Prototype Testing (IHUT)

Building a great product means more than a great concept — the prototype needs to deliver. Highlight gives brands a powerful understanding of how their early-stage product performs against concept expectations and in-market competition, long before launch. By placing prototypes with engaged consumers and leveraging pre and post usage methodology, teams can quickly identify gaps, validate performance, and make smarter iteration decisions.

With optional photo and video capture to understand real-world usage, Highlight helps teams get the depth of insight they need — fast.

Key Questions Addressed

•     Which prototype / benchtop should we move into further development?
•     How does my prototype perform against in-market competitors?
•     What are the key gaps / areas of improvement to ensure my product exceeds consumer expectations?
•     Which prototype iteration best brings the concept / core benefit / messaging to life?

Common Outcomes

•     KPI scorecard against powerful metrics including purchase intent, needs met, performance vs expectations, and overall liking
•     Penalty Analysis focused on identifying key barriers to product success
•     Gap assessment of expectations (concept or first impression) vs outcomes (product experience)
•     Outstanding gaps & recommendations for areas of improvement
•     Opportunity to include: UX photos/videos + usage understanding (occasions, adjacent / intersecting products, etc.) or adjust to longitudinal

Methodology Guide

 Quick Hits

•     Quantitative
•     N=100 Best Practice, N=75 min for stat testing
•     Monadic or Sequential Monadic
•     3 weeks turnaround (ship to insights)

Typical audience: category purchasers and/or product concept acceptors

For more information on designing your audience and sample size, see here.

Standard Inputs (Highlight Blueprint)

•         First Impression / Concept Expectations (pre-use)
•         Overall Liking
•         Performance vs Expectations
•         Needs Met
•         Comment on Likes
•         Comment on Dislikes
•         Purchase Intent
•         Comment on Suggestions to Improve

+ Can add from any of our available / recommended questions and/or write your own

Stimuli: physical product samples (blinded or branded) sent to participants; product concept recommended to test holistic product performance and expectations vs reality

Standard Outputs

•         KPI scorecard with statistical significance testing
•         Penalty Analysis identifying key barriers to product success
•         Gap analysis: concept expectations vs product experience
•         Summary of key themes from open-ended questions
•         Data visualization for all survey questions
•         Crosstabs with customizable banners + statistical significance testing

Reach out to your Customer Enablement rep if you have any questions about leveraging Highlight for this use case!