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System1 Test Your Ad vs facial coding
System1 and EchoDepth both test how people feel about an ad, but they measure it differently. System1's Test Your Ad asks viewers to choose how the ad made them feel, using its FaceTrace self-report method, and turns those answers into a Star Rating for long-term brand growth, a Spike Rating for short-term sales and a Fluency Rating for brand recognition. Its Screen product predicts results in minutes without new viewers. EchoDepth measures the face instead of asking about it. Consenting viewers watch on their own webcam and we code 44 Action Units on every frame, then report valence, arousal and dominance second by second as an Emotional Response Curve. Choose System1 if you want its norms and a star rating your stakeholders already use. Choose EchoDepth if you want to see the involuntary reaction behind each moment, with a published method you can check.
Updated 17 October 2026 by Jonathan Prescott, Founder, Cavefish.
How System1 Test Your Ad works
System1 describes Test Your Ad as “the world’s most predictive ad test”. Here is what sits behind its ratings, from System1’s own pages.
- Star Rating1 to 5.9
- Predicts long-term market share growth from the types of emotion viewers report. System1 says 5 Stars means 3% or more long-term brand growth potential. (PPC Land, System1)
- Spike Rating
- Short-term sales potential, combining emotional intensity with how quickly viewers identify the brand. (System1)
- Fluency Rating
- The share of viewers who correctly name the brand. (System1)
- FaceTrace
- A second-by-second emotion trace built from self-report: viewers “self-select how the ad made them feel”. It is not webcam facial coding. (System1)
- Test Your Ad Screen
- A predictive screen that returns results “in minutes” for up to 100 assets, before testing with people. (System1)
System1 and EchoDepth side by side
Both answer “how does this ad make people feel?”. They differ in how the feeling is captured and how open the score is.
| How emotion is captured | Main outputs | Score construction published? | Pricing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| System1 Test Your Ad | Self-report: viewers choose how the ad made them feel (FaceTrace) | Star, Spike and Fluency ratings, second-by-second FaceTrace | No | Contact System1 |
| System1 Screen | Predicted by a model, no new viewers | Predicted ratings in minutes | No | Contact System1 |
| EchoDepth | Measured: 44 FACS Action Units coded from each viewer's webcam, frame by frame | Emotional Response Curve (valence, arousal, dominance from 44 AUs) and the Cavefish Emotional Index from viewers' post-view answers | Yes, the method is published | Quote per study |
System1 details are from system1group.com/test-your-ad and system1group.com/ad-testing-platform in October 2026. System1 says its brand-growth prediction is validated against the IPA Effectiveness Awards databank and that it uses ISO 20252 and MRS standards.
When System1 is the better choice
- You need a star rating
- Your organisation already benchmarks ads on Star Ratings and wants comparability with past tests.
- You want a growth prediction
- System1 positions the Star Rating as a predictor of long-term market share growth, validated against the IPA databank.
- You need very fast screening
- Screen predicts results in minutes across up to 100 assets, before any human test.
- You test many formats
- System1 lists TV, social, audio, print and outdoor.
When EchoDepth is the better fit
- You want to see what viewers’ faces actually did, not only what they chose to report afterwards.
- You need to know which second, scene or line caused a reaction, down to the Action Units involved.
- Your analysts want results they can check: the AU-to-emotion mapping and response-curve calculation are published.
- You want a managed study with a debrief, on a sample of 15 or more viewers per audience segment.
See how the scores are built in our methodology, or read how a study runs on the ad testing page.
Is System1 FaceTrace facial coding?
No. System1 describes FaceTrace as a method where viewers self-select how the ad made them feel. It records reported emotion rather than coding facial movements from a webcam. EchoDepth codes 44 FACS Action Units from each consenting viewer's webcam while they watch.
What is the best alternative to System1 Test Your Ad?
It depends on what you need. If you want a predicted growth rating, Kantar LINK AI and iMotions Predictive AI also predict results without new viewers. If you want measured facial response from real viewers with the scoring published, EchoDepth is built for that.
Can I use System1 and EchoDepth together?
Yes. Some teams use a predictive or self-report test to shortlist ideas, then a measured facial coding study on the finalists to understand moment by moment why one edit works better than another.
Does EchoDepth give a star rating?
No. EchoDepth reports a second-by-second Emotional Response Curve (valence, arousal and dominance from 44 coded Action Units) and the Cavefish Emotional Index, a 0 to 100 score read from what viewers say after watching, banded Strong, Good, Watch or Act. The method is published on our methodology page.
How many viewers does an EchoDepth ad test use?
EchoDepth recommends 15 or more viewers per audience segment for each ad or edit. Every group you want to report on separately, such as under-35s and over-35s, is its own segment and needs its own 15.
Test your next ad on real viewers
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