Today, the research industry cannot look to new product “survival” as a measure of new product success. In a world of line extensions and saturated brand portfolios, successful innovation is defined by growth. In this webinar, Kirk Ward will present recent TNS analyses that challenge the approaches we have all used to predict new product success.

Based on Kantar Worldpanel data for four categories (laundry detergents, salty snacks, soft drinks, and skin care) over five years, TNS examined two aspects of new product launches:

• Did the product survive, i.e., was it still in distribution two years after launch?
• What impact has the new product had on the business/parent brand sales (relative to the average growth in the overall category)?

The results demonstrate that while total sales volume is important, the key driver of successful innovation and growth is incrementality. Kirk will present these results and discuss implications for marketers.

Biography for Kirk Ward

Kirk leads the Market Structure and Analytics teams for TNS in North America and heads the Marketing Sciences group in the U.S. Before the merger of TNS and RI, he held a similar position at RI, which he joined in 2004. At RI, which he joined in 2004, he led the PepsiCo, Philip Morris, Allied Domeq, and Miller Brewing accounts for 3 years. Kirk’s 37-year career in marketing research has spanned both the supplier and client sides of the business. Before joining RI, he was Senior Vice President and Central Region Sales Manager for MarketTools. Prior to that, he was President of Innovation Focus-Research – a marketing research consulting firm specializing in new product development. Kirk spent much of his career at Hershey Foods where he was Vice President, Integrated Business Intelligence and responsible for all consumer research for existing brands and new product development, promotion evaluation, syndicated data management, and category management analysis. He has extensive experience in market structure and segmentation work across a wide range of categories including packaged goods, retail, appliances, health and wellness, automotive, and digital behavior.

Kirk has also owned a marketing/marketing research consultancy and was VP and Associate Research Director for Tracy-Locke/BBDO in Dallas. He has been a branch manager for M/A/R/C, and began his career in marketing research at General Mills. He holds bachelor’s degree in industrial management and a master’s degree in management from Purdue University.