What is Concept Testing in Marketing Research?
Concept testing is a research method that evaluates new ideas — such as products, ads, or packaging — with real consumers before launch. By running concept tests, brands reduce risk, save money, and prioritize the ideas most likely to succeed in market.
Why is concept testing important?
1. Concept testing saves time and money
Launching a poorly received idea can damage brand perception and waste resources. Concept testing will prevent you from spending more energy and money in the future. When you know exactly what your customer wants, and your brand delivers the right idea with the right approach, you set marketing up for success.
2. It helps you choose the best idea
You could generate multiple ideas, but not all might work in-market. Concept testing lets you compare options objectively, so you can move forward with the strongest direction. The concept testing process will also allow you to identify the ideas that might need further improvement. This way you won’t have to discard most of your concepts, but simply optimize them for the future.
3. It reveals which aspects matter most
Concept testing identifies the details that influence consumer response — such as messaging, imagery, or even packaging color. For ad creative, you might test multiple layouts or taglines. For product packaging, you might explore claim visibility or flavor cues. These insights ensure your final design aligns with consumer expectations.
4. It provides tangible proof of your idea’s validity
Convincing stakeholders to back a new direction is easier with data in hand. Quantifiable results from a concept test give you the evidence needed to secure alignment across teams.
5. It helps you develop ideas that sell
At the end of the day, success comes down to purchase intent. Concept testing lets you see your idea through the consumer’s eyes — revealing pain points, motivations, and unmet needs. By addressing these, you position your product or campaign to drive sales and long-term loyalty.
6. It enables iterative testing and refinement
Concept testing isn’t a one-and-done process. Iterative testing allows you to refine ideas step by step, guided by consumer feedback. This approach allows you to make incremental improvements to your concepts, ensuring that they resonate with your target audience. By embracing iterative concept testing, you can refine your ideas to perfection and increase the likelihood of success when they are launched in the market.
7. It gives you a competitive advantage
Concept testing not only helps you validate your ideas but also provides valuable insights into consumer preferences and market trends. With this intelligence, you can identify gaps, outmaneuver competitors, and innovate with confidence.
Success Story: How McDonald’s Found Its Winning Chicken Innovation
McDonald’s is famous for staples like the Big Mac and McNuggets, but as consumer demand for chicken surged, the brand needed to define its place in the QSR chicken market. The challenge was clear: identify a chicken menu item that could succeed globally without cannibalizing existing offerings.
To solve this, McDonald’s partnered with Dig Insights and used our innovation testing platform, Upsiide, to run a concept test. Together, we tested more than 50 current and potential menu items, evaluating performance, appeal, and incremental growth potential. The research revealed valuable insights: some formats, like grilled or bone-in chicken, didn’t align with McDonald’s brand, while others, like the Chicken Big Mac, generated strong enthusiasm but only among a niche group of consumers.
The breakthrough came with the McCrispy. Testing showed it had broad appeal, was clearly positioned as a premium chicken sandwich, and could drive growth without undermining core menu items. McDonald’s moved forward with confidence, launching the McCrispy as a global permanent innovation. Today, it is already a multi-billion-dollar menu item, proving that rigorous concept testing can uncover the ideas that transform categories.
“Dig has become an invaluable partner across so many aspects of our business – and especially for our global team. We’ve worked with Dig on some of our most pressing and strategic customer problems to solve and they truly partner in finding real, workable solutions that connect insight to strategy. Dig goes beyond giving us the data and even the ‘why’, they are our partners in the ‘so what’ for our business.
We had the opportunity to partner on global menu research that supported a unified, global perspective on our chicken portfolio of products. They were critical partners in helping us craft a compelling story, grounded in data and human truths, to support our recommendations to our Senior Leaders.”
Dana Grinshpan
Customer Experience Insights Manager, McDonald’s
FAQs About Concept Testing
What is concept testing in marketing?
It’s the process of evaluating new ideas (products, ads, packaging) with consumers before launch to predict market performance.
How do you run a concept test?
Common methods include surveys, focus groups, and testing platforms like Upsiide, which simulate real-world choices.
What are the benefits of concept testing?
It saves money, reduces risk, validates ideas with proof, reveals consumer preferences, and boosts competitiveness.
What happens if you skip concept testing?
You risk wasted investment, brand backlash, and lost consumer trust.
What tools are best for concept testing?
Innovation testing platforms like Upsiide, created by Dig Insights, make concept testing faster and more scalable, while traditional surveys and focus groups remain useful for deeper exploration.
Conclusion
Concept testing is a cornerstone of marketing research. It helps you validate new ideas, optimize them for consumer needs, and launch with confidence. By testing early and iteratively, your brand can avoid costly failures, uncover competitive advantages, and deliver concepts that truly resonate.