In-context ad testing for music streaming, now in HMM Pro

HMM Pro now tests video, banner and audio ads inside a realistic music streaming app, so brands can see how people respond to an ad where they actually encounter it. ‍

Why context changes the result

‍A lot of creative testing still shows people an ad on its own, with nothing else around it. Nobody sees ads that way. In the market, an ad competes with everything else for a few seconds of attention.

Testing in isolation measures a moment that never happens. People give the ad more attention than they would in real life and react differently as a result, so brands can end up backing the wrong creative.

The platform matters too. Our results consistently show that the same creative performs very differently from one environment to the next: an ad that builds brand lift in online video won’t necessarily do the same in social. A strong result on one platform tells you little about how the ad will do on another.

‍At Human Made Machine, we test every ad in the environment it will actually run in, from social feeds to skippable video. Each environment recreates the platform, so the ad is one part of what people see and not the obvious focus. 

Testing in a music streaming app

The newest environment in HMM Pro simulates popular music streaming apps. Brands can test:

• Video ads
• Banner ads
• Audio ads

For video and banner ads, the audience opens a realistic music app and comes across the ad just as they would while listening. Because the ad shows up as part of the experience, people react more like they would naturally.

Here’s what audiences see:

Audio ads need a different setup. Most people listen while doing something else, so we test audio ads in a separate environment that plays the ad while people browse a simulated social media feed. That gives the ad the same divided attention it gets in real life, which shows whether it can still stand out.

What this means for brands

When the test conditions match real life, the results are more reliable. Brands can see which creative will work in a music app, or in any other ad environment, before they commit to media spend.

To see what in-context testing looks like in practice, download an example HMM Pro report: