Failing to Make an Impression?

Ted Mininni

Apparently marketers aren’t cutting it, according to a recent study. Marketers aren’t making a mark with consumers when they launch new products. An intriguing article in MediaPost on March 6th, New Product Messages Aren’t Making Intended Impressions points to data collected by Information Resources, Inc, New Products magazine, comScore and Schneider Associates.

The upshot? More than a whopping 3/4 out of 1000 consumers surveyed said they couldn’t recall a new product launched over the past year. Only 23% could do so.

That’s pretty amazing when you think about it. Then again, maybe not, when you consider the plethora of products hitting the stores non-stop these days. Still, the onus is on marketers to come up with hot new products consumers will actually want to buy, and then to make their marketing message a memorable one. Apparently, given the data, marketers just aren’t cutting the mustard.

In the article, New Product magazine editor Joan Holleran is quoted: “The (new product) message isn’t getting through.” Who was successful in getting through? When presented with a list of new product intros for 2007, Apple’s iPhone topped the list with a recall rate of 37%. The rest of the top 10 products consumers remembered: Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system, Febreze-branded candles, Domino’s Oreo Dessert Pizza, diet aid Alli, Oreo Cakesters, Diet Coke Plus, Subway Fresh Fit Meals, Motorola’s RAZR2 and Listerine White Strips.

The most memorable new products in 2007 were line extensions. Top new product sellers last year: Campbell’s Reduced Sodium Soup, General Mills Fiber One Chewy Bars, Dannon’s DanActive Probiotic Dairy Drinks and Activia Light Yogurt, Sara Lee’s Heart Hearty & Delicious breads.

Takeaways from the research:
• Top impression making products used an experimental marketing mix: blogs, WOM and PR-generated media to get the word out. This trend is expected to continue, even though traditional channels will still be used.
• Look for more line extensions in 2008 and for success with products that multitask like the iPhone.
• Health and wellness trends will continue to strengthen and the demand for functional food and beverages will “explode”, according to IRI EVP Business/Consumer Insights, Anne Berlack. “Retailers and manufacturers that marry functional benefits with effective consumer education, as Dannon did last year with DanActive immunity-boosting beverages will win big”, she added. Agreed.
• Products that constitute more indulgent purchases will continue to trend. No explanation needed, I think. Upscale, luxury and self-pampering products continue to be well-received by consumers.
• Non-food products that create a pleasant experience for consumers as they conduct everyday chores will also continue to score well. Current new product intros that have been successful in this regard: Tide Simple Pleasures and Gain Joyful Expressions Detergents, Febreze Noticeable Air Fresheners.

What does all of this point to? If new products are going to meet with success in the marketplace, better consumer insights will have to be gained via research. These insights will have to meet consumers where they are, or they are doomed to fail.

Questions:
• Which new products can you recall from 2007?
• Were you motivated to purchase a new product last year?
• What should marketers do to make new products more memorable when there are so many new items hitting the retail stores?

I’d love to hear from you.