BigCo leaders are looking for leaner testing methods that will help them reduce risk and build confidence before they make big decisions that could have significant implications for their brands and business. Some of these decisions/questions teams need to answer include:
Teams are using Lean Concept Development to answer these questions and more throughout different phases of the idea development process.
Lean Concept Development is when teams test concepts with 12-14 consumers over the course of 2-3 days, collecting key input around overall appeal, uniqueness, and believability of the total proposition and the component parts, and how well the concept delivers on the Job to be Done, and iteratively optimizing the ideas. This process is dynamic, highly iterative, and involves optimizations between interviews. Within days, teams emerge with consumer-vetted concepts, enabling them to move quickly onto the next stage of their process.
Below are 6 stories of when Lean Concept Development enabled teams to move forward with their ideas more quickly and with more confidence.
Refine early ideas: The Garage Group and this iconic spirits brand had partnered on an ideation process that enabled them to fill their innovation pipeline with authentic, breakthrough ideas that didn’t dilute their brand. They leveraged Lean Concept Development via 12 consumer interviews to continue optimizing their ideas before submitting for a prediction market. They emerged with five concepts to take to prediction market, and three of the ideas proceeded straight to creative and product development briefing within a week after the prediction market test. One of these ideas is now in market.
Vet concepts with consumers before client pitch: Tasked with developing a breakthrough concept for a top apparel company to pitch to a retailer, the team set out to create multiple concept paths forward, in order to rapidly optimize and prioritize them. The end result was an iteratively-built, consumer-vetted, optimized concept that was pitch-ready.
Iteratively tested and learned on messaging to align on direction: An emerging tech company looked to drive awareness of their brand as well as their benefits and differentiation from their competition. The team wanted to iteratively build out their potential concepts by gaining a clear understanding of the benefits and the RTBs. They leveraged Lean Concept Development to learn how their consumers were articulating these benefits and needs, and iteratively optimize their concepts; they ultimately landed on one strategic message.
Refocus product idea on consumer Jobs to be Done: This food team was developing a new product. They were early in the idea development process and needed info to refocus the innovation and R&D team on the consumer pain points and Jobs to be Done before they invested further in the product downstream. They did so by iterating on the idea concept through rapid consumer interviews over the course of two days, emerging with valuable feedback and a more consumer-focused idea.
Pressure test before final qualification: A beverage company wanted to build out concepts for 8 preliminary idea-starters that came out of ideation and quantitative prioritization. These concepts needed to have strong insight resonance, relevant benefits, powerful reasons to believe, and clear images, with the goal of scoring well in BASES to unlock further funding on their path to launch.
Refine concepts before final qualification: The Garage Group and this CPG team had partnered to redesign their brand architecture via a blazing-fast Strategy Sprint and emerged with concepts rooted in the new architecture. They’d leveraged multiple learning loops with consumers throughout the architecture and early concept development phase, but they wanted to continue to rapidly test, learn, and iterate on these concepts with consumers to even more so vet the concepts before submitting to final qualification.
In summary, Lean Concept Development has enabled BigCo leaders to infuse the voice of the consumer into their idea downstream, and make changes in an iterative fashion when:
