Hall Test
Market Research

Hall tests are a useful quantitative methodology adopted by DJS Research Ltd when we are looking to test reactions to concepts in controlled and neutral environments. They involve hiring a venue in a central and easily accessible location. Our hall test team at DJS Research is led by Anthea Thompson, who has overall responsibility for our field department.

One of the key benefits of hall test market research methodologies is the ability to present respondents with stimuli - such as advertising, food or drink, or products like shoes for instance. Respondents can then respond to these stimuli live, with the item in front of them, allowing much more opportunity to engage with the product and explain to the researcher the positive and negative aspects of it in detail.

For instance, if we take the example of a television advertisement, during a hall test a respondent would be able to pause the video at the exact point at which they didn't understand the point the advert was making, or at which point they felt the tone was annoying or overly sales orientated, for instance.

Potential respondents are recruited prior to the hall, usually in street, before being brought into the venue to undertake the test and complete an interview. This method is very cost effective and can generate numerous respondents per day depending upon location, target audience and the length and complexity of the subject area.

DJS Research have vast experience in completing hall test market research for a wide-range of clients. We have utilised this methodology to test respondents' reaction to new flavours of crisps and to test the taste and texture of cakes which utilised enzymes in order to retain moistness. The second of these examples was conducted under very strict hygiene conditions, and the hall test location was streamed live to the client via webcam. One of the larger projects we have covered in this area is detailed below.

Hall Test Market Research - Case Study

Our client is a manufacturer of a number of effects which can be added to yarn and other fibres to make fabrics wrinkle-free. In order to understand customer attitudes to this, DJS Research carried out hall tests in India, the UK and the USA. The research covered a large number of respondents (800 in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore alone) and respondents were shown swatches of both treated and untreated fabrics. We were responsible for the recruitment of participants in all three countries, and conducting the Hall tests themselves. Following the research, we were able to make actionable recommendations to our client about the course of action to be pursued in each country.

At the same time as running a traditional hall test, we are also able to undertake "quali hall tests" whereby our Senior Researchers conduct more qualitative interviews (i.e. in-depth interviews lasting around 30 minutes in length).