Key Concepts: Competitive Market Positioning • Consumer Products • Product Testing • Product Development • Focus Groups • Advertising

A nationwide advertising agency wanted to learn:

• How consumers use in-home dry cleaning products
• The best way to position a new product in the market

Saurage Research recommended a product-test focus group methodology. Participants were asked to test the product for one week and record their results. Then, in a series of focus groups, they discussed those results and their perceptions of the product and the product category.

RESULTS: Saurage Research discovered that participants did not plan to use the product as a replacement for dry cleaning, as the agency had expected and as the current market leader had positioned itself. Rather, the focus groups revealed that the product would be used (and best positioned) as a supplement to professional dry cleaning. The agency quickly reformulated its brand positioning strategy as a result of these findings. This new focus allowed the agency to create a new promotional campaign that successfully appealed to the target market and, most importantly, yielded added profits to the manufacturer.

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