Product Sensory Evaluation for Claim Support - Sensory Spectrum

Product Sensory Evaluation for
Claim Support
Pamela J. Zupkosky
P&G Gillette
Boston, MA USA

Agenda
• Overview of Claims
• Legal and Regulatory Requirements
• Sensory Clinical
Claims Substantiation Approach

What is a Claim
• Claim: Any communication about
a product that consumers are likely
to interpret as fact

Why Do We Need Claims
• Advertising claims enables “us” to
communicate the benefits of our
products to consumers.

Where Do Claims Exist
• Advertising guidelines apply to all
communications to the public about our products,
including:
– Packaging Copy
– Sales and Press Materials
– Print advertising
– Floor displays
– Transmitted media, including:
• web sites
• Television
• Radio
– Press Materials
• Claims can exist in any communication vehicle
• All claims must be substantiated

Types of Claims
(Some cannot be used in some countries)
• Monadic or Performance Statement
• Comparative – Superiority or Parity
• New and Improved
• Demonstrations or Dramatizations
• Drawings and Pictures
• Consumer Statements, Testimonials &
Endorsements
• Ingredients or Content Statements
• Drug Claims
• Guarantees
• Questions / Insights
• Puffery

Types of Claims
• Monadic Claims
– Statements of product performance.
Implied comparison is with product
vs. without product
– Depending on the legal environment,
they may be supported with
consumer data, technical data, and/or
technical rationale.
• e.g.. Makes hair shiny, leaves legs
smooth, protects from the sun

Types of Claims
• Comparative
– Comparison of products on
performance
– Superiority or parity
– Can be internally against “self” or
against other brands
• e.g.. Better protection, makes hair
shinier, shaves closer, skin is smoother,
the best…

Types of Claims
• “New” and “Improved” Claims
– An entirely new product…..
– Or a substantial change in product
performance
– Without clarification, “improved”
implies referral to the primary
benefit.
– These claims are typically limited (6
month duration in North America)

Types of Claims
• Demos
– Demonstrations are claims of performance
• They can be monadic or side by side
comparisons
– When using demos, expect to ‘super’ some
disclosure or use the word “dramatization”
• e.g.. Elapsed time, number of usage cycles for
before vs. after demos
– Must reflect true mechanism of action

Types of Claims
• Testimonials and Endorsements
– Consumer’s opinions become claims
if they are used in advertising.
– Professional endorsements usually
have a higher level of claims support
required.
• The advertiser must be able to
independently support what the
person has to say.

•Celebrity endorsement
•Superiority
•Guarantee
Beckham / M3Power

Types of Claims
• Ingredient Claims
– A “signal” ingredient is acceptable as
long as the product formula as a
whole delivers on the claim
– If a benefit is directly attributed to a
specific ingredient, you must have
data to show that ingredient provides
the benefit at the level used in the
product.

Types of Claims
• Drug Claims
– Any claim of altering either the structure or
function of the body is a drug claim
• e.g. Stimulates the scalp
– Any claim of prevention, treatment or cure
of a disease state is a drug claim
• e.g. prevents dandruff, maximum anti-perspirant
protection
– Every drug claim needs prior approval from
the FDA

•Drug Claim
•Celebrity Endorsement
Right Guard

Types of Claims
• Guarantees
– Must be true and supported
– Must comply with local law regarding
disclosures
– Guarantees are in the name of the brand
itself and not directly on behalf of the
Company.
• Questions can be claims
– e.g. Does your product keep your
underarms dry
• Insights can be claims
– e.g. Did you know – when you have a bad
shave......

Types of Claims
• Puffery
– Applies to only those statements so
obviously an exaggeration that
consumers won’t interpret as a literal
statement of fact.

•Superiority
•Demonstration
Breakthrough

Legal and Regulatory
Requirements

Where Does the Substantiation
Data Go
• The substantiation for a claim must be
assembled prior to publication of that
claim in accordance with local standards
• In most countries, truthful and
substantiated advertising is required by
law.
– Different views on what sort of claim can even
be made
– Different views on level of proof required
• (Consumer data, Instrumental data, Clinical data)
– Different views on what constitutes proper
substantiation

Where Does the Substantiation
Data Go
• After publication, the data may need to
be disclosed:
– In response to a competitive challenge
• Direct discussion
• Litigation
• Regulatory complaint procedure
– In response to an inquiry from a regulatory
body
• Be very careful with data generation, as
it is all discoverable in a litigation
situation.

Advertising Review Agencies
• There are a variety of external
advertising review agencies globally.
The agencies are made up of a
combination of government and private
organizations.
• These agencies are responsible for
reviewing advertising for truthfulness
and providing protection for the
consumer.

Advertising Review Agencies
• United States:
• Substantiation data may be required as part
of pre-clearance for:
– network TV
– network radio
– print advertising (e.g., Good
Housekeeping)
• EU:
• Substantiation for cosmetic product claims
must be included in “PIP”
• TV pre-clearance process:
– UK - BACC (Broadcast Advertising Clearance
Centre)
– France - BVP (Bureau de Vérification de la
Publicité)

Legal Challenge
• False claims or claims that are not supported
can expose legal actions, and result in
negative public relations consequences….
– Prohibition from further use of the claim
– for pack copy
• Repackage
• Over-sticker
• Mask over claim
– Costly! Claims challenges require valuable
resources to respond and defend.
– Loss of credibility: cascade effect elsewhere

The Sensory Clinical
Claims Substantiation Approach

Claims Substantiation
• What constitutes a method of claims
substantiation
– In the US, Consumer Use Tests (CUTs)
are a generally accepted means of
substantiating a claim (consumer
perceivable attributes)
– Instrumental Methods and Protocols
– Sensory Clinical Methods and Protocols
• Can be a combination of methods or a
single method

Claims Substantiation
• In many countries, CUT data,
standing alone, is not generally
accepted as sufficient to
substantiate a claim
– These countries require “Objective”
data
• Instrumental Methods and Protocols
• Sensory Clinical Methods and Protocols

Claims Substantiation
Strategy
• Objective: Capitalize on consumer experience
with products and understanding of technologies
to identify and objectively measure signals /
attributes
– Understand Consumer Experience
– Understand signals and use the appropriate
methodology
– Understand Physiology and its impact
• e.g. Skin and Hair
• Result: Determine the appropriate approach or
combination of approaches to measure pertinent
signals / attributes

Claims Strategy
In
Vitro
Laboratory
Objective measures
Quick and relatively inexpensive
Must be Relevant / validated
Links to final performance understood
Combine these
approaches to provide
an appropriate
package of data to
support the claim
Assess
Claim
User
Study
Claims
Support
Package
Establish need
Understand target users
Define approach
In
Vivo
Home use (use & abuse)
Appropriate population
Confirm perception of performance
Trained assessors
Controlled
Blind
Instrumental / observational measures
Self Assessment

Understanding the Desired Sensory
Experience (an example)
• Background:
– The business was interested in developing a
product for women that fulfilled an unmet
skin benefit need.
– The development team was looking for
guidance in developing their Ideal Product
Model and advertising concept.

Understanding the Desired Sensory
Experience
What sensory
characteristics
are desired
by consumers
How do you translate
the desired sensory
characteristics into
measurable
attributes

Identifying Desirable Sensory
Characteristics
– Consumers have a difficult time describing what
they want from a product.
– When consumers can experience
(see/feel/smell/taste/hear) products, they will
provide more meaningful feedback for product
development.
– Creative ways to talk about our products can be
gained from this consumer feedback.
• “I love the way this makes my skin feel, I feel like I just
moisturized!”
• “This is too sticky!”
• “Should smell like this!”

Signals and Sensations Associated With
Desirable Skin
Absence of Negatives

Sensory Clinical Testing
• What is important to the consumer
– Develop consumer vocabulary representing
signals and sensations associated with the
needs and fulfillment of benefits
– Develop attributes that are measurable by
consumer testing, instrumental testing,
clinical testing, or a combination of tests.
• How do we measure the benefits
– Develop methods to measure the signals and
sensations
– Ensure that you are measuring the right thing
• Develop integrated signals
• Develop individual signals from complex terms

Translation of consumer desires into
Sensory Clinical attributes
• Recruit and train a Descriptive Analysis Panel,
and / or….
• Trained judges evaluate the sensory properties on
a panel of consumers
• Develop “measurable” attributes based on
consumer signals and sensations
– Visual attributes
– Tactile attributes
– Inherent physiological response
• stinging, burning, soreness, tug and pull

Translation of consumer desires into
Sensory Clinical attributes
• Benefits of Methodology:
– When instrumental methods are not
sensitive enough
– When instruments cannot measure
the signal
– When additional evidence (objective)
is needed

Example: Descriptive Analysis
4
3.5
Product 1
Product 2
3
B
B
2.5
B
B
2
1.5
1
A
B B B
A
A A
A
A
B
A
B
A
A
0.5
0
Attribute 1 Attribute 2 Attribute 3 Attribute 4 Attribute 5 Attribute 6 Attribute 7 Attribute 8 Attribute 9
Within an attribute,
samples with the
same letter
annotation are not
significantly
different from each
other
p < 0.05

Product Benefits
• By understanding the signals and sensations
consumers notice and developing an objective
measurement tool, we were able to:
– Link product function to its impact on the
body
– Develop appropriate products
– Measure the correct signals
– Identify a process to evaluate potential
technical solutions
– Develop a vocabulary to describe the
product
– Provide meaningful, objective, claim
support

The Sensory Clinical
Claims Substantiation Approach
Strategic Outcomes:
• Introduction of sensory criteria for Advertising
Claim Substantiation
• Sensory replaces instrumental methods that
cannot detect the perceived effects of the
product
• Sensory replaces instrumental methods when
there are no instrumental measures
• Claims review boards accept the ‘sensory only’
claims

Claim Substantiation Strategy
Product
-Ingredient Level
-Product Type
Protocol
-Level of Substantiation
-Sensitivity
Claim
-Wording
Signal
-What do we measure
Measurement
Tool
-Measure the correct signal(s)
-Combinations of techniques
-Sensitivity

Thank You!