In many false advertising and consumer fraud cases, issues involving how consumers understand marketing communications, including messages on product packaging, advertising, and through other means, become central to the relevant claims. Often, parties adopt polarized positions regarding how consumers interpret contested claims, leaving the trier of fact to separate advocacy from reality.
Consumer research can be an extremely powerful tool to break the stalemate posed in these situations. Consumer research is focused on collecting empirical data from relevant consumers through methodologically-sound, scientific, industry-accepted principles of survey research. Such research gathers data from consumers to determine how they understand the relevant issues in the case. These results typically are projectable to the broader population of relevant consumers in the market.
Keegan & Donato Consulting has extensive experience conducting studies to determine how consumers understand contested marketing claims. Our studies also examine related issues, including the extent to which particular marketing claims influence consumer demand for a product, how marketing communications impact consumer likelihood of purchase, and the relationship between marketing communications and the consumer’s willingness to pay a premium for a product.
The real-world results that we have collected in these consumer understanding studies have provided our clients a foundation for presenting fact-based evidence in support of their positions. Call us to find out how a consumer understanding study can help bolster your case.