Written by: Rachael Ryan

Concept development is difficult. What is the ideal message to describe the concept? It is the combination of art and science to craft the perfect imagery and set of words. But how do you know if you have the best possible description?

Concept development for messages and ads usually try to convince the reader that they need the product. Generally, the description describes a convenient product that will make a consumer’s life easier. However, a concept has to be concise. In other words, every feature of a product won’t be mentioned in a concept. As a result, you have to draw the reader with what you believe to be the most enticing and attractive attribute. But how do you know what is most enticing? You can never assume what is going to appeal to your target audience. Research helps you understand who your target audience is and what they think, but when it comes to concepts, it’s a lot less clear. That is where research comes in!

The Highlighter Tool

The Highlighter is the perfect way to explore the various concepts that you may be mulling over. And you can chop and change your concepts with the data collected to make the perfect one.  The research tool that allows you to understand your target audience’s initial thoughts about an idea and the way its writing style. How does it work? It’s simple. It is a dynamic blend of qualitative and quantitative research.

Firstly, the participant can use their cursor to highlight a specific part of the text and a pop-up will appear. Secondly, the pop-up will prompt the user to indicate whether they like or dislike the text or wording. Secondly, there’s an opportunity for the participant to provide an open-ended response to the text. This questioning will determine initial feedback to the concepts and if the concepts are relatable to the consumers.

Pinpoint Consumer Opinions

The highlighter allows you to get a very granular point of view, and pinpoint consumers likes and dislikes about specific wording in the concept. The tool prompts respondents to explain their word preference. Concept exploration allows you to refine concepts for further stages of research without needing to invest a significant amount of time or money. The consumer can even layer their highlighting to emphasize what they like or don’t like. The process is simple to execute and it’s effective. From there, you’ll be better informed to continue with the campaign and with the feedback you receive, your concept will be the most effective it can be. You can then continue to research with a carefully curated concept. It will be vital to research who your target audience is and where the concept will best resonate.

Concept Exploration

Why is this blend of methodologies suitable for concept exploration? Not only is it easy for the consumer to use, but it’s also interactive so it’s enjoyable to use. The data collected is invaluable for the concept that is being created. You’re provided with qualitative comments on each part of the concept as well as quantitative data to back up the information so you can create a concept with confidence that it will resonate with your target audience.

Check out some of our most recent posts from our strategy and advertising research blog here:

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3. Is Your Research Stuck in the 1980s: Update Your Brand Tracker!
4. Market Research Doesn’t Need to Be Boring: Improve Data Visualization
5. Tips For Building Brand Strategy for a Successful Brand
6. What’s the Difference Between Quantitative and Qualitative?

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