Your brand new product idea is just that – an idea. Is it a good idea? A flop-to-be? You won’t know until you do a little work around it and it’s ready for more research. Learning Labs involves consumers in the very early stage of new product development to help you determine what direction to go in next.

Sometimes referred to as the little brother of Building Blocks^sm, Learning Labs^sm started out as the answer to the question, "What do I do if I’m not ready for a Building Blocks^sm test?"

Learning Labs^sm is more of a philosophical approach than a specific technique or methodology. It always involves consumers in the early stages of development by getting them to focus on the relationships between various potential elements.

• Development of concept statements
• Development of new product positioning alternatives
• Early stage product reactions
• Concept/product fit problem diagnostics
• Early stage exploration of names, packages, imagery, etc.
• Development of labels and graphics

Learning Labs^sm can often help figure out what‘s going on with your new product idea, whether it’s suffering concept over-promise or product under-delivery.

The basic premise behind a Learning Labs^sm project: get consumers together in groups of 3 or 4; ask them about your new product concepts, ideas, names, etc.; gather their reactions; ask them to put it together for you in the best way; compare it to what’s out there now; get comfy and ask some questions yourself.

Most Learning Labs^sm projects take place in a traditional focus group facility. A typical session lasts from 45 minutes to 1½ hours. Any target audience can be recruited and this tool is often used to gauge differences in concept interest across potential market segments.

1. Warm-Up
2. Usage/Category Background
3. Reactions to Stimuli
4. Building Exercise such as combining name, benefit and package
5. Competitive Assessment