weeks or more for a qualitative test of concepts, messages or materials and three weeks or more for a quantitative test. Timings depend on the number of concepts or executions, markets and audiences involved, so it is worth involving the research team while the development schedule is still being set.

Communications research evaluates a specific concept, message or asset before or shortly after it launches. Brand tracking measures how brand perceptions and buyer behaviour move over time. The two work together: communications research shapes what goes out, and tracking shows the cumulative effect once it has.

Brandspeak brings over 20 years of communications and concept testing experience, senior director-level involvement on every project, and a focus on whether a communication will be noticed, understood, believed and acted upon rather than simply whether it is liked. We are AQR and Market Research Society members.