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TikTok, Reels and Shorts ad testing
TikTok ad testing before launch shows your vertical ad to real viewers and measures their response, second by second, before you put money behind it. Short-form ads win or lose in the opening seconds, so the question is whether the hook earns attention before someone scrolls on. EchoDepth plays your ad in vertical 9:16 format, the ratio TikTok recommends, to viewers matched to your audience, 15 or more per audience segment. Each viewer watches at home on their own webcam after giving consent. We code their facial response against 44 FACS Action Units on every frame and plot it second by second as an Emotional Response Curve of valence, arousal and dominance. You see which opening works, whether a creator-style edit beats a brand-produced one, and where interest fades. The same test works for Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
Updated 17 October 2026. Platform details checked against TikTok Ads Help: In-feed ad specifications.
Vertical formats you can test
Every format is shown to viewers at its native aspect ratio and length.
- TikTok in-feed ads
- TikTok recommends vertical 9:16 video. We play your ad full-screen at that ratio.
- Instagram Reels ads
- Vertical, full-screen and sound-led, tested the same way.
- YouTube Shorts ads
- Vertical ads that sit between organic Shorts. Longer YouTube formats are covered on the YouTube page.
- Creator and UGC edits
- Test a creator-style cut against your brand-produced version, each with a separate group of viewers.
What you can learn
Every finding traces back to a moment in your ad and the facial movements behind it.
- The first seconds
- Whether the opening lifts response straight away, or faces stay flat while viewers wait for something to happen.
- Creator vs brand style
- Which approach your audience responds to more warmly, measured rather than guessed.
- Sound and captions
- Compare a sound-led edit with a captioned version that doesn't depend on audio.
- Brand timing
- How viewers react when the product or logo appears, and whether an early reveal costs attention.
- Where it fades
- The second the curve falls away, so you know where to cut a long edit.
How an EchoDepth test works for this format
Remote and browser-based, managed for you from brief to debrief.
Send the edits
Two or three openings, or creator and brand versions of the same ad.
Match the audience
Testers matched to your targeting: age, gender, region and interests.
Watch at home
Vertical, full-screen playback in the browser, webcam on, after consent.
Pick the winner
Second-by-second Emotional Response Curve for each edit, with the moments that separated them.
Pre-test or live test?
They answer different questions. Most teams need both.
| Pre-test with EchoDepth | Live test in market | |
|---|---|---|
| When it happens | Before launch | While the ads are live |
| What it tells you | Why one edit works better, moment by moment | Which edit wins on the platform's metrics |
| Cost of learning | The study fee | Media spent on the losing edits |
| Limits | Not a live feed; viewers know they're in a study | Results arrive after spend, and say little about why |
Pre-testing and in-platform split tests answer different questions. A TikTok or Meta A/B test tells you which live ad won on clicks or conversions, after you've paid for the media. A pre-test tells you why an edit works before you spend, but viewers know they're in a study, so it isn't a live feed. Many teams pre-test to choose two strong edits, then split-test those two in the platform.
Questions
How the measurement works is set out in the methodology. For other formats, see YouTube ad testing and TV ad pre-testing, or the ad testing overview.
How do you test a TikTok ad before launching it?
Show it to a matched sample before it goes live and measure their response. EchoDepth plays your ad vertically to 15 or more consenting viewers per audience segment on their own webcam, codes their facial response on every frame and shows which opening and which edit work best.
Should I pre-test or just A/B test on TikTok?
Use both for different jobs. A pre-test explains why an edit works before you spend; an in-platform split test tells you which live ad wins on clicks or conversions. Pre-testing first means your split test compares two strong edits instead of paying to learn which weak one lost.
Can you test Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts ads too?
Yes. All three are vertical, full-screen formats and are tested the same way, at native aspect ratio.
Can you compare a creator-style ad with a brand-produced one?
Yes. Each version is shown to a separate group of viewers, so neither colours the response to the other, and you see where the two curves part.
Do you test with the sound on?
We play ads with sound by default, and can test a captioned, sound-off version alongside it so you can see how much the edit relies on audio.