DVJ Insights shortlisted for MRS Application of Analytics Award
London, 7 October 2026 – DVJ Insights has been shortlisted for the 2026 MRS Application of Analytics Award for research investigating which concept-testing metrics validly predict in-market success. The recognition is one of two MRS Awards nominations for DVJ Insights this year, alongside a nomination in the Media Research category.
Which metrics predict in-market success?
Concept testing plays an important role in deciding which innovations companies launch and invest in. Yet despite the wide range of metrics used to evaluate new concepts, their ability to predict actual market performance has been difficult to validate.
DVJ Insights set out to investigate which metrics have the strongest relationship with real purchasing behaviour. Using its passive shopper panel Spenderlog, DVJ selected 60 FMCG products already available in the Danish market and retrospectively tested them as new concepts among 1,288 category shoppers.
Connecting concept testing with real behaviour
The study compared the predictive performance of different KPI systems, including Purchase Intention, conventional evaluation measures, concept diagnostics and Free Associations.
The findings showed clear differences in their ability to predict actual market success. Free Associations – consumers’ spontaneous reactions to a concept – delivered the strongest predictive contribution, while multi-KPI systems also improved prediction. Purchase Intention alone showed no meaningful predictive relationship with in-market success.
The research demonstrates how connecting concept-testing metrics with behavioural market data can help identify which measures provide the strongest basis for predicting success and supporting better innovation decisions.
Martin Hellich, Global Head of Innovation at DVJ Insights, says: “The key question for us was not whether one established metric works or doesn’t work, but which metrics actually help us predict what happens in the market. By connecting concept-testing results with real purchasing behaviour, we can validate our measures against what consumers ultimately do. This helps us understand which metrics provide the strongest signals and, ultimately, make concept testing more useful for innovation decisions.”
The two MRS nominations add to a series of recent international recognitions for DVJ Insights, following its ESOMAR Award win for Best Social Impact Research and three nominations for the Quirk’s Awards.
The winner of the MRS Application of Analytics Award will be announced at the MRS Awards in London on 7 December.
