Topical Pain Relief Product Development & Roadmapping
Collaborated with a cross-functional product development team for a leading OTC topical pain relief brand, conducting ethnographic research and leading iterative concept development. This work culminated in an innovation roadmap that drove $20 million in incremental sales for our client.
Project Info
Client: A Leading Pharmaceutical Manufacturer
Time: 2017, 9 Months
Role: Project Lead, Principal Investigator
Project Overview
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The project commenced with a two-day ideation workshop. Here we were introduced to the marketing brand managers, discussed the OTC topical pain relief category, and collaboratively worked to identify key research goals and knowledge gaps.
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We started by recruiting respondents around the Atlanta and Boston markets and conducting in-home ethnographic research with users. The protocol consisted of a homework activity where respondents were directed to create collages depicting their journey with pain, followed by an interview and shop-along at a location where they purchase OTC pain relief products.
These approaches were chosen so that we could better understand the users, the context surrounding their pain, and the approaches they were taking to address it.
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The research led us to develop a Needs Map where we compiled over two-thousand data points into thematic attitudes and behaviors and laddered them up into user needs. This framework along with an Insight and Opportunity Framing Report, provided our client team with a holistic understanding of the user needs and opportunities to drive innovation in topical pain relief and set the stage for concept development.
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Concept generation kicked off by inviting over twenty client employees to the Thrive studio in Atlanta, for a fast-pace and engaging ideation workshop. Here an extended team of Thrive designers and researchers welcomed our guests and took them through a series of fun and thought-provoking activities.
The project continued with concept refinement where I worked back closely with our designers and the client team to advance a series of twenty concepts, preparing them for concept testing with consumers. I then led a series of focus groups in Atlanta and New Jersey where we iteratively tested and refined the concepts.
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The project concluded with an IPSOS concept screen where the client assessed the market viability of the concepts. We used this feedback along with input from the client’s R&D department to develop an innovation roadmap, which was used to pull together a five year vision for the category.
Key Takeaways
Establishing a First Line of Defense
As part of our research, we spoke with users managing various chronic conditions and found that while they had access to prescription pain relief options, OTC solutions played an important role in forming a first line of defense. We learned that for those treating pain over time, the value of OTC offerings was in that they were perceived to be safer and less taxing on the body.
Pain Relief That Keeps up
Included in our research was a broad cross-section of workers, athletes, grandparents, and others who experienced activity-related aches and pains. While solutions like like icing and applying heat were known to be effective, they require users to step out of the action. Our research approach which included engaging directly with users in their environment, helped us understand the context of use helping us develop targeted pain relief solutions.
Challenges
Representing the Many Voices of Pain
We were pushed by the client to combine a broad range of consumers into a single project, which included those with headaches, joint pain, foot pain, and various muscle pains. The challenge was that these users often had very different experiences and stories to tell. and so at times, it was hard to act as the voice of the user when there were many voices to represent.
Feeling for Our Users
As a subject it was at times difficult for the research team, many of our respondents had been living with chronic pain and were both physically and emotionally drained. While we were honored that they would open up and share their journey with us, it was also a lot for us to take on. As project lead I regularly checked in with my team and we found ways to come together and offer each other support.