Testing counts as much as the idea
of the marks go to testing with real people and what changed because of it, the same weight as the concept itself. A team can't win on looks alone.
From a finished video to a tested prototype
Version 1 · October
- Teams film real phones running the real product, so the ads match what launches.
- A demo account per team, an assets pack (end card, logos, safe-zone templates) and a rough-cut check-in.
- One polished video per team.
Version 2 · 3 November
- Prototype with AI first: a storyboard and an audio spot.
- Test it on 10+ people from the audience, with one action they can take.
- Pitch the concept, the results and what a real shoot would need.
The client doesn't need a nice video. It needs to know which message makes people act, before it pays for a shoot.
Five steps, each one taught
- Brief
One audience per team (fans who share music, artists, labels or venues), the end line and the ad rules.
- Compare AI tools
Two or three tools at each stage (script, voice, image, video, music), logged for cost, time, quality, the plan used, and what each did well and badly.
- Prototype
A storyboard and an audio-first spot. A short animatic is optional.
- Test
At least 10 people from the audience, plus one action they can take. Record what landed, what confused people, and whether they understood who pays whom.
- Pitch to the client
The concept, the results, what changed because of them, and what a real shoot would need: cast, locations and a rough budget.
| Judged on | Weight |
|---|---|
| Concept | 30% |
| Audience testing and what was learned | 30% |
| AI tool comparison | 20% |
| Readiness for a real shoot | 20% |
A recording guide and a consent sheet
Students would be testing on strangers in pubs, shops and on campus, so I wrote them a one-page consent sheet and a recording guide, ready for a solicitor to check.
Who
- Adults only, from the team's audience.
- First name and age group only.
Recording
- Screen and voice, only with consent.
- Faces only with a separate yes.
- Deleted within 3 months.
The tap test
- Testers answer "Would you use this?" on their own phone.
- Anonymous, one answer per phone.
- Teams see totals, not answers.
Thank-yous
- The same for everyone, whatever they say.
- Never called a prize or a draw.
- Nothing that could be passed on or leaked.
A competition that runs on the product
- Registration through the site's preview gate, open to students while the rest of the site stays closed.
- A demo account per team, with a film mode: every pick is labelled as an ad, codes are fake, and buy buttons go to a "this is a demo" sheet.
- A team page with the tap-test link and live totals.
- An entrant pack with an assets pack and kick-off sessions.
- An outreach list of advertising and design courses in Cardiff, with a draft email to each offering it as a live brief.
Numbers set before launch
Demand
Enough students register and form teams.
Completion
Enough teams hand in tested work, not just a video.
Evidence
Every entry meets the 10-tester rule, with consent handled properly.
Client value
The client takes at least one concept further.
Price
Entrants say what they'd pay for this as a course.
Mark the learning, not the polish
Then → Now
Then: a competition judged on the finished video. Now: judged as much on testing as on the idea, because that's what a client can use.
Then → Now
Then: a course planned on paper. Now: the course is the competition, so it's tested with real students before anyone pays for it.