The Disruptive Octopus: Tentacle 7

Test Market Transactional Learning

This is part 8 of a multi-part article that details how Seed Strategy leveraged the 8 tentacles of disruptive innovation to help the Ball Corporation launch the Ball Aluminum Cup^®. Please click here if you want to begin at part 1 of the article.

Tentacle 7: Test Market Transactional Learning
Challenge: Laying the groundwork for long-term success required first obtaining several key learnings. Specifically, the team needed to identify the most appealing sales proposition for the product, determine how the marketing and sales ecosystems would perform (media, communications, retail and foodservice/on-premise sales, etc.) and identify any unforeseen factors that could impact a successful widescale launch.

Action: Seed leveraged its broad capabilities in transactional learning to help plan, organize and support a series of strategic in-market test-and-learn pilots (two FSOP pilots at major sports arenas and two retail pilots in key markets) to get the answers the team needed.

Results: The pilots served as real-world models that allowed the team to test and refine media, creative messaging, advertising, package design and shopper marketing executions—providing the necessary template for a successful launch. Over the course of the test, the Ball Aluminum Cup^® outperformed competitive items on shelf, over-delivering on the target set for sales per point of distribution. Less than six months after the successful test, the Ball Aluminum Cup^® began shipping nationwide.

Key Tools/Processes:
-Strategic Consulting
-Brand and Campaign Creative Development
-Package Design
-Traditional and Digital Advertising
-Media Planning
-Social Media Content Creation
-Shopper Marketing

Please click here to continue to the next section of the article about Tentacle 8: Future-Forward Brand Communication and Experience Testing—or click here to read the full-length version of the article.

Contact Sean Smyth to learn more about how Seed can help with your next disruptive innovation effort.

Written by Eric Scheer and Adam Siegel.

Eric Scheer is President, Chief Strategy Officer at Seed Strategy where he leverages his rich experience as an entrepreneur, designer and strategist to expertly lead the agency and help clients achieve meaningful growth.

Adam Siegel is the Editor of The Accelerator and VP, Creative at Seed Strategy where he draws upon his diverse experience in advertising, research and innovation to craft breakthrough creative and winning copy.

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