The “Experiment” report provides the results of advertising and commercial team experiments that are conducted in a selected regional test market during the simulated period.
Advertising experiment. An advertising experiment is conducted by increasing advertising budgets in a selected regional market. The results of the study are used to project the level of awareness and the market share that would have been achieved nationwide by each brand with the same increase in advertising and if competitive actions had remained unchanged. The impact on brand contribution is provided as well. An increase in contribution for a given brand shows that you would have benefited from advertising for this brand. The layout of this study is very similar to that of the commercial team experiment, illustrated in Figure 33.
Commercial Team experiment. This experiment is set up by increasing the merchandising budget or the size of the commercial team in each channel in a selected regional market. The results of the study are used to project the additional number of distributors, the share of shelf space and the market share that would have been achieved nationwide by each brand with the same increase in commercial budgets and if competitive actions have remained unchanged. The impact on brand contribution is provided as well. An increase in contribution for a given brand shows that you would have benefited from allocating more budget or people to this brand.
The report includes two distinct parts: one on merchandising budget increase and one on commercial team increase. Figure 33 for a sample screenshot of this study.
Figure 33 – Market Research – Commercial Team Experiment