Learning Launch With Toys

Challenge and Selection

I am often employed to help companies at the launch phase of their products. One of the biggest  challenges is that by the time I am brought in, companies have already invested a lot of time and money  to craft their “new” product or experience. Usually they are looking for us to help them “fine tune”   things like customer segments, marketplaces, geographies, key differentiators to highlight, etc. By the  way, the video did a great job of explaining the problem with “fine tuning” thinks that don’t work.

And because they have almost always done prior survey research to confirm customer interest in the  new product, it can be very difficult on many occasions to report findings that don’t match their  expectations on certain dimensions. That said, I was very cautious to try not to fall into the confirmation  bias trap as described in the video.

Application

I was fortunate to have the chance to inject what I learned in the Learning Launch tool in a current  project which I just finished. Specifically, a major toy manufacturer employed my team (which I lead), to  explore the launch of more interactive retail experiences in the toy section of a major retailer. Their  operating hypothesis and customer assumption was that these more interactive, playful experiences  would cause children and parents alike to be more likely to spend time in the toy aisle and purchase  more toys.

Just as mentioned in the Learning Launch video, we wanted to do this fast and cheap. So to test this  hypothesis quickly, we identified a subset of six stores. More specifically, we chose three geographic  markets, looking for two stores in each market with almost identical toy sales figures for the  manufacturer. We then began by conducting rapid ethnographic interviews in homes and in stores with  both parents and children.

Next, we employed a well-known design firm to create rapid prototypes of (hypothetically) more  engaging experiences based on analysis and videotapes of our interviews. We then deployed the design  firm to reconfigure three of the stores (one in each market) based on conversations with key client  stakeholders, the design firm and my team. The client was really impressed with the design team’s work  and everything was progressing quickly and positively.

Insights

After the stores were reconfigured, we analyzed sales figures from the toy departments as well as video  footage from store cameras for all six stores over a two week period. Much to our surprise, the control  group actually came out ahead in terms of overall sales by a magnitude of approximately  15%. As  mentioned in the video don’t be afraid to be wrong.

Our tentative finding – which seemed to be confirmed by video analysis – is that when you engage  children in play, they become distracted and are less likely to “shop” and “beg their moms for toys.” I  say tentative because this was a “quick and dirty” project based on rapid prototyping and should be  validated on a larger sample.

But an accidental finding to emerge from the interviews was that when parents drag their kids along on  other occasions – things like grabbing prescriptions after work – kids would (naturally) beg for toys.  Interestingly, because parents aren’t focused on toys (with the exception of Christmas and birthdays),  they would often say things like “OK, just don’t anything more than  $XX, where XX was usually $10, $15  or $20.

This really hit home, because as noted in the video, while all ideas not necessarily good, there are  always new ideas to surface.

Outcome and Approach

When I presented the findings, I tried to take an empathetic approach. I started by noting that we  learned from our ethnographic interviews that when children accompany their parents to stores they  tend to emulate their parents behavior. They basically become “junior shoppers.” But if you engage  them with toys –  such as the iconic train tables at Toys“R”Us – they quit shopping and start playing. It is  obviously not easy to tell a client that their idea was “wrong,” so we had worked with the design team  to be able to suggest newer aesthetic details without including “engaging experiences.”

Perhaps more importantly, we surfaced new ideas in the form of $10, $15 and $20 purchases on random  occasions. The client is now in the process od testing “ $10 toy bins” in areas such as the pharmacy, etc..


Learning Launch With Toys Challenge and Selection I am often employed to help companies at the launch phase of their products . One of the biggest challenges is that by the time I am brought in , companies have already invested a lot of time and money to craft their “ new ” product or experience . Usually they are looking for us to help them “ fine tune ” things like customer segments , marketplaces , geographies , key differentiators to highlight , etc . By the way , the video did a great job of explaining the problem with “ fine tuning ” thinks that do n’t work . And because they have almost always done prior survey research to confirm customer interest in the new product , it can be very difficult on many occasions to report findings that do n’t match their expectations on certain dimensions . That said , I was very cautious to try not to fall into the confirmation bias trap as described in the video . Application I was fortunate to have the chance to inject what I learned in the Learning Launch tool in a current project which I just finished . Specifically , a major toy manufacturer employed my team ( which I lead ) , to explore the launch of more interactive retail experiences in the toy section of a major retailer . Their operating hypothesis and customer assumption was that these more interactive , playful experiences would cause children and parents alike to be more likely to spend time in the toy aisle and purchase more toys . Just as mentioned in the Learning Launch video , we wanted to do this fast and cheap . So to test this hypothesis quickly , we identified a subset of six stores . More specifically , we chose three geographic markets , looking for two stores in each market with almost identical toy sales figures for the manufacturer . We then began by conducting rapid ethnographic interviews in homes and in stores with both parents and children . Next , we employed a well - known design firm to create rapid prototypes of ( hypothetically ) more engaging experiences based on analysis and videotapes of our interviews . We then deployed the design firm to reconfigure three of the stores ( one in each market ) based on conversations with key client stakeholders , the design firm and my team . The client was really impressed with the design team ’s work and everything was progressing quickly and positively . Insights After the stores were reconfigured , we analyzed sales figures from the toy departments as well as video footage from store cameras for all six stores over a two week period . Much to our surprise , the control group actually came out ahead in terms of overall sales by a magnitude of approximately 15 % . As mentioned in the video do n’t be afraid to be wrong . Our tentative finding – which seemed to be confirmed by video analysis – is that when you engage children in play , they become distracted and are less likely to “ shop ” and “ beg their moms for toys . ” I say tentative because this was a “ quick and dirty ” project based on rapid prototyping and should be validated on a larger sample . But an accidental finding to emerge from the interviews was that when parents drag their kids along on other occasions – things like grabbing prescriptions after work – kids would ( naturally ) beg for toys . Interestingly , because parents are n’t focused on toys ( with the exception of Christmas and birthdays ) , they would often say things like “ OK , just do n’t anything more than $ XX , where XX was usually $ 10 , $ 15 or $ 20 . This really hit home , because as noted in the video , while all ideas not necessarily good , there are always new ideas to surface . Outcome and Approach When I presented the findings , I tried to take an empathetic approach . I started by noting that we learned from our ethnographic interviews that when children accompany their parents to stores they tend to emulate their parents behavior . They basically become “ junior shoppers . ” But if you engage them with toys – such as the iconic train tables at Toys“R”Us – they quit shopping and start playing . It is obviously not easy to tell a client that their idea was “ wrong , ” so we had worked with the design team to be able to suggest newer aesthetic details without including “ engaging experiences . ” Perhaps more importantly , we surfaced new ideas in the form of $ 10 , $ 15 and $ 20 purchases on random occasions . The client is now in the process od testing “ $ 10 toy bins ” in areas such as the pharmacy , etc ..