The makers of Airborne cold tablets recently agreed to pay a $30 million fine to settle a lawsuit and federal charges that they made false claims about the cold-fighting benefits of the tablets. Sadly, this story is not that uncommon, and is hardly considered newsworthy these days.
So what does this have to do with marketing research? Concept tests are a big part of marketing research. While I suspect the Airborne folks used these same false claims in any concept testing, a diligent researcher should have advised them against it. It is our job to question the content of any concept we test. Are the claims true? Can the product actually deliver them? Are they confusing or misleading? Are they likely to be challenged?
We frequently encounter this problem with the word “fresh”. The FTC has very strict guidelines on when the word fresh can be used to describe a product. Any time a client presents a concept to us with the word fresh, we immediately advise them to run it by their legal counsel.
Remember, companies use concept performance scores to determine a product’s viability in the marketplace. Any claim that can not be used when the product is actually introduced will bias the concept test. The results are useless.
So what does this have to do with marketing research? Concept tests are a big part of marketing research. While I suspect the Airborne folks used these same false claims in any concept testing, a diligent researcher should have advised them against it. It is our job to question the content of any concept we test. Are the claims true? Can the product actually deliver them? Are they confusing or misleading? Are they likely to be challenged?
We frequently encounter this problem with the word “fresh”. The FTC has very strict guidelines on when the word fresh can be used to describe a product. Any time a client presents a concept to us with the word fresh, we immediately advise them to run it by their legal counsel.
Remember, companies use concept performance scores to determine a product’s viability in the marketplace. Any claim that can not be used when the product is actually introduced will bias the concept test. The results are useless.
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