Kantar launches a new post-launch evaluation tool for marketers

“A well-executed launch does more than drive sales – it builds brand equity and establishes a foundation for long-term growth,” the company says. 

Among other things, LaunchEvaluate is designed to quickly spot potential issues such as low awareness of the new product or trial-to-repeat gaps.  

It can also tailor launch strategies to counter potential threats from competitor activity, and identify gaps, tension points, blind spots, and opportunities to course-correct. This is done by using diagnostic insights and recommendations based on consumer feedback. 

“Understanding not just how new products perform, but also what sits behind this, is crucial,” comments Nicki Morley, Global Innovation Lead at Kantar. 

“Existing tools often fail to connect the dots between consumer behaviour, brand impact and sales performance, leaving brands with gaps in their strategies for what to do next.” 

No market for the solutions 

Svafa Grönfeldt, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), says many new product innovations fail because they introduce products or solutions without there being a real need for them. In other words, there’s no market for the solutions they’ve created. 

“Some of these failures arise from a lack of empathy on the part of the organisation, with those in decision-making positions not taking the necessary time to study and understand the customers’ true needs … it’s often too late when they realise there’s no market for their solutions,” she states in a blog post published by MIT. 

Among the most famous product launch failures are the Google Glass project, which received millions of dollars in investment but quickly disappeared from view, and Coca-Cola’s launch of New Coke, which lasted only about three months before it was taken off the shelves.