Performance creative research

Performance creative research identifies a buyer question, checks whether the business can answer it accurately, and gives the creative team a message opportunity with clear limits. Start with the decision a customer is making. Gather customer accounts, enquiries, product information and competing messages, then keep observations separate from interpretations.

Define the buying question

Name the situation rather than relying on a broad audience label. “People checking whether a storage unit will fit a particular space” gives the team a question to investigate; “homeowners” does not.

Write down the product version, market and decision stage. A delivery question from an existing customer may mean something different from the same question asked before purchase.

Gather evidence with its limits intact

Record the source, date, product version and context of each observation. Keep exact customer wording in the research record, but do not present a research note as a public testimonial. A recurring phrase may suggest a theme; it does not prove that the whole market shares it.

Identify an answer the business can give

Group observations by the question behind them. Several comments about measurements could concern room fit, doorway access or compatibility with another item. Those require different information.

Compare each candidate concern with current product or service records. Can the business give a dependable answer, and can a buyer inspect it? If the answer is missing, improving the product information or process may come before advertising it.

A competitor review may reveal a question absent from the particular material inspected. Treat that absence as a lead to investigate, not a finding about the entire market. Develop the response from your own offer and evidence.

Record which evidence supports the proposed answer and what remains unverified.

Check existing research first

Before collecting new material, check whether relevant research already exists. business.gov.au recommends looking at government data, industry and market reports, news articles, and trade or industry associations.

Match the information you consult to the market and question in your research brief.

Key Australian sources for performance creative research

Match inputs to the question

Turn the buying question into a short research brief by stating what you need to learn. business.gov.au identifies customers and what they want, products or services and what people think of them, competitors, business location and local area, and industry trends as possible research areas. Select the areas that bear on the customer’s decision rather than gathering material without a defined use.

Keep different kinds of inputs distinct when drawing conclusions. A report about an industry trend can provide context, while product records can check what the business currently offers; neither, by itself, answers every customer question. Record which input supports each part of your interpretation so the creative handoff does not turn context into a product-specific claim.

Keep research in use

business.gov.au recommends making market research an ongoing part of the business plan and operations. Revisit the research brief when the product, service or market context changes, and identify which observations need fresh checking before they inform a new creative opportunity.

Hand off a bounded opportunity

For a promising theme, record the observed question and its context, your interpretation of the decision behind it, the verified answer, any product or location limits, and a possible next step for the buyer. Mark uncertainty plainly. One interviewee asking about delivery access does not establish that access is the leading purchase barrier.

For an Australian ad, compare the full impression created by its words, images and qualifications with the evidence available. A demonstration of one configuration should not imply the same result for every configuration.

Prioritise a theme when the question matters to a buying decision and the business has a supportable answer. Set it aside when the observation is ambiguous, the relevant product is unavailable or the answer still needs verification. Pass the evidence and remaining uncertainty to the creative team without presenting a message hypothesis as a proven result.

Keep a record of the material behind any factual claim considered for an ad. The ACCC can require businesses to back up claims about their products or services. It accepts reports about possible misleading or false claims and uses them to inform its education, compliance and enforcement work. It may investigate and take compliance or enforcement action if a business misleads.