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All in a matter of weeks, your product concepts are brought to operations development level finish, including the product description and rationale, consumer benefits, emotional and rational appeals as well as the hard elements of package design, industrial design, and product formulation.

What is it?
PyramidBuilder™ is a 3-step program that identifies ideas with the greatest potential, and brings those ideas to life.

The Starting Point
We begin with up to 15 new product ideas at any stage of development from a one phrase description, a paragraph of text, to finished product. PyramidBuilder™ will determine which ideas have the greatest potential and take them to operations development level finish.

Pyramid Level 1 – Dimensional Sorting Groups
Developing the Intellectual Qualities of the Product Ideas
All ideas are brought to an equal level of development and comprehensibility to be given a fair chance in an evaluation sort.

1. Focus groups add substance to the ideas. Their rationale, benefit, and reasons for use are brought to life in the Dimensions Sorting groups.
2. Those focus groups find the products' intellectual basis or qualities needed to drive the purchase. The product is “longer lasting”, “faster acting”, “more fun for kids”, ”best engineered”.
3. The focus groups determine the sorting dimensions or criteria. For example, it must “be innovative’, “fulfil an unmet need”, “be an acceptable brand extension”, “be exciting”.
4. The ideas are sorted or evaluated and the ideas that are most promising are brought to the next level of development.

Pyramid Level 2 - Ideation Mini Groups
Developing the Emotional Appeals of the Product Ideas
Ideation Mini groups (4 person groups) are conducted to further develop the product concepts. Each mini group chooses four preferred concepts and creates a story around their preferred ideas. The “story” includes descriptions of the users, usage, locations, feelings, settings, and the emotions that surround the concept.
“ Stories” are presented expanded and evaluated until the most important concept themes emerge. These go the next level of research and development.

Pyramid Level 3 - Designer Triads
Developing the Product Qualities
Designer triads are 3-person (consumer) focus groups, plus a design professional, moderated by a senior moderator. The Designer Triads turns the winning concepts into (nearly) finished products, ready for operations to develop. The designer might be a graphic artist translating consumer's words into visuals, colours, and other appropriate package elements. The designer might be a food technologist, turning consumers’ expressed needs into formulations. The designer might be an industrial designer, sketching out industrial designs or keeping the consumers on track ensuring that they ask for feasible products.

The Outcome
The outcome is two or three concepts that are ready for operations to develop.

Who Should Use PyramidBuilder™?
Marketing and New Product Innovation/Product Development Teams who want to fast track the development process.

Interested? We’d love to tell you more.
Please call David Kay or Nancy Siller at 416-486-6161.