Compare messages with a clear questionnaire

Start with a clear brief

We are comparing three headlines for the same everyday running shoe: “Comfort for your daily miles,” “One shoe. Every run.” and “Keep your routine moving.” Show the same neutral product description with each. Explore which message fits a regular running routine among U.S. adults who run at least weekly.

Questions you can adapt

Download this questionnaire (editable Markdown). The download contains the same questions and answer options shown below.

1. Which headline is most appealing for this running shoe?

   Single choice · Comfort for your daily miles; One shoe. Every run.; Keep your routine moving; None of these

   Measures the overall preference before asking readers to focus on a particular attribute.

2. Which headline makes the intended benefit clearest?

   Single choice · Comfort for your daily miles; One shoe. Every run.; Keep your routine moving; No difference between these headlines

   A clear message is not necessarily the most appealing one. Keep the two measures separate.

3. Which headline feels most relevant to a regular running routine?

   Single choice · Comfort for your daily miles; One shoe. Every run.; Keep your routine moving; None of these

   Ties relevance to the use case defined in the brief, not to an unspecified ideal customer.

4. Which headline sounds most believable for the product described?

   Single choice · Comfort for your daily miles; One shoe. Every run.; Keep your routine moving; None of these

   Measures perceived credibility. A favorable answer cannot substantiate an advertising claim.

5. Which benefit does this set of headlines emphasize most?

   Single choice · Comfort; Versatility across runs; Keeping a routine; Low price; No clear benefit

   Checks the overall message territory using predefined options. It is not an unaided interpretation of each headline.

6. How interested would you be in finding out more about this shoe after reading these headlines?

   Five-point interest · Not at all interested; Slightly interested; Moderately interested; Very interested; Extremely interested

   This evaluates the set, not a measured lift from an individual headline. Separate ratings require separate questions.

Choose what you are changing

A headline comparison is easiest to interpret when the shoe, price, image and surrounding description are unchanged. If you change the offer as well as the words, call it an offer comparison. Label alternatives neutrally; “our favorite” or “premium option” would supply an extra cue.

The final two questions deliberately concern the set. If your decision needs a score for each headline instead, replace them with separately worded ratings. Count each repetition toward the ten-question limit and decide which other question can be removed.

Look for the tradeoff behind a preference

Compare preference with clarity, relevance and credibility. A broad promise may attract interest while communicating less clearly. A specific claim may be clear but implausible for the product description. These are different editing problems: changing an adjective may not fix a mismatch between the promise and the offer.

For a worked interpretation without invented findings, imagine that one headline leads on preference and another on clarity. The next step is to test a revised line that keeps the preferred idea while making the benefit explicit. Do not report this hypothetical as an actual study result.

Plan the live campaign test separately

A survey reaction is not a click, purchase or causal estimate of campaign performance. A live campaign adds placement, creative, competition, reach and a real call to action. Use this questionnaire to decide what merits that test, then measure the campaign against its own objective.

InstaSights uses simulated consumer responses and structured answers. If you need people's spontaneous explanations, observed attention or interviews with professional buyers, choose research that actually collects that evidence. Inspect the method before choosing a study.

Before you run the study

Check every question and option against your decision. These are editable starting points, not validated instruments. A standard InstaSights study supports up to ten questions; repetitions for alternatives count separately. Confirm the proposed audience and available comparisons in the app. Individual open-ended comments are not included. Simulated responses do not establish what real customers will do.