Definition of pretest

testing of copy, design, marketing strategies, research methodology, or any other element of a campaign before launching. Pretesting is performed to determine which execution of a campaign is most productive and/or if the chosen research design is optimal. For example, an advertiser may pretest consumer reactions to a new product by displaying point-of-purchase samples in selected store locations, before a national campaign is launched. Pretesting is commonly used for methods of gathering data, since questionnaires, interviewer instructions, and interviewers' capabilities are frequently prone to subjective interpretation and may invalidly skew results. For example, how respondents would interpret and reply to questions is frequently pretested by using personal interviews.