Definition of copy testing

measuring the effectiveness of the message in advertisements and commercials; often used when introducing a new product of repositioning a product, in order to test one kind of appeal over another, one product benefit over another, or perhaps one price over another. There are many different methods of copy testing, such as hidden offers, consumer-jury panels, split runs in publications, or area testing, which is the running of a small campaign in a midsize town representative of the marketplace. Copy testing is also done before launching a campaign, in order to test concepts. The purpose of copy testing is to find and eliminate the negative elements in an advertisement or campaign so as to achieve maximum effectiveness from the advertising.