Run an Ad Recall test

Whether people remember whose ad it was, asked unprompted first and then from a short list of real brands.

Ad Recall asks the memory question: after watching, does anyone know whose ad that was?

What it measures

The primary question shows a short list of brands, and the verdict is decided on the share of people who pick yours. A rate, not an average. Before the list appears, participants are asked to name the brand from memory with no options in front of them, which is the stricter read and is kept as a verbatim beside the score. The card labels this set research-backed.

What people are asked

• "Without looking back, what brand was this for?" in their own words, asked first and deliberately unaided.
• "Which brand do you think this was for?" from a short list of your brand, two other brands, and a "Not sure" option. This is the question the verdict rests on. You replace the placeholder names with real ones before launch, and a test will not start while any placeholder is still there.
• "How memorable was this?" on a 1 to 7 scale from "Not memorable" to "Very memorable".

When to pick it

Pick Ad Recall when branding is what changed between versions: where the logo lands, how early the name is said, whether the product is on screen when the line hits. Skip it when the brand appears identically in both versions, because then it is not the variable. If the question is how quickly people knew rather than whether they remembered, that is Brand Attribution. If you have one finished piece and want to know whether it moved recall at all rather than which of two cuts is better, run Brand lift.

What the verdict looks like

A winner on the recall rate is named only when both groups reached the size committed at launch, dropout was balanced, and the gap stands clear of chance. Recall rates run low in absolute terms, so plan for a sample that can separate two low rates rather than being surprised by a near tie. See Understanding your verdict.

What it cannot tell you

Picking your brand from a list is aided recall, and it is a softer standard than naming it unprompted, which is why the open answer is asked first. Recall also predicts effectiveness weakly: it is a memory measure, not a verdict on whether the ad works. And it is measured moments after a single viewing, so it says nothing about what survives a week.

Formats

Ad Recall is available on video tests and on audio tests.