[ Spring 2008 ]

A*I/R Product Spotlight

Knowledge Networks delivers expert solution to finding your optimum brand identity elements

Your qualitative work is done and your positioning is chosen. Yet, you still need to achieve a quantitative view of brand identity elements – such as:

• brand name and descriptor for the product
• logo
• package design

How well does each of these elements capture attention, evoke interest, stand out, convey key product differentiators, and communicate the right tone?

Knowledge Networks' extensive work in the brand identity arena can help you optimize your choices in support of the positioning and reveal the best of those tested with unparalleled accuracy!

Let Knowledge Networks show you how

While our design expertise would be applied to your specific need, an example tiered design for an identity element test – in this case, the name – might be

• Consumer reactions to tested names before product concept exposure and without setup statement, to identify any unintended connotations of the names
• Consumers exposed to product shots and concept descriptions to capture baseline Purchase Intent (PI)
• Consumers re-evaluate the brand names in light of this product concept
  • rating metrics used, e.g. appeal, uniqueness, fit with product concept, ability of name to increase PI, fit with base brand
• Consumers assess "best name and why" through assigned brand name(s)
  • the product descriptors (including the setup statement) evaluated in the context of this brand name
  • descriptors that are "best" and "worst" fits with the brand name – determined through a MaxDiff forced choice design that identifies those
• Consumers also rate each descriptor on diagnostic metrics to identify why there are superior fits with the brand name vs. others

This approach will ensure that each of the descriptors is evaluated within the context of each of the test names.

Our methods expertise area: Forced Choice Exercises that deliver the "best" brand identity element decision to you

The optimal name, logo or package is often unclear when rating scales are used because there is little discrimination on traditional top-two-box ratings. A superior motivator rises to the top when using this choice based technique – it would have gone undetected using ratings alone.

No one knows that better than Knowledge Networks (KN), and it is why we utilize this technique in all of our brand identity studies, in addition to ratings scales. KN recommends retaining rating scales to avoid a situation where we simply identify "the best of a bad bunch." A composite score that combines ratings and MaxDiff utilities can be developed.

Think of a typical naming exercise. The optimal name is often unclear when rating scales are used, because there is little discrimination on traditional top-two-box ratings. (See chart below.) A superior motivator, in this case Name C, rises to the top when using a forced-choice technique – it would have gone undetected using ratings alone. Knowledge Networks' own approach to this technique is known as MaxUR (for "Maximum Unduplicated Reach").

We use a sample you can count on to quantify acceptance and brand target penetration.

KnowledgePanelSM is unique in that all of its online members are recruited via a probability based sample, and Internet access and hardware are provided to households that do not already have it. As a result, the sample is scientifically valid and yields accurate measurements of attitudes and behaviors. By contrast, opt-in panels are comprised of self-selected volunteers whose survey responses reflect only their attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors; results based on their responses are not projectable to any other population group.

KnowledgePanel® provides an ideal vehicle for accurately identifying segments and connecting them to other life preferences.