General
From Multi-Country Concept Testing/Optimization to Corporate Database and Beyond
November 2003
This paper provides a case history for multi-country conjoint measurement. The project began as an exercise to understand features and communications of a food product across many countries, but turned into an organizing principle to understand consumers, worldwide
... detailsFragrances with Real Impact
This article appeared in the September/October 2003 issue of the Perfumer & Flavorist magazine.
The article presents a basic study identifying which fragrance aspects in women's prestige perfumes cause consumers to reach out for specific products. The roles of "liking" and fragrance impact on consumers' preferences at the critical moment when a woman chooses a fragrance are revealed.
... detailsHow Will on-line Research Become the Norm? Prospects for a New Era
This article was prepared for the Special 40th Anniversary Issue of ADMAP
It is becoming increasingly clear that the Internet is here to stay, and will exert profound changes on the way we gather data. Internet-research, once disparaged as being unrepresentative, a passing fad, open to statistical and other issues, is enjoying acceptance by all sorts of individuals.
... detailsUnderstanding Conjoint Analysis
Published in Food Technology
January 2004
Understanding what the consumer wants is a fundamental job of most food scientists working in product development today, and surveys are common ways to determine consumer wants and needs. However, one of the problems in survey research is bias in attitude measurement.
... detailsLarge-scale Concept-response Databases for Food and Drink Using Conjoint Analysis, Segmentation and Databasing
March 2004
One of today's pressing needs is to better understand the mind of the consumer in order to spot newly emerging trends in the market, and to capitalize on them. Data themselves are no longer the choke point in the market. Researchers and businesses are awash in data.
... detailsHispanic and non-Hispanic Responses to Concepts for Four Foods
Submitted to the Journal of Sensory Studies - June 2004
Hispanic and non-Hispanic Americans participated in four sets of studies dealing with health-oriented foods, with the goal to identify how they respond to food categories relevant in any cuisine. Each study comprised a conjoint analysis using 36 elements followed by a self-profiling questionnaire to learn more about Hispanic and non-Hispanic food responses
... detailsA New Way to Estimate Interactions in Conjoint Analysis
(PowerPoint Presentation)
Presented at the 7th Sensometrics Meeting (Davis, CA) - July 2004
... detailsOf Sages, Shamans, Soothsayers and Seers: Bringing Pro-active Marketing
Research into the 21st Century
The practices used in the last half of the 20th century, although good for their time, may in the end actually contribute to the downfall of the so-called forward-thinking, modern and competitive organization. At the start of the 21st century, business decision makers are beginning to employ tools and techniques in a fashion that empowers them to quickly gather, process, understand, and then act on marketplace information.
... detailsConsumer Test on the Role of Health-related Factors for Drinkers of Coffee and Tea
Being published in the December 2004 issue of Ingredienti Alimentari
This paper reports the results of an Internet-based study using conjoint measurement on the drivers of consumer interest for coffee and tea. Three market segments of approximately equal size were clear in both the coffee and tea markets.
... detailsExperimental Design: The Next Step
Appeared in Food Product Design magazine
February 2005
Since the 1960's, we`ve heard more about how the sensory and consumer researcher contributes to R&D.
... detailsHispanic and Non-Hispanic Responses to Concepts for Four Foods
Published in the Journal of Sensory Studies
Hispanic and non-Hispanic Americans participated in four sets of studies dealing with health-oriented foods, with the goal to identify how they respond to food categories relevant in any cuisine.
Commentary: Whither Now the Grand Sensory "Project" in an Age of Improving Methodology?
Journal of Sensory Studies
2005
A controversy has smoldered in the sensory field for the past 40 years. The controversy concerns what the "sensory" field should comprise and what its limits should be.
... detailsWeak Signals, Strong Competition & Accelerated Innovation: Optimizing for Consumers in a Faster, Cheaper, Quality-Seeking World
Presented at the 10th World Business Dialogue Conference - April 6 & 7, 2005 (Cologne, Germany)
The need for user-driven innovation is increasing today as competition explodes, customers become increasingly fickle and new technology emerges.
The Algebra of Emotions in Concept Development and Concept Research
Being presented at the MIT Conference (July 7-10 Cambridge, MA)
Conjoint analysis uses experimental design in combination with concepts that comprise a set of short phrases (concept elements). By systematically varying the concept elements and instructing respondents to rate these test combinations (i.e., concepts) the researcher discovers which particular concept elements drive the consumer reactions.
The Best Fruit Smoothie Ever
Appeared in Food Product Design magazine
April 2005
Fruit smoothies should be both tasty and nutritious. Traditionally they contain milk and fruit. What's next?
... detailsInvention Machines: New Ideas, Customer Co-Creation and Internet Technology
May 2005
World-wide we hear the need for creativity. Innovate or die - we all see that on the covers of magazines; we hear it spoken to us by consultants; it's drilled into the mind of the student.
... detailsKafka lives: Reflections on expert panels, choice based conjoint and the world of testing
June 2005
More than two hundred years ago that most magisterial of all historians, Edward S. Gibbon, presented to the English speaking world a long, oft-wrenching, occasionally pontificating history of the Roman Empire, how it grew, how it fell from the internal weaknesses and from the gathering of those barbarians from the outside ready to breach its walls at every sign of weakness.
... detailsThe Pathway to Profitability
Food Product Design
June 2005
In a competitive market with rising production costs, how does a product developer reformulate a current product
... detailsA Personal Viewpoint about What Psychophysics has taught the Sensory Professional and Product Developer for Making Foods More Irresistible
Presented at the 2005 Pangborn Symposium, Harrogate, UK
Psychophysics seeks the quantifiable relation between stimulus magnitude and sensory or hedonic response. Psychophysical thinking provides a powerful organizing principle for product development because it focuses on actionable relations to guide product developers rather than just describing sensory and hedonic perceptions.
... detailsSteps towards a consumer-driven 'concept innovation machine' for food & drink
Based on a paper delivered at the 2005 Pangborn Symposium, Harrogate, UK
Innovation is often left to insight and serendipity. A lot of what researchers call innovation is actually a process by which one can make the individual consumer or practitioner more 'creative'.
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