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? It carries the heaviest composite weight at 25%.
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?
Read the score bands
Individual KPI scores fall into three bands:
- Strong: 70 and above. The dimension is working
- Moderate: 45 to 69. Usable, but worth reading against the benchmark before you rely on it
- Weak: below 45. Structural problem. Two or more KPIs in this band send the whole creative to a Rebuild verdict
The band matters more than the exact digit. A 71 and a 74 are the same conversation. A 44 and a 46 are not, because the first one counts toward a Rebuild trigger.
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.
Always check the sample size shown alongside the percentile. A percentile drawn from a thin category slice is orientation rather than a verdict, which is why the report shows the count instead of hiding it.
Use the benchmark tool when a stakeholder needs more detail on how norm context should be interpreted.
What the score is not
A KPI score is a model prediction validated against public engagement and click-intent outcomes. It is not a forecast of sales, ROAS, attributed conversion, or brand recall.
This matters in the room. "Sell Proposition scored 62" is a statement about how legibly the commercial reason reads, not a prediction of how many people will buy. Teams that blur those two things end up either over-trusting a good score or over-reacting to a soft one.
The fastest reading order
If you only have two minutes in a review:
- Read the overall decision cue
- Identify the strongest KPI
- Identify the weakest KPI
- Check whether benchmark context reinforces or softens the conclusion
- 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. The composite already weights them
- 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 comparison when two creatives are both viable and the decision is about which one wins. Use BuyerLens 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.