Views from the Hills by R. E. Stevens, GENESIS II (The Second Beginning) E-Mail views@aol.com

Idea Evaluation, Concept Testing, Concept Appeal and the Marriage -- Clearly a Four Step Process

Idea Evaluation is the assessment of the core idea.  Such as:  A laundry detergent that goes beyond cleaning to stain removal.

Concept Evaluation is the assessment of the "Description" of the product.  That is, it is the verbal picture of the new product.  It would include, what it is, its reason for being, its reason to believe, its physical description, etc.  The purpose of this step is to ensure that the concept adequately communicates the intended vision of the product.  This is not an appeal evaluation step.

Concept Appeal is the evaluation of the product appeal.  In this step we are assessing the potential of this new introduction relative to the current market.

My problem is that I believe most companies would say, "That is how we do our everyday product development."  However, what I have seen is considerably different.  I have seen too many companies identify an idea, immediately write a concept and then present it to the general public to assess the strength of appeal.  My concern is that they nest Concept Testing and concept Appeal into the same step, looking at it as one and the same.  My suggestion is that multiple concepts be developed and evaluated, rewritten and evaluated in a repetitive program until we are satisfied that the final concept adequately describes our vision of our new product.  We cannot afford to throw away a really good idea because of an early inadequate description.

The Fourth Step in the process, the marriage, is insuring that the product lives up to the promises of the concept.  this is basically an Acceptability and Theme Support and/or Concept and Use study.  That is, we tell the consumer, "Here is the description of the product and here is the product."  And then we ask, "How well do you like the product and how well does it match the description you were given?"  It frequently happens that after the concept is developed and the product is created, that the marriage of the two is less than desirable.  At this point, concept development re-work comes into play to create a better marriage between the concept and the product.  Especially if we have an appealing product.

While the concept is the vehicle used to evaluate the product in the early stages of testing, it is also the foundation for the early communication of the brand.


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