Case Study: Xero boosts brand effectiveness with System1 ad testing

System1 Ad Testing Reveals Consumer Insights to Supercharge Effectiveness of Xero’s Brand Campaign

Xero, a global small business platform, sought to understand the resonance of its new "Your business supercharged" brand campaign prior to its launch. The challenge was to refine the messaging and creative style of its ads to ensure they genuinely spoke to the needs of its small business owner target audience. To achieve this, Xero turned to vendor System1 and its Test Your Ad platform.

System1 tested the initial creative with a custom audience and provided actionable insights for optimization. The solution focused on driving stronger brand recognition, increasing message comprehension, and strengthening emotional intensity. As a result, the optimized ad secured a 1.4-star increase in its score, predicting strong brand-building potential, and achieved an 'Exceptional' Spike Rating for sales. Over 90% of viewers correctly identified the brand, and the percentage of viewers feeling neutral dropped by 41%, demonstrating a significant shift toward positive emotional engagement.

Xero

Alex Haigh

Global Head of Brand Strategy