Prioritising winning ideas for growth and innovation is critical as companies must select which concepts to invest significant resources into developing. Traditional screening methods that focus only on concepts with the highest trial potential are flawed because they do not consider cannibalization effects. Considering both incremental growth and cannibalization, TNS has developed methods using individual-level modeling of consumer data that can double the accuracy of forecasts over traditional average-based approaches. TNS also identifies breakthrough, "radical" ideas by prioritizing the views of early adopters and has tools to diagnose exactly how to improve concepts to ensure success and faster speed to market.

1. Prioritising winning ideas
Innovation is at the heart of most companies’ growth strategy. Deciding which
concepts to progress is critical, as significant investment is required at the product
development stage. But traditional approaches to selecting which concepts to
progress are flawed.
Identifying winning ideas for growth Doubling the accuracy of forecasts
Most screening methods focus on the concepts with To predict incremental growth accurately, you need to
the highest trial potential, assuming ‘biggest is best’. understand people as individuals – but traditional screening
This approach is fundamentally flawed, because the biggest approaches are based on aggregate analysis. At TNS we
idea doesn’t always provide the best growth opportunity have been modelling responses and creating probabilities at
– due to the value destroying menace of cannibalisation. an individual level for over 20 years. This approach doubles
Concepts with high trial potential are often not the ones the accuracy of our incremental forecast versus traditional,
that drive incremental growth for a company. average-based approaches.
Analysis of our database shows that in 40% of cases
companies should take different screening decisions
– once they consider the impact of cannibalisation.
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Innovation & Product Development Concept eValuate
© TNS 2013

2. Precise development plans
Development guide Growth Topspin
Product expectations:
High quality 7 45 50 55
50
Long-lasting flavour
Uniqueness Early Excitement
43
Adopter trial
Price point:
£1.49 perceived as good
35
Target
20
Potential incremental buyers
currently buy brands X and Y
Watch out
Slight weakness in clarity of message
Incremental trial Cannibalisation Bottom 50% benchmark Top 25% benchmark
Bottom 50% 50 – 25% Top 25%
Identifying and nurturing radical new ideas World leaders in innovation
Research is often criticised for killing breakthrough innovation. TNS has been helping clients grow by prioritising winning
Aggregate analysis, again, along with outdated metrics is the ideas for more than 30 years. We have more than 400
cause of this. innovation and product development experts world-wide,
working in a wide range of sectors and markets that are
Basing screening decisions on a measure of incremental
totally focused on finding growth for clients.
growth identifies some of the more breakthrough ideas that
would traditionally have been killed off – but this is only part
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of the story. You also need to prioritise the views of more
TNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around
future-oriented consumers – Early Adopters. At TNS, by
new market entry, innovation, brand switching and
identifying the winning ideas among this group and mapping
stakeholder management, based on long-established
responses to our Early Adopter database of over 20,000
expertise and market-leading solutions. With a presence
concepts, we can identify and nurture radical innovation.
in over 80 countries, TNS has more conversations with
the world’s consumers than anyone else and understands
Increasing speed to market
individual human behaviours and attitudes across every
Concept eValute prioritises the new product ideas that will
cultural, economic and political region of the world.
drive incremental growth early in the innovation process, and
helps to identify and nurture radical new ideas. But that is not TNS is part of Kantar, one of the world’s largest insight,
all. It also uses a range of diagnostic tools to identify precisely information and consultancy groups.
how to improve concepts to ensure success and increase
speed to market. It identifies the elements of concepts that
For more information please visit our
most appeal through open-ended responses, highlighter tools website tnsglobal.com or email us at
and understanding the elements that are likely to create buzz. ipd.global@tnsglobal.com
Product development and targeting actions are summarised
in a precise plan for each concept.
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Innovation & Product Development Concept eValuate
© TNS 2013