The client’s question

Our client, Phil, is a successful brand manager of a leading domestic appliance manufacturer. His latest challenge was to introduce his brand in the refrigerators market. He had put his hopes on a new refrigerator using StarSan, a patented silver radiation solution to keep food fresh for longer.

However, Phil was well aware that entering a new category can be risky. Phil reached out to us for help on how to maximize the business opportunity. Specifically, he needed to find out:

  • What is the true potential of a StarSan refrigerator? Should we launch?
  • How do we make the benefit of StarSan tangible and relevant to consumers?
  • Will consumers accept our brand as a refrigerator manufacturer?
  • What is the right price for our product concept?

Our approach

Rather than going through the process of testing, rewriting and retesting a concept, at SKIM we take a different approach. By proactively mixing research and consultancy, we provide strong recommendations under very reduced timelines.

Before we started the research, we worked closely with Phil and other internal stakeholders. Based on our communication experience, we suggested different ways to make benefits tangible and relevant to consumers. We re-wrote the single concept into many versions, each approaching the StarSan key benefit from a different angle.

We proceeded to set up a consumer survey. We evaluated the preference of concepts compared to key competitors’ concepts, measuring consumers’ willingness to pay and brand fit.

The results

As the survey data came in, we seamlessly integrated open-ended, qualitative feedback with quantitative results. As a result, we delivered a market-ready, new, and improved concept, including the right price tag.

Backed by clear insights, the improved concept and price combination easily gained support in the organization. Phil was particularly impressed by the speed of our delivery. Three weeks after developing the first rough product concept, Phil’s team was able to move on to the next stage in their market introduction strategy.

If they had gone through a step by step process of testing, rewriting and retesting, Phil told us it could have taken them months to get to where they are now!