Challenge
An industry leader in the engineering space was about to launch a new product. This product want unlike any other included in the existing platform and the company wanted to ensure that the messaging, design, and delivery method of the campaign would be well received by their customers
Focus
To measure the attitudes and preferences of the target market for this new product campaign and collect additional quantitative data to validate sentiment on a larger scale
Methodologies
Contextual inquiry, focus group, A/B testing, survey
Process
Contextual grounding - I started by having the product manager take me through the functions of the product to familiarize myself with the technology, primary functions, and common goals of use. During this exercise I noticed the simplicity of the needs this product was aiming to accomplish that was unlike the products that joined it in the greater portfolio. There seemed to be a real alignment between the tasks this product allowed the user to accomplish and the need the product manager had expressed on behalf of the target market as the impetus behind the design.
Focus group - we recruited groups of users in cities here in the U.S. and around the world where we could get a good sample of the market we were aiming to represent. The main initiative of the focus group was to generate a discussion around preference and sentiment towards various messaging and imagery examples we presented them with and compare the responses between different market segments.
A/B testing - we created multiple mockups of banner campaigns, web copy, and landing page designs to measure which choices were stylistically more attractive to each target group.
Survey - in order to bolster our data we introduced an additional format for quantitative analysis around demographic information, platform/company awareness, media consumption preference, and incorporated the A/B testing we had included during our focus groups.
Findings
Current customer base has a higher awareness of the existing portfolio as well as competitive products
Product recall is low compared to company recall
The ads perceived as including "less marketing fluff" generate highest purchase consideration
Attention getting is perceived as more persuasive in terms of ad characteristics over technical demonstrations
Messaging that plainly articulates how the product meets their specific needs is a key reason to consider
Ease of use is a key consideration criteria
Clear difference in preference of messaging and visuals between customer segments
Preferred banner ads are likely to be clicked on
The landing page including how-to video demonstrations and case studies as featured content was overwhelmingly deemed as the preference amongst all segments
Recommendations
Develop consistent creative for banner ads and landing pages that is attention getting and realistic
Don't "over market" to the consumer in copy
Feature content on relevant landing pages and correlating media that is visually dynamic and informative
Keep the technical jargon to a minimum
Use realistic product imagery and users for hero banners
Target preferred messaging and creative to different user segments to help drive traffic
Elevate the company brand in creative to foster awareness and credibility