1) Testing marketing campaigns is not a simple affair and I *think* most may be doing it incorrectly. Evolution could offer a way out of the dilemma.
2) If as Heraclitus says “one cannot step into the same river twice” why should we create tests that ASSUME the future river is the same one we just stepped into? Test results are at BEST impermanent.
3) Given the fast moving current of the river, do you really want to test one variable at a time and assume you can freeze all other variables? Plus, changing one variable has 2nd and 3rd order effects that are susceptible to initial conditions of the test.
4) One rationale for testing one variable at a time is the refrain, “if we test more variables than one, how can we know which variable led to success…or failure?”
5) Simple answer is that you fool yourself MOST of the time with false narratives anyway. It is prudent to ASSUME YOU CANNOT KNOW what was the REASON for success and be content to measure results.
6) Remember that results are temporary. What works today may not work tomorrow. Evolutionary success does not imply future success. Does Nature test one variable at a time? Possibly, but the fossil record may not support gradualism
7) If one gives up the ghost of pretending to know why something works for the glory THAT something works, you are freed from the tyranny of gradualism. You are more likely to stumble to success as @Mdvex says
8) Spend time dreaming hypotheses to test rather than freezing a fast moving river and fooling yourself that the future resembles the past. Test multiple variables at the same time and stumble on to a winning combination
