What is Visualizer™?

Visualizer™ is a multimedia research application that uses digital imaging as well as unique software and filming techniques to develop interactive shopping environments (stores, showrooms, restaurants, et al.) Once captured, these 'real' environments can be employed for marketing research purposes and permit the virtually unlimited digital manipulation of environmental stimuli. Thus, Visualizer™ becomes the ideal tool with which to test alternative forms of displays, P.O.P. materials, retail pricing, packaging, store layouts, shelf configurations, prototype designs, etc. - individually or, most intriguingly, in combinations.

There is considerable published evidence that upwards of two-thirds of consumers' buying decisions are made at the "point of purchase". Visualizer™ provides the opportunity to place consumers in a "virtual" environment, of the marketer's choosing, where the majority of these decisions are made. This highly controlled, but life-like environment allows the respondent to react, assess and make their shopping decisions while permitting us to measure their behavior and ascertain the degree to which the test condition(s) have influenced that behavior. And, because Visualizer™ is computer-based, consumer interviewing can be conducted in multiple markets nationwide, simultaneously.

How Visualizer™ Works

We provide Visualizer environments in three distinct levels, dependent upon the client's research objectives: (click on any level to see an example)

Level 1: Simulated environment of a category or shelf area where respondents are shown a limited store section in which they can make brand/ SKU selections (e.g., R-T-E Cereals).
Level 2: Simulated environment of store department or aisle within the outlet where respondents are exposed to a somewhat restricted section (e.g., beverage aisle) in which to shop and make purchase selections.
Level 3: Simulated environment of entire retail/ service outlet (interior and exterior, if needed) where respondents can "walk" through the environment at will (with a joystick/trackball) or follow a predetermined course to shop within one or multiple catagories.

Our Multimedia Team creates Level 2 & 3 environments by filming on-site at a dedicated retail or service outlet. Upon development, we can digitally alter or superimpose any aesthetic element in the environment, thus creating one or many alternative scenarios. This control allows us the opportunity to measure the effects of adding/ changing displays or P.O.P. materials, rearranging store sections, increasing/decreasing selling prices, adding or deleting brands/SKU's, etc. Level 1 environments can be created by on-site filming or directly on the computer using our proprietary software and client-provided product images.

Typically, respondents are recruited via mall intercept. Upon qualification, these respondents are exposed to the environment on a large projection screen. With our "Active Product Selection" feature, respondents can select individual products from the shelf or display; view them up close, in detail; and buy or replace them. This feature is available with all three Visualizer environments. The survey instrument can either be programmed into the Visualizer™ environment to ask questions (and capture responses) interactively, or be administered via in-person interviewing.

Unlike traditional techniques of measuring consumer purchasing behavior with actual in-store tests or the use of prototypes/store "mock-ups" at central location facilities, Visualizer™ research studies are capable of testing a variety of alternative designs, more quickly and at significantly lower costs. Moreover, once a Visualizer™ environment has been created, it can be used not only for the current research study, but for future research projects as well.