Market Research Tools:
Concept Testing: Brands, Price, Positioning

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Concept testing research evaluates advertising concepts, ad theme concepts and appeals, new product concepts, pricing, brand concepts, brand names, and positioning strategy concepts.

Staged Concept Testing

Staged or sequenced concept testing acknowledges the importance of the iterative creative, research, and concept refinement process involved in concept development.   We believe our concept testing research philosophy is what differentiates us from many other market research firms. These principles guide our concept development and testing study designs:

• Concept testing is both a research, and a creative concept development activity.  Testing outcomes spawn creativity so we build it in to the process.
•  In the beginning, we focus on concept development rather than screening, which comes later.
• Concept development requires an exploratory market research mode and mindset, starting first using exploratory qualitative research methods such as depth interviews among target audience members.
• We address both tangible attribute clusters, and emotional appeals when creating concepts and building concept statements.
• We move from qualitative depth interviews, to larger sample time-extended depth interviews, often employing online depth interviews which allow for repeated respondent interaction and concept incubation.
• Using a hybrid research design, we blend the qualitative research mode with quantitative concept ranking, this to refine concept development and assessment of appeal.
• Thus, our approach to screening concepts favors smaller sample multiple waves rather than one large sample wave.
• Finally, we acknowledge that a full understanding of concept appeal must be assessed in a mode with maximum realism.  Here's a case when we believe that online market surveys have a strong advantage as they allow use of a variety of exhibits for the testing of advertising concepts, product concepts, brand concepts, and strategic positioning concepts.

We use these data collection technologies for concept testing research:

online surveys executive surveys consumer & B2B panels

focus group research qualitative research photo-ethnography

 

Many concept testing engagements are an integral part our Concept Development Consulting assessments and recommendations.