The Agrochemical division of Monsanto in Europe were looking to develop a means to evaluate their new herbicides in terms of their likely volume potential in the market. Research International was briefed to adapt a simulated test market procedure that had been developed for fast-moving consumer goods to the specific requirements of agrochemicals. MicroTest was therefore adapted to evaluate Azural, a new Monsanto brand planned for launch in France in the near future. From this research project volume estimates for the brand were made.
This paper starts from the premise that the Simulated Test Markets (STMs) now being used in Europe have an impressive track record in terms of the validity of the predictions they make regarding the future success of new products. The techniques that they use actually succeed in indicating how the consumer will behave in the real-life marketplace.
A case history of the development of a 12 nation survey from its national origins to international execution and completion. It is an illustration of the continuing problem facing international researchers of how to conduct research that is actionable by both central and local managements. This paper deals with the considerations surrounding a survey into the developing breakfast cereal market in Europe, and the evolution of research from a national to an international basis. There is a discussion of the objectives behind the KELLOGG commissioning and specification of the survey, and of how the knowledge from individual country research was integrated into an international survey.