Substantiate / Support Brand's Verifiable Claims

The consumer market is increasingly competitive. Now it is ubiquitous for business managers the use of creative, compelling and aggressive brand claims trying to catch consumers' attention on the unique and distinctive benefits of a product, particularly those that can be easily perceived by consumers. The use of positive references in advertising, packaging or both, in the presentation of products to consumers, must be supported by product testing.

Testing is conducted to determine how one product compares to another, usually a competitor or an earlier version of itself, with the purpose to ascertain and establish the product's performance within the scope of its intended use.

As more compelling and aggressive are the brand claims, they are sure to be scrutinised more closely by competitive firms, and if inconsistencies or inaccuracies are found through competitive test data, the claims might be challenged. Therefore, one of the product's performance tests must be designed specifically to substantiate claims to fit within the commercial and legal framework.

Protecting from Claim Challenges or Challenging Competitors' Brand Claims

Claims could be challenged in one or more of the following venues: (1) National Commercial, Industrial or Advertising Bureau/Boards, (2) Consumer Advocacy Organisations, and (3) Civil Courts (according to the legal framework pertaining the topic in each country).

There is no standard testing methodology or single test design that can prevent future challenges or support the formulation of challenges against competitors' existing claims. The criteria used by jurors/arbiters of forums differs and is constantly evolving. The only one constant is that, as advocates of the client's positions, attorneys will vigorously defend their client's testing processes and protocols while questioning with great detail every aspect of their competitor's processes and protocols in an attempt to sway the jurors/arbiters to agree that their clients are in the right.

In these commercial or legal scenarios, the professional competence of the laboratory that conducted the product's performance test is critical. In that venue, CONSUMERTEC's laboratory offers to the consumer industry the following:

More than 25 years of experience of conducting comparative independent testing of household products, in the fields of home and laundry care, personal care, and foods and beverages; in relevance mostly to several countries in Latin America

Legal recognition from authorities as a competent laboratory to conduct comparative tests according to the international standard: ISO/IEC Guide 46:2017. Comparative testing of consumer products and related services - General principles

Legal recognition from authorities as a competent laboratory to conduct comparative tests according to the international standard: ISO 11056:1999 (reconfirmed in 2010). Sensory analysis - Methodology - Magnitude estimation method.

Legal recognition from authorities as a competent laboratory to conduct comparative tests according to the international standard: ISO 4319:1977 (reconfirmed in 2019). Surface active agents - Detergents for washing fabrics - Guide for comparative testing of performance.

How do we work? What is your gain?

CONSUMERTEC is contracted in an occasional project base to join a client's Marketing or R&D teams in charge of brand claims. The team is usually responsible for the following goals:

• to design product's performance test in line with brand claims or vice versa

• to evaluate test results and build communication materials accordingly

• to generate appropriate documentation required by the company legal staff

As a team member CONSUMERTEC assumes goal responsibility and provides team's work support, deploying full capabilities and technologies: in-vitro and in-silico methodologies at laboratory level, and in-vivo household methodologies, in order to reach goals effectively and efficiently. In other words, we deploy full capabilities and expertise, with no limits, in line with team plans and actions.

Any doubts? Do not hesitate, contact us