Leader of the Pack

New York, NY -- Market research firm Ipsos-Insight announced that it has launched a new, cutting-edge package-testing product in the U.S. called Pack Evolution that enables manufacturers to take advantage of the speed, efficiency and technology of the Internet to test package designs using digital shelf displays. According to industry and trade data, marketers and manufacturers could benefit from insights into launching and repositioning their brands. More than 30,000 different products line the shelves, freezers and aisles of our supermarkets and other outlets, and tens of thousands of new items are introduced each year in the U.S., at an estimated annual cost of more than $1 billion. "Shelf space competition in today's marketplace is fierce--consumers are inundated with a multitude of brands, flavors, varieties, and sizes," said Lauren Demar, President of the Consumer Products division at Ipsos-Insight, a member of the Ipsos Group of global research companies. "And retailers are constantly monitoring the situation--determining what should stay, and what should go. On-shelf factors such as packaging are a product's last chance to influence a consumer's decision to buy and the stakes are huge." "Pack Evolution's true-to-life testing reflects real phases of shopping behavior: as part of the online survey, respondents emulate approaching the store shelf (i.e., digital shelf) and then move in for a closer look at the packages on the shelf. The insight provided into a product's on-shelf visibility, brand recognition and persuasion by Pack Evolution, along with the powerful diagnostics incorporated, can make a significant difference to brand growth," Demar added. "Ipsos is extending its expertise in consumer packaged goods marketing solutions to the new, frequently unexplored arena of packaging research. We're pleased to be able to offer our clients this new avenue to help develop stronger and better brands through improving package presence on the shelf. Pack Evolution is the first in our Package Testing Solutions platform," said Lynn Rosen, Ipsos-Insight Product Manager for Pack Evolution. "Clients like the speed of the online data collection and how easy it is to test new package designs with digital images." Pack Evolution offers clients several distinct advantages over current package testing methodologies. Pack Evolution improves decision-making because its robust sample sizes allow for quantitative, rather than qualitative, analysis. Plus, its assessment of the link between package design and brand name goes beyond traditional eye-tracking or T-scope measures. And, for clients who need to conduct global research, Pack Evolution has been designed as a standardized, multi-country tool. "And Ipsos-Insight plans on continued enhancements to Pack Evolution, including a normative database and ongoing in-market validation. Initial research and development already shows a good fit between past purchase and package performance scores," Rosen said. For more information, please contact: Lynn Rosen Director Ipsos Pack Evolution 516.507.3374 About Ipsos-Insight Ipsos-Insight is a member of the Ipsos Group, a leading global survey-based market research company. As the company's flagship marketing research division in the U.S., Ipsos-Insight provides custom and tracking research to domestic clients as well as U.S.-based multinationals. Ipsos-Insight specializes in research for the Consumer Products, Technology & Communications, Financial Services, and Health industries, to name a few. It also acts as the portal to other Ipsos specializations including advertising research, forecasting, modeling, global research, public opinion research, and customer loyalty research. Let Ipsos-Insight client service representatives help you access more than 4,000 Ipsos research professionals and field staff located coast-to-coast, and around the world. To learn more, visit: www.ipsos-insight.com. About Ipsos Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research group, with revenues of 538.5 million euros in 2002. It offers a full suite of research services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies in advertising, marketing, public opinion and customer loyalty research, as well as forecasting and modeling. Member companies also offer a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services. To learn more, visit: www.ipsos.com. Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris Premier Marchй, and is part of the SBF 120 and Next Prime Indices as well as eligible to the Deferred Settlement System (SRD). Euroclear code 7329, Reuters ISOS.LN, Bloomberg IPS FP