Significant Live Sample (SLS) Playtesting & Concept Testing
Our innovative Significant Live Sample (SLS) Playtesting & Concept Testing methodology ensures product quality and marketing effectiveness, guarantees the security of confidential assets, and provides normative benchmarking of product quality.
Ideal For
- Hands-on Product Testing (video games, mobile applications, websites, consumer electronics, any type of product)
- Media Testing (trailers, promos, pilots, ads, film, any type of media)
- Concept Testing (positioning statements, concept descriptions, feature lists, key art, video, any type of conceptual assets)
Background
- SLS is the only approach that delivers both quantitative benchmarking and qualitative feedback with the guarantee that confidential assets cannot leak
- We bring up to 300 of your target consumers into a secure facility to evaluate a product or concept, complete a survey, and participate in focus group discussion and/or one-on-one interviews
- Quantitative findings from large samples ensure statistically significant survey results, while qualitative feedback from individual interviews and group discussions support, interpret, and complement the quantitative results
Objectives
- Quantify key metrics (e.g., overall fun, play interest, intent to recommend, intent to purchase, intent to download, quality of individual features)
- Develop actionable steps to improve key metrics.
- Prioritize improvements in order of those that will produce the greatest marginal returns.
- Identify key strengths and unique selling points.
Methodology (First-Time User Experience)
- Part 1 – Testing (60 minutes or longer if necessary)
- Product Testing: Consumers use the product either at individual stations or together in groups, as specified by the client. We observe organic usage behavior
- Media Testing: Consumers are seated at individual TV stations with headphones and exposed to the visual stimulus (trailer, promo, pilot, ad, film, any media)
- Concept Testing: Consumers evaluate concept descriptions, positioning statements, feature lists, key art, and video footage
- The client will be able to observe behind a one-way mirror
- We securely record and stream the experience live to accommodate remote clients worldwide
- Part 2 – Survey (30 minutes)
- VGM’s standard key metrics for normative benchmarking
- All customized research objectives at client’s request
- Open-ended feedback
- Part 3: Focus Group (60 minutes or longer if necessary)
- In each testing session, a small portion of the respondents (generally 6-8 people) will participate in a moderated focus group to discuss overall experience, key strengths, and areas of improvement
Methodology (Longitudinal/Long-Term Product Usage)
- Part 1 – The first part is exactly the same process as the First-Time User Experience product test described above — respondents use the product on-site (60 minutes or longer if necessary), complete a survey on-site (30 minutes), and participate in focus group discussion (60 minutes or longer if necessary)
- Part 2 – Users then take the product home with them and continue to play for 7-14 days or longer if necessary. Each day users complete a Daily Diary about their experience, which includes a combination of quantitative scores and open-ended feedback.
- Part 3 – On the final day of testing, users return to the facility to uninstall the software/return the product, complete a final survey, and participate in exit focus group discussions.
Recruiting
- You will have total control over the recruiting criteria of your respondents
- VGM delivers superior quality, higher accuracy, and faster turnaround time on recruiting vs. other full-service vendors because we recruit for qualitative studies using our proprietary respondent database and our internal team of seasoned recruiters
- We are one of the only full-service vendors that handles recruiting internally rather than outsourcing to third-party subcontractors
- Every respondent that attends your groups will undergo a rigorous five-step screening process:

Moderation
- The moderator will have experience conducting 500+ qualitative sessions
- Watch and direct the qualitative discussion sessions in real time with VGM’s live video stream and integrated chat, included at no charge
Conventional Focus Group Option
- For our clients that do not require the quantitative input of SLS methodology, we simply strip out the high sample size component and provide conventional focus groups with 6-8 respondents/group to explore any topic qualitatively in major markets worldwide
Execution Timing
- 30-99 respondents: 1-2 days in facility
- 100-199 respondents: 2 days in facility
- 200-300 respondents: 3 days in facility
Analysis and Reporting
- Part 1 – Topline (delivered in 48 hours upon completion of the research, including weekends)
- utlines the key takeaways of the research and the most critical areas of improvement
- Part 2 – Final report (delivered in 5 to 7 days upon completion of the topline, including weekends)
- Our deliverable provides an overall assessment of quality with competitive benchmarking, outlines the key strengths/unique selling points, and provides actionable steps that the client can take to improve quality
Services Included:
- Full service test plan creation and execution
- Project management
- Recruiting
- Respondent incentives
- Moderation
- Streaming/recording of group discussion (secure online archive)
- Streaming/recording of product usage (secure online archive)
- Real-time chat feature with moderator during group discussion
- Device rental (iPhone, iPad, Android Tablet, PC, TV)
- On-site logistics
- Facility
- Travel
- Client meals
- Analysis
- Topline report
- Final report
- Follow-up analysis upon request