MMNPL checks out iTouchless at NHS 2012

MMNPL’s Ashley DePaolo learns all about iTouchless’ line of touch-free toilet seats, trash cans and other products at the 2012 National Hardware Show.

Keep checking back here for more interviews and videos from NHS 2012.

Register Now for the Most Memorable New Product Launch LIVE Webinar

With over 40,000 products launched each year, how can you make sure your next new product launch gets noticed?

Join Schneider Associates’ EVP and Launch Expert, Julie Hall, and Chief Behavioral Scientist for Sentient Decision Science, Aaron Reid, Ph.D., for the Most Memorable New Product Launch LIVE Video Webinar, Thursday February 9^th from 2:00 p.m. – 3:oo p.m.

Julie and Aaron will provide insights on:

• Emerging trends in 2012 that will influence consumer awareness and purchasing behavior
• The five “must-do” marketing tactics influencing consumer purchasing today
• Why social marketing is driving trial and sales
• The Top Ten product launches of 2011, and what made them so successful
• The Top Ten product launches of the past decade and why they’ve remained relevant
• Top sources of information almost all consumers use to learn about new products

To register for this webinar, please click here or at the link above.

MMNPL 2011 Survey Featured in a USA Today Snapshot

A snapshot of the 2011 MMNPL survey results was featured in the January 18 edition of USA Today. The USA Today Snapshot, titled “Most Memorable Product Launches of 2011,” displays the top product launches of last year. The survey conducted by research partner Sentient Decision Science polled a national sampling of consumers who named the Kinect for Xbox 360 as the most memorable product launch of 2011, with Nintendo 3DS and the Chevy Volt (tied), and Wendy’s Natural Cut Fries rounding out the top three spots.

To read more about the 2011 MMNPL survey, Click Here.

Range Rover Evoque Campaign Emphasizes Interaction

Range Rover has rolled out an impressive campaign to launch the 2012 Evoque. The initial launch event in July 2010 showcased the new compact SUV model, the smallest of the Range Rover line. The Evoque has all of form and function of other Range Rovers, but with greater fuel-efficiency because it 35% lighter than the Range Rover Sport. The launch event was held at Kensington Palace in London in a partnership with Vogue magazine, and closely resembled a fashion show, (appropriate given that Range Rover named Victoria Beckham as the creative design executive behind Evoque.)

Recently Range Rover has been ramping up its marketing with a trans-continental concert event May 21^st featuring Cee Lo Green in Times Square, Paolo Nutini in Milan and Mark Ronson in Shanghai performing simultaneously. Evoque models were lined up on the square along with interactive displays, so that attendees could look “under the hood” of the new vehicles. This is part of a 100-city global Evoque tour that Range Rover is calling “The Pulse of the City,” playing off the Evoque’s city-friendly size and style.

 To capitalize on the personalization trend we have seen in so many new product introductions, Range Rover hired The Brooklyn Brothers, and Somesuch & Co to produce an interactive online promotional video, Being Henry. The trailer coaxes viewers to visit the website and make in-video choices for the protagonist, Henry, by dragging him or clicking on options – like a modern, interactive “Choose Your Own Adventure.”

The video is quirky, and the events that unfold are hilariously unexpected. The video theme supports the Evoque’s customizable features, as well as the tag line Range Rover is using for the vehicle: Where will you end up?

 Following the trend of stylized, smaller vehicles like the Mini wagon and Nissan Juke, the Range Rover is an SUV that provides an attractive, more fuel efficient option at a time when gas prices are rising precipitously.

Tide Redefines Laundry Detergent Packaging with New Pods

Procter & Gamble Co. is launching its biggest laundry detergent innovation in decades: Tide Pods. These highly concentrated tablets – two times more concentrated than the regular Tide liquid – have three chambers of detergent inside a plastic film that dissolves in cold water. The tablets contain only ten percent water, and can be used in regular and high-efficiency machines.

Even though the U.S. market has traditionally resisted using laundry tablets, Proctor & Gamble is backing Tide Pods with a $150 million marketing campaign. “We want marketing that’s as innovative as the product technology,” said Alex Keith, VP of North American laundry in an interview with Ad Age. “The powder-based tablets we launched last time came right as the market was making an inflection point toward liquid detergents.” Tide’s goal is to shift the work of pre-treating, soaking, and other laundry-related tasks to the detergent. The test results so far have been compelling; with 97 percent of test consumers agreeing that the new formula “provides excellent results with minimal time and effort.”

The media is already buzzing about the test launch that is scheduled for July, with the full line hitting shelves early next year. Originally planned for September, the Launch was pushed back due to high retail distribution demand. Procter & Gamble took a risk letting their competitors know about Tide Pods five months before it is available, but the brand is confident its patents will protect the product. “I don’t imagine that this is going to be able to be copied in any way that it will become a threat,” P&G Chief Executive Robert McDonald was reported as saying by Fox Business News.

Tide Pods follows in the footsteps of Tide Stain Release single-dose gel packets, launched in 2009, which have become the Stain Release line’s most popular product. Can a pod-ful of innovation and a $150 million marketing load change consumer thinking and habits? One thing is for sure: It will all come out in the wash.

Personalize Your Water with MiO and Transform Plain H20 into a Flavorful Beverage

Another new product that may be included in the Most Memorable New Product Launch Survey: MiO water-enhancer, by Kraft Foods.

Personalization is a popular trend among consumers, so what could be better than instantly mixing your own drink just the way you like it? Last month, Kraft launched its new caffeine free, artificially sweetened water-enhancer, Mio, in six different flavors.

MiO in Italian means “mine.” In an interview with Packaging Digest, Bridget MacConnell, senior manager, corporate affairs at Kraft Foods, explained “[that’s] what makes MiO so special—it lets me make my drink my way.” MiO senior brand manager Lisa Laibe talked with the Chicago Tribune about the idea of personalization. “Consumers are really looking to have their personal tastes reflect in all things they’re doing and using. It’s particularly important for millennials, which Kraft pegs as those age 18 to 39.”

Found in supermarkets and sold in a convenient, portable pod container, MiO allows you to add a touch of Berry Pomegranate, Strawberry Watermelon, Fruit Punch, Mango Peach, Sweet Tea or Peach Tea to water for a new way to experience your favorite flavor. Each bottle contains about 24 servings at a price of around $3.99.

To launch MiO, Kraft hired a familiar face from YouTube to be the spokesman for the campaign: Brian Gallivan, more commonly known as “Sassy Gay Friend.” Gallivan stars in a number of viral videos encouraging young women to “FTS: Flip it, tip it and sip it.”

Aside from the YouTube promotion, MiO is advertising  on television, online and on Facebook. Free samples were sent out to 100,000 Facebook users in the weeks leading up to the launch as a giveaway promotion. Most of the consumer feedback was positive, and some fans even suggested new and creative ways to use MiO, like mixing it in ice cream, yogurt or soda.

With recent health news surfacing on the dangers of food colorings, MiO faces a challenge in connecting with health conscious consumers. Is MiO a beverage innovation, or a product launch with no real market? One thing is clear, MiO will be an interesting launch to watch in 2011.

Pop Up Good, Clean Fun With Orville Redenbacher’s Pop Up Bowl

A product launch that we’re watching: Orville Redenbacher’s New Microwave Popcorn Pop Up Bowl. By using innovative marketing strategies and creating a solution to a common snack-time problem, this product is a possible entry for this year’s Most Memorable New Product Launch.

Microwave popcorn lovers everywhere are familiar with the icky buttery hands that result from reaching into the bottom of a microwave popcorn bag. Orville Redenbacher has launched an innovative packaging solution to produce a clean and enjoyable popcorn eating experience: the Pop Up Bowl, now available at Walmart. “This is the biggest thing to happen to popcorn in 25 years,” says Jesse Spungin, general manager at Orville Redenbacher. The new packaging, available in Ultimate Butter, Smart Pop, Movie Theater Butter and Butter, makes sharing a popcorn bag easy without the hassle of rinsing out a bowl when you’re done. So what’s all the buzz about? The bag transforms into a bowl while in the microwave, so the only clean up required is tossing the empty bowl. In a society that relies on convenience and efficiency, a clean, fun and user-friendly package is the perfect improvement to everyone’s favorite snack.

The new packaging was launched towards the beginning of Orville Redenbacher’s Pop & Win Instant Win Game. Specially marked boxes of popcorn contain popcorn bags with heat activated game messages that announce whether or not the bag is a winner. Winning bags contain a code to be entered online to redeem prizes that range from HDTVs and Wii consoles to games and digital cameras to grand prizes like a $10,000 Game Room Bundle or a $10,000 Home Theater Makeover.

Before the Pop Up Bowl launch in February, bloggers and Blissdom 2011 social media conference attendees were sent samples of the product to generate internet buzz. A large portion of the reviewers are moms who shared the popcorn bowl with their families. The FoodYouLove Youtube channel features a video demonstrating the convenience of the Pop Up Bowl as opposed to traditional bags of popcorn. A SmartSource $1 off printable coupon is circulating online, and The Orville Redenbacher Facebook page is also marketing the new product, emphasizing the easy cleanup and share-ability of the packaging. 

So far, reviewers are raving about the Pop Up Bowl. It has already been featured on The View’s blog as one of this year’s hottest food trends. With a no mess, easy to use package and faster preparation time, it’s a wonder this hasn’t been thought of before. The Pop Up Bowl is sure to be a revolutionary product that pushes the snack food industry to reconsider packaging as vital to product differentiation. Environmentalists will approve of the waste saved from using napkins. Clean, convenient, easy to eat – what’s not to love?

USA Today Features a Snapshot of the Top Products in the 2010 Most Memorable New Product Launch Survey

Jae Yang and Kari Gelles, reporters for USA Today, featured a snapshot of the 2010 Most Memorable New Product Launch survey results. The survey was conducted by Schneider Associates in collaboration with research partners Sentient Decision Science and the SymphonyIRI Group, to find out which 2010 product launches were the most memorable to consumers. The top five products were featured in the front page snapshot, including top finishers Apple iPad, Windows 7 and Motorola Droid . Click below to view the coverage on USAToday’s website.

Boston Business Journal’s Lisa Van der Pool reports on the Most Memorable New Product Launches of 2010 on WBZ

Lisa Van Der Pool, reporter for the Boston Business Journal, featured 2010 Most Memorable New Product Launch survey on WBZ-TV. The survey, conducted by Schneider Associates, Sentient Decision Science, and the SymphonyIRI Group, polled consumers to uncover the top most memorable new product launches of 2010, which were highlighted in a video on WBZ. Apple iPad, Windows 7 and the Motorola Droid were featured, among other surprise products such as Mars Chocolate’s pretzel M&M’s and KFC’s Double Down. Van der Pool also reported on the improvement in the recall of new product launches in this year’s survey. Click the image below to watch the video.

Less Is More and More is More with New KFC Double Down

 

After KFC’s Grilled Chicken became the most memorable new product launch in the 2009 MMNPL survey, marketers wondered what KFC would do next to captivate consumers’ imaginations. The answer? The Double Down sandwich.

KFC has gone “bun-less” with its latest non-traditional sandwich, which seemed more like a test market experiment or urban myth based on the early buzz it received (note the advertising touting “it’s real”). With this new sandwich, KFC answers the call for more meat, by offering “so much premium chicken that [they] didn’t have room for a bun.” Now two chicken filets (grilled or fried) hold together two pieces of bacon, and two melted slices of Monterey and pepper jack cheeses smothered in Colonel’s Sauce. For those calorie conscious consumers, the Double Down comes in at 540 calories (equivalent to some large cheeseburgers) and the grilled version is 460; but both sandwiches are low carb of course.

KFC announced the Double Down in an April press release and began offering the item in restaurants on April 12^th. The Double Down was initially test marketed in Omaha, Nebraska and Providence, Rhode Island. Consumer curiosity and demand drove people to travel for miles to sample it. Online buzz in conjunction with late night talk show mentions helped the Double Down generate more interest than any other test market item in KFC history. Originally the Double Down was a limited time offer ending on May 23, 2010 – but KFC reversed course on May 19, 2010, stating the item would remain available as long as consumer demand is high.

To fuel interest after its national launch, KFC enlisted female students on college campuses to hand out coupons while wearing fitted sweatpants that had “Double Down” in large letters across their rear ends. Some questioned this marketing  strategy, but KFC’s Manager, Public Relations, Rick Maynard pointed out that KFC had only, “taken a page out of the book of some apparel companies and sororities who have promoted in this way for years.” KFC Marketing Chief John Cywinski added, “It’s an effective way to catch the attention of young men” — KFC’s key customers and the biggest fans of Double Down. Additionally, KFC is giving the “unneeded” sandwich buns plus cash donations to food banks across the country, starting with the Dare to Care Food Bank in KFC’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Billboards, print ads, and comical TV commercials boosted awareness and trial.

The chain cited its popularity in overall sales, aided by consumer-posted videos of people eating the Double Down, leading to YouTube buzz and celebrity ties, including Stephen Colbert’s televised feasting. So far the campaign has worked: A KFC spokesperson reported 10 million Double Downs were sold for a total of about $50 million in revenue through mid-July.

Will this bun-less meat creation revolutionize fast food? Will we see a two-patty bun-less burger someday? More importantly, will KFC once again make the top ten of the annual MMNPL survey? Stay tuned to find out.