New Product Development Step

• Corporate objectives drive marketing strategy
• Marketing strategy feeds new product development process
• New product development process focused on specific areas of interest

• Involvement of MRD in strategy development & prioritization process

• Ingoing understanding of marketplace dynamics (share of major brands, demographic trends, category growth trends, etc.)
• Understanding of external forces (economic, political, regulatory, technological)
• Identification of desired end-benefits/consumer needs, current delivery of products in the marketplace, existing satisfaction
• Early identification of target opportunities

• Syndicated data sources (scanner, HH panel)
• Secondary data (published studies, news reports)
• Strategic custom studies: A&Us, habits and practices, segmentation (3-5 months)

• Internal prospecting by involving key stakeholder functions (e.g., R&D, Manufacturing, Marketing, Agency, MRD)
• External prospecting with consumers or key customers
• Other sources (e.g., creative boutiques, consultants, etc.)

• Facilitator-led brainstorming, off-site meetings/workshops (2-4 weeks)
• Qualitative consumer research: focus groups, in-depths (2-4 weeks)

• Prioritize most promising/compelling product areas, ideas, or end-benefits
• Select best candidates for additional concept and product development efforts
• May begin parallel development paths for concept vs. product

• Concept screening (4-8 weeks)
• Benefit screening/promise testing (4-8 weeks)
• Early stage R&D product screening, or prototype exploration work (ongoing)

New Product Development Step

• Initial consumer exposure to roughly-conceived ideas; understand end-benefits from consumer perspective; obtain strengths/weaknesses
• Creative insight/fodder for concept creation and positioning
• Develop concepts further; move candidates forward based on preliminary feedback

• Qualitative consumer research: focus groups, in-depths (2-4 weeks)

• Understand consumer reactions to fully developed ideas
• Representative, projectable samples of target audience and key subgroups of interest
• Identify differences between concept acceptors and rejecters
• Diagnostic insight into concept communication
• Iterative concept development steps may be required

• Concept testing (4-8 weeks)
• Positioning research (4-8 weeks)
• Pricing research (4-8 weeks)
• Qualitative consumer research: focus groups, in-depths (2-4 weeks)

• Creative exploratory to develop alternative campaign platforms
• Develop alternative storyboards or rough executions
• Test (evaluate and diagnose) alternatives
• Iterative copy development steps may be required

• Qualitative consumer research: focus groups, in-depths (2-4 weeks)
• Off-air/on-air copy testing

• Initial prototypes/working models/pilot plant product made
• Feedback from internal groups prior to consumer exposure
• Initial consumer reaction; feedback used to fine-tune product
• Product readied for larger-scale consumer testing

• R&D sensory testing, employee panels, expert panels, or small scale consumer testing
• Qualitative consumer research which may involve in-home product use (2-4 weeks)

New Product Development Step

• Consumer evaluation of unbranded product in actual use setting
• May involve prototype screening, then selecting one configuration for subsequent testing
• Need for both evaluative and diagnostic assessment to make product refinements, as necessary
• Need to identify optimal packaging configuration, if packaging is integral to product performance
• Assess degree of product-to-concept fit; fulfillment of expectations created by concept
• Iterative product development steps may be required

• Show tests (4-8 weeks)
• In-home use tests (4-8 weeks)
• Packaging research (4-8 weeks)
• Product optimization research (4-8 weeks)
• Pricing research (4-8 weeks)
• Concept-product testing (8-10 weeks)

• Assess volume potential for rollout/capital planning needs
• # Identify likely/competitive sources of volume
• Make final "go"/"no go" decision regarding test market, or a regional/national launch
• If a "go", finalize all marketing mix elements for in-market test

• Sales forecasting/volume estimation study (12-16 weeks)

• Test market selection (live test or controlled environment)
• Identify treatment cells, if any (e.g., upweight, copy, etc.)
• Product sell-in/placed on-shelf
• Monitor and refine program, as necessary

• Electronic or live test market (6-9 months)
• Test market tracking study (ongoing)
• Qualitative assessment in test market geography, e.g., among trier-repeaters, trier-rejecters (2-4 weeks)

• Initial prototypes/working models/pilot plant product made
• Feedback from internal groups prior to consumer exposure
• Initial consumer reaction; feedback used to fine-tune product
• Product readied for larger-scale consumer testing

• R&D sensory testing, employee panels, expert panels, or small scale consumer testing
• Qualitative consumer research which may involve in-home product use (2-4 weeks)

New Product Development Step

• Sales meetings with key accounts
• Build pipeline, achieve distribution targets
• Advertising and promotional programs start
• Monitor progress, refine as necessary

• Tracking (ongoing)
• Post-launch qualitative, e.g., among trier-repeaters, trier-rejecters (2-4 weeks)