Prologue by NIDA represents a groundbreaking suite of development courses meticulously crafted by the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Australia’s premier institution for dramatic arts. This unique program is designed to extend beyond the traditional realms of artistic instruction, offering professionals from all walks of life the opportunity to harness the power of performance arts to enhance their effectiveness in the workplace and personal domains. Leveraging NIDA’s expansive expertise, Prologue By NIDA provides an innovative approach to professional and personal development, focusing on improving communication skills, boosting self-confidence, and fostering creative problem-solving abilities.
To develop and enrich the Prologue by NIDA experience and ensure its accessibility to a wider audience, NIDA established a strategic partnership with Nakatomi, a technology innovation company led by imagination.
This collaboration combines NIDA’s unparalleled expertise in performance arts and professional development with Nakatomi’s imaginative new product development proficiency.
Building a good customer experience requires deep knowledge and ongoing improvements. To achieve this, the Nakatomi utilized a data-driven approach to identify the right target audience for their product and receive valuable feedback.
Using Prelaunch for Lead Qualification
When Nakatomi approached Prelaunch with an ambitious project to test and validate the content of their innovative product, they faced a unique challenge. Their goal was not only to launch a product and see how the market would react to it but also to ensure its content deeply resonated with and impacted their target audience.
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Henry Ford
This iconic quote attributed to Henry Ford brilliantly encapsulates Nakatomi’s challenge: the difficulty of innovating within the realm of customer expectations. Much like Ford’s insight into the automotive industry’s potential beyond the conventional desire for “faster horses,” Nakatomi understood that true innovation doesn’t always stem from directly asking consumers what they want.
In the context of developing Prologue by NIDA, it became clear that merely creating a product was not sufficient. The crucial challenge lay in crafting content that not only reached but profoundly influenced and engaged the target audience.
Unlike other Prelaunch platform users, Nakatomi recognized the necessity of physically testing their product rather than relying solely on digital means. This decision stemmed from the understanding that the tangible experience of their book, accompanied by content delivered via an app, could not be fully captured or assessed through online interactions alone. To truly gauge the impact and reception of their innovative product, Nakatomi aimed to create an immersive experience for their focus groups, allowing participants to physically interact with the product as if they had just purchased it. This approach was designed to provide more authentic and comprehensive feedback, crucial for making precise adjustments and ensuring the product’s success in the real world.
The Two-Step Reservation Funnel
Prelaunch.com designed a two-step reservation funnel to identify and filter potential leads for Prologue by NIDA ( initially called ‘Persona by NIDA’). This funnel involved a two-stage process where interested individuals would first sign up to receive more information about the product and then go through a targeted survey designed to gather specific data points.
Step 1: Simple Subscription Form
The first step of the reservation funnel involved a sign-up page where leads were invited to register their interest in the course. Upon being selected, the Nakatomi team contacted participants to proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Reservation Page
On the second page, following the qualification survey, visitors were presented with an enticing proposition: the opportunity to be among the select few to experience an innovative learning program at no cost.
This exclusive offer required only a nominal $1 deposit to secure a reservation. The deposit would later be fully refunded regardless of the election outcome, ensuring all the value without the financial commitment.
Throughout the process, the team prioritized clarity in communication about the participation requirements. From the initial sign-up to the final confirmation, each step was carefully designed to provide participants with all necessary information, leaving no room for misunderstandings. This level of transparency was crucial for maintaining the project’s integrity and building trust with potential participants.
The Qualifying Survey
While Prelaunch’s two-step reservation funnel was instrumental in identifying the most interested user base, the work was not yet over. The next crucial step involved filtering the interested and qualified leads.
To this end, the Prelaunch team devised a complex, multi-question survey tailored specifically to further refine the selection of participants for the product testing. This survey was meticulously structured to assess various facets of the candidates’ backgrounds, interests, and compatibility with the program’s aims. Those who didn’t align with the desired criteria were gradually filtered out, leaving behind a cohort of qualified leads eagerly awaiting their copy.
The Results
Upon analyzing the results of Prologue by NIDA’s lead qualification process through Prelaunch, several key metrics emerged, highlighting the campaign’s effectiveness. Of the individuals who showed initial interest, approximately 33.4% took the next step to subscribe for more information, reflecting a robust engagement rate with the project’s premise. About 51.7% went further from these subscriptions to make a $1 reservation, indicating a strong intention to participate. Notably, 98.1% of all reservations transitioned into taking the qualifying survey. However, the ultimate goal of identifying those best suited for the project led to a qualification rate of 86.5% from those who took the survey. This streamlined process efficiently narrowed the vast pool of initial interest to a focused group genuinely suited for testing the Prologue product.
With Prologue by NIDA, Prelaunch revolutionized the concept of traditional focus groups, introducing a more targeted and efficient method. By employing sophisticated digital tools, Prelaunch designed virtual focus groups, moving away from the conventional approach of gathering people in a room to discuss a product. This innovative strategy leverages the power of online interactivity, enabling a more diverse and geographically dispersed set of participants to participate in the evaluation process.
Unlike other platforms and methods where brands typically bear the cost of convening focus groups, Prelaunch subscribers make a nominal payment.
The shift to a model where participants make a nominal payment to join the evaluation process brings several distinct advantages that ultimately enhance the overall effectiveness of market testing. When individuals invest even a small amount of money, their level of commitment and engagement tends to be significantly higher. This financial contribution, however minor, acts as a psychological catalyst, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility towards the project. As a result, participants are more likely to provide thoughtful, honest, and detailed feedback, as they feel directly involved and accountable.
Moreover, requiring a payment helps to naturally filter out those who might lack genuine interest or seriousness about the project’s goals. Unlike traditional focus group participants, who may sometimes join merely for the incentives offered, paying participants demonstrate a proactive interest in the product. This pre-qualification step enhances the quality of the feedback, making it more relevant and actionable for the product development team.
In addition, the payment model reduces brands’ financial burden. Organizing traditional focus groups can be costly, involving expenses for venue hire, participant compensation, and logistical arrangements. By shifting part of this financial responsibility to the participants, Prelaunch allows brands to allocate their resources more efficiently, potentially funding more phases of product testing or other critical development activities.
Altogether, this innovative approach not only reinforces participant engagement and improves the quality of feedback but also drives a more cost-effective and scalable strategy for product testing.
By leveraging Prelaunch’s innovative model, Nakatomi narrowed down a vast pool of potential participants to a highly engaged and qualified group. This resulted in more meaningful and actionable feedback and streamlined the entire process, proving to be both cost-effective and efficient. The high level of participant engagement achieved through the nominal payment model further underscored the commitment and depth of insights gained. This case study exemplifies the future of product testing, where traditional methods are supplanted by sophisticated, data-driven, and interactive approaches.
Ultimately, Prelaunch empowered Nakatomi and NIDA to refine its product concept and confidently prepare for its market launch, setting a new standard in the industry for pre-market validation.
