At Level, our Test. Learn. Grow. philosophy underpins everything we do. But what exactly do we mean by this, and what makes it so effective? In short: it helps us find opportunity, focus our creativity and curiosity, and quickly adapt when needed.
Watch or listen to our latest podcast episode to hear from three of our leaders. They illustrate ways that this methodology improves business outcomes, yields insights, and keeps us agile and learning in a changing marketplace.
Welcome to The Age of Agility
Today’s marketing landscape is defined by relentless change – new technologies, fractured consumer attention, and increasingly complex buying journeys. Meanwhile, traditional marketing practices don’t change fast enough. Long planning cycles, fixed “best practices,” and gut instincts no longer cut it. To stay ahead and drive results, agility is everything. But no one wants to heavily invest in approaches that are bound to fail.
Our answer is simple: Don’t.
Brands must take a scientific approach to constantly optimize performance.
The Need for Speed
Level Agency has developed an approach called Test Learn Grow to help brands adapt at the pace of change. It combines design thinking and agile frameworks to rapidly prototype, validate, and scale marketing programs. The “Test” phase focuses on understanding audiences, goals, and formulating hypotheses. “Learn” means quickly validating assumptions through experimental campaigns before investing more deeply. In the “Grow” phase, we double down on what works while eliminating what doesn’t. This methodology enables continuous optimization, evolution, and sharp focus on the most effective strategies for each unique business.
Go Big or Go Home
Experiment design matters. When starting this process, think first about impacts on business outcomes matters. Leave minor details like button colors for later. Successful tests provide concrete insights on significant opportunities — think audience segments, major messaging approaches, and ad platforms. Once you understand your biggest opportunities to win, look for incremental gains on smaller details.
Remember: Patience is essential when it comes to validating our assumptions. But with clear objectives and metrics defined upfront, marketers can move forward with confidence once they have enough data to make decisions.
The Creative Advantage
While data should inform decisions, it should not constrain creativity. In fact, testing unlocks bolder ideas by separating professional reputation from the work. Instead of staking our creative brilliance on clever concepts or pleasing a CMO, Test. Learn. Grow. judges creative objectively: by the market. This frees creatives to take risks and enhances receptiveness to data once they see it driving results. Bottom line — human insight and emotional connections remain indispensable. Data just helps point them in the right direction.
Culture Change Required
Marketing needs to keep pace with the market. This requires fundamentally changing an organization’s cultural mindset. Failure must be embraced, not feared. If brands aren’t trying new things and failing fast, they will quickly fall behind. Complacency is the enemy. Curiosity must be insatiable, constantly questioning assumptions and pushing the boundaries of convention.
Final Word
Marketing today lies at the intersection of creativity and data-driven insight. There’s nothing patented about Level’s Test. Learn. Grow. approach. What’s unique is our culture, which quickly organizes around measurable business goals and systematically uncovers the means to achieve them. This is hard work. It requires curiosity, an open mind, discipline, and a willingness to be radically candid with our clients. Not every agency is ready to make that leap.
If you’d like to make that leap with us, we’d love to talk.
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