The Advertising Hallway Test

Being an advertising client is tough. Especially if you don't trust your gut.

Say you are presented with three concepts. You like different ones for different reasons. One is funny, but you wonder if the humor is too "inside". One is super smart, but you wonder if it's too boring. The third one is a little quirky and very campaignable, but you wonder if it's too off brand. How do you decide which one to go with?

Step one: Trust your agency.

Step two: Avoid the hallway test. You know which test I'm talking about. It's the one where you walk around your workplace with the boards and take the pulse of your co-workers. Here are just a few of the many reasons why:

1) Consensus isn’t compatible with quality creative work. Too many opinions dilute good ideas.
2) The context of the ad placement is half the experience. And the hallway test subject's ability to imagine themselves in the context is generally not as good as you might think.
3) Since they are fellow employees, subjects are too close to the product to view the work “objectively” (especially fellow marketers) Better to talk to “man on the street”.
4) The advertising’s number one job is to compete for and get attention. Not so in the hallway test.
5) Hallway people tend to gravitate toward things they are familiar with. Uncreative ideas do better in the hallway test. I don't know why.
6) They will try to impress the hallway presenter with their critical thinking skills. Critical = tearing down.
7) The hallway person is afraid of looking dumb. The surest way for that to happen is to say they "like it" when 9 other people might find fault with it. They start playing, "Find the flaw."

What to do? See step one. If you're still not sure, talk out your fears and concerns with your agency. See what they have to say. At the end of the day, though, you need to choose based on what you think. And that's why it's a tough job. You take the glory. You take the blame. Ain't it great.