Test messages before they go public: BrainE4 for communications consultancies

You know which message carries before your client takes it public.

Your client wants to know whether a campaign, a ballot proposal or a sensitive announcement will land. In the dialogue, hundreds of people affected write anonymously what they think and weigh messages and counter-arguments in direct comparison. We mix your variants in covertly. You see what convinces and what costs trust.

After 21 days you have the arguments your client wins with. And the ones that hurt.

Proven with more than 60 clients in business, public administration & politics. On average, our clients did not know 8 of the 10 strongest contributions.

What you deliver to your clients

1. Tested messages: Your claims compete covertly with the target group's arguments. Whatever ends up on top has prevailed in many comparisons.

2. Counter-arguments first: You know the objections before the other side phrases them. With the number of people who share them.

3. Your audience's language: Wording people choose themselves goes straight into the campaign, the press release and the Q&A.

Your business case as a partner

• More mandate, not less: The dialogue complements your consulting. You interpret, position and implement. We deliver data your client wouldn't otherwise have.

• Less gut feeling in the pitch: Instead of «we believe» you show a ranking with reasons. That convinces sceptical boards too.

• No workload for your team: We handle moderation, analysis and the report. Under your name if you wish.

How it works

• Strategy workshop: Three hours with you and your client. We arrive with a concept and set the questions and variants.

• Launch: Within 48 hours the dialogue space is ready. We write the invitation, your client sends it.

• Dialogue: Three weeks, moderated daily. Every contribution is checked, you follow along live.

• Result: Report and one-pager for you and your client. The recommendation and presentation stay with you.

Why BrainE4 is different

• No focus group effect: Without a counterpart nobody says what they think they ought to say. And the loudest don't dominate the table.

• More than a survey: A survey counts votes for set answers. Here people write their own arguments, and the others weigh them.

• Confidential: Nothing goes public during the dialogue. The results reach your client first. What they communicate is their decision.

• Insight Guarantee: In the strategy workshop we record six assumptions per question: what you expect. We mix them covertly into the contributions. If on average at least five of the top 10 are new to you, your knowledge has doubled. Otherwise we refund the dialogue.

For whom

• Communications and PR agencies: when you want to back up messages before launch.

• Public affairs consultancies: when a proposal, a campaign or a referendum campaign is coming up.

• Crisis and change communication: when you need to know which explanation reaches the people affected.

In practice

FDP Zug: Michael Brunner wanted to know what moves the people of Zug instead of guessing in the party board. He got a ranked list of the topics that matter to voters, which the party took into its election campaign. Read the interview

«That was first-class consulting, my expectations were far exceeded.» Michael Brunner, Head of Communications

20 Minuten: 1,758 participants, 111,015 Idea Duels in twelve days on the falling birth rate. The surprise: financial arguments dominate, not the social ones that set the tone in the public debate. Read the interview

«There is a wide field of application, wherever you want to find blind spots.» Daniel Waldmeier, Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Ideal for:

Campaign pre-test · Referendum campaign · Positioning · Crisis communication · Change communication · Election topics

Frequently asked questions

Does this replace our work?
No. We deliver the ranking and the arguments. Strategy, message and execution stay with you. The dialogue backs up your recommendation.

How do we test our own variants?
We mix them covertly into the contributions. Nobody can tell they came from you. At the end you see whether they hold up against the target group's arguments.

Does it stay confidential, especially before a campaign?
Nothing goes public during the dialogue, and you never see who wrote what. The results belong to your client.

Is it representative?
Through ongoing weighting we derive representative statements, with the uncertainty shown for every finding. Which characteristics are weighted is set in the workshop.

All questions and answers

See more

Video: Why questionnaires, likes and workshops only show part of the picture. Watch the video

Customer Dialogue: Communication, retention, offering. Learn more

Case study: How 20 Minuten communicated the results. Press releases

Good messages aren't made in the meeting room.
Test them where they have to work.

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