How to Interpret RoastIQ KPI Scores

RoastIQ is most useful when the score changes a decision. The mistake teams make is treating a single number as the answer instead of reading the score in context.

This guide explains how to read the five KPI scores, when to look at the benchmark label, and how to turn the report into a next step your team can actually act on.

Start with the question, not the number

Every RoastIQ report is answering a slightly different business question:

• Is this creative strong enough to scale?
• Is the opening losing attention too early?
• Is the product promise clear enough to keep?
• Is the brand getting credit for the asset?

If the team does not agree on the decision first, the score will feel more objective than it really is.

What each KPI is doing

Beat the Skip

This is the first-seconds question. Does the opening earn enough attention to stop a fast scroll or passive view?

Get Noticed

This score checks whether the creative establishes presence strongly enough to be mentally registered rather than ignored.

Brand Impact

This is the brand linkage question. The ad can be visually strong and still fail if the brand does not get credited clearly enough.

Sell Proposition

This score is about the commercial ask. Is the product reason, benefit, or offer landing clearly enough to support action?

Build Brand

This is the longer-memory layer. Does the creative add something ownable to brand meaning rather than just filling time?

How to read the benchmark label

The benchmark label matters because the same raw score can mean different things depending on the format and context. A mid-range score on a short-form platform may be more acceptable than the same score on a longer, information-led format.

Use the benchmarks page when a stakeholder needs more detail on how norm context should be interpreted.

The fastest reading order

If you only have two minutes in a review:

1. Read the overall decision cue.
2. Identify the strongest KPI.
3. Identify the weakest KPI.
4. Check whether benchmark context reinforces or softens the conclusion.
5. Move immediately to the recommended next action.

This prevents the meeting from drifting into score theatre.

What to avoid

• Do not average every KPI into one homemade score.
• Do not treat benchmark context as a replacement for strategy.
• Do not use one good KPI to excuse one clearly weak KPI if the weak one is tied to the business objective.
• Do not skip the qualitative explanation tied to the score.

When to escalate the workflow

Use Compare when two creatives are both viable and the decision is about which one wins. Use Synthetic Users when the first report reveals a tension the team wants to pressure-test before human research.

If you are still new to the workflow, the getting started guide gives the cleanest first-run sequence.