The client’s question
The laundry detergents market has experienced many changes in the past years with the introduction of different formulations; such as, super concentrated detergents, gels and capsules. As competition intensified, Janet, our client from an international manufacturer of laundry detergents, was developing a disruptive innovation in order to beat their main competitor. The innovation consisted of a revolutionary detergent formulation, to be introduced with a new packaging and a new communication platform. In order to make the introduction successful, she needed our help to identify the most effective message to be used on-pack, consisting of a benefit, a Reason to Believe (RtB) and a visual.
Our approach
Janet had developed different materials, and in total there were around 300 different combinations to test. Due to the number of potential combinations, we at SKIM proposed to use an online survey built around a conjoint-based exercise. Each respondent evaluated several combinations of messages, RtB and visual shown next to each other and was asked which was most appealing. This required consumers to make a trade-off between the different elements of the message. By applying this methodology we were able to not only determine which of the three message components was driving the decision, but also which of the benefits, RtBs and visuals was most compelling and which combination of the three would be most effective in beating their main competitor.
The results
We provided Janet with clear and actionable results for optimizing their message. Not only did we provide recommendations on the most effective message (which surprisingly was not just the simple sum of the best benefit, RtB and visual, as interactions were at play!), but we also provided a framework which could be utilized to craft messaging beyond the scope of this study.
As a result, Janet was able to develop an effective message with which she could confidently launch the innovation and start fighting the competition.