Execution testing and optimizing is a Hotspex core focus. We help clients create winning concepts, packaging and advertisements, by testing and optimizing individual design elements, purchase intent, and visual response directly with targeted consumer segments. The Hotspex difference is going further by quantifying the hidden (emotional and rational) consumer response to executions.

In order to increase the probability of the success of their executions, marketers need to:

• Step 1: Benchmark the performance of an execution on key measures, by assessing concepts on key metrics that are linked to in-market success: overall appeal, purchase intent, source of volume, degree of uniqueness, value for money, and advantage vs. existing products.
• Step 2: Identify emotional reactions and rational drivers that govern consumer choice. Hotspex measures the emotional reactions of consumers to an execution as well as the functional benefits it conveys. The result is a thorough understanding of the concept's effectiveness on the emotional, personality and rational drivers, including an impact analysis of each driver on consumer choice. This information empowers marketers to decide which concepts and their individual elements best address the underlying drivers of consumer choice.
• Step 3: Understand the key strengths and weaknesses of each concept through detailed diagnostics. How well is each concept design element breaking through, driving overall performance (do consumers like it) and why would it succeed or fail? In a scenario where multiple concepts are being tested, this information allows us to recommend elements that can be taken from different concepts to further enhance the strongest design.

Hotspex has excelled at leveraging the graphical power of the Internet to provide deeper, more meaningful insights that help clients create optimal executions. Our proprietary tools specifically address business needs around concept, package and advertisement design. This capability has been adopted by a range of CPG companies, including Wrigley, P&G, Unilever and Nestlé. Our powerful research methodologies screen ideas for potential and optimize them for maximum success with the client's target buyer group. To this end, our solutions help marketers maximize the impact on the consumer with a detailed understanding of:

• Which ideas have the highest potential in a competitive environment
• The performance of an execution on core measures tied to long-term success
• On-shelf prominence (in the case of packaging) and the consumer's purchase propensity
• Actionable recommendations on how to optimize the execution that clearly reflect:
  1. Functional needs their product or service addresses and the benefits it delivers
  2. Brand personality and image
  3. Emotional reactions of consumers to the category and brand