Concept testing with and without product trial

• Published in: The Journal of product innovation management Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 117 - 125
• Main Authors: Dickinson, John R., Wilby, Carolyn P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Elsevier Inc 01.03.1997; New York, NY :North-Holland,c1984; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Effects; Market positioning; Product testing; Statistical analysis; Studies; Test methods; United States > US
• ISSN: 0737-6782; 1540-5885
• DOI: 10.1016/S0737-6782(96)00097-5

An effective new products team must have the means for deciding where to place its bets, and concept tests play a pivotal role in the early screening of new product ideas. To gauge potential customers' reactions to a new concept, such tests may employ drawings, descriptions, and attribute lists, as well as positioning statements and perhaps trial of a prototype product. When deciding how to present a product concept, researchers must consider the possibility that the combination of elements chosen might affect the outcome of the concept test. For example, will responses to a product concept differ depending on whether the concept test includes a product trial? John Dickinson and Carolyn Wilby explore this question in a study of a concept test involving a product line extension: baking soda toothpaste. Their study examines the possibility of interactions between two elements of concept testing: product positioning statements-in this case, statements of taste, gentleness, and all-natural ingredients-and product trial. In other words, their study investigates whether or not concept tests involving both product positioning and trial will evoke different reponses than those that involve only exposure to the product concept. Participants in the study were randomly assigned to one of six groups. Roughly half the subjects tried the product, and all participants viewed one of three storyboards. Each storyboard presented the product concept, with reference to one of the three positioning statements. Those participants who tried the product did so before viewing a storyboard. The concept tests recorded participants' evaluations against six primary criteria: three related to the three product positioning benefits; two involving purchase interest; and one measuring overall preference for the product. Participants also rated their confidence in their responses, yielding 12 measures for testing the effects of product positioning, product trial, and the interaction between these two elements. For the six primary criteria, analysis of the test results did not reveal any interaction effects between product trial and product positioning. In other words, the results for these criteria would have been approximately the same regardless of whether the concept test included a product trial. Although product trials can provide useful input to other phases of a development effort, the results of this study suggest that in the case of product line extensions for familiar consumer goods such as toothpaste, effective concept tests do not require product trials.