From incorporation in 1971 until today Novaction has reported over 4000 studies based on marketing models. These projects have been conducted across the 5 continents in 55 countries. In Japan alone over 1200 projects have been reported. Over 250 categories have been covered: fast moving packaged goods, services, consumer durables, ethical drugs and industrial goods. Validations have proved the applicability of Novaction technology to all countries so far. The main goals of Novaction's marketing models are to identity, assess and maximise brand sales potential from early development until maturity. Our systems communicate the opportunities to be taken and allow the risks to be understood. They aim to reduce the uncertainty surrounding marketing decisions.
Most food and drink companies competing in the European markets of the 1990's see a challenge to exploit efficiently existing brand equities as well as to maximise the chances of success for new brands. The Quaker Oats company is present in Europe in some of the fastest - growing (and most competitive) markets - including breakfast cereals, petfoods and sports drinks. In all of these markets, and in each of the countries in which Quaker operates, one can identify many opportunities to launch new products. From the viewpoint of strategic marketing, the challenge is to prioritise these opportunities and to determine the appropriate ways to develop and grow our brand equities. In this paper, we will describe the approach which Quaker has taken to analysing and prioritising these opportunities for the next five years. This process included an evaluation of our existing brand equities and their potential for further development and renovation as well as an evaluation of the opportunities for some new brand ideas which were at various stages of development in the business.
15 years of experience in developing and implementing market modelling techniques for the management of innovation are examined in the light of marketing across frontiers. Particular focus is given to: validation, marketing lesson, consumer responses inter-country similarities and dissimilarities including contrasts between Japanese cases and western counterparts.
With 10 years of use and 500 applications, ASSESSOR has enriched its capabilities as a model structure, has incorporated quite a few decision aids and is delivering experience data base services. The model is a simultaneous system which structures market response through share or volume and represents consumer acceptance as a function of various market characteristic dimensions - purchase type, category definition, consumer segmentation - and innovation response process dimensions - learning, loyalty, non-users. It has special versions which cover many marketing situations - mix option choices, line extensions, range assessment, relaunching or competitive environment changes.
In this paper the authors propose as framework, or spine, a modular behavioural model structure that imbeds the various sequential development tests, sets the guidelines for data collection and processing and provides the logic for various evaluative models designed for the specific elements under development. After exposing the principles of this framework, the authors describe its practical application through a case study before drawing general conclusions.
Marketing Models are not a substitute for the art of the marketing man but they are addressed to the same problem, i.e. they offer the facility for putting some (not all) of the elements in the mix together and then predicting the likely outcome. The benefits from the market research standpoint are evident in that the model provides a framework for sub-optimisation. The benefits from the marketing man's standpoint are that the discipline of the model helps him to define more explicitly the premisses on which his synthesis is based, and also enables him to explore many more alternative strategies than would have been the case without the model. In time the model becomes a repository of corporate wisdom because it is less mobile than e.g. brand managers who, if they are competent, usually have pretty rapid career progression.