New Product Development - an MRS conference report
John Griffiths
New product development is an awkward blend of ROI imperative and a real risk of failure.
What made the MRS's recent NPD conference so interesting was how the emerging research tools - many online - enable marketers to pick winners more quickly and easily.
Phil Sutcliffe, the conference chair, pointed out how consistently NPD takes the form of line extensions. This is inherently less risky, even though new product ideas - when successful - deliver much bigger numbers.
Semiotics
The first speaker of the day, Claire Nuttall...