Case studies
BAN ROLL-ON
Stick deodorants were introduced in 1954. It was generally a well-liked product, except for one minor concern -- friction. Politz suggested to Bristol-Myers they introduce a product that would successfully deal with this problem. As a result of conversations Politz had with the new product development team regarding potential solutions, a comparison with this problem was made to a ball point pen. The result of the conversation was "one of the first new products to spring directly from marketing research." In 1955, Bristol-Myers introduced Ban roll-on in the newly designed roll-on container.
ACCELERATOR SPRINGS
While working for Chrysler Motors, Politz was informed by engineers that "the motorist is interested in "pickup" whether he admits it or not." Yet, when discussing this concept with motorists, it seems they were unable to distinguish which cars had it and which cars did not. The consumer wanted pickup, whether or not they knew if they had it!
Politz analyzed acceleration, as the consumer perceived it. He reasoned that perhaps the effort exerted on the gas pedal was the distinguishing factor for pickup in the minds of the consumer. He developed a hypothesis which said "the easier it is to depress the gas pedal, the more credit we will give to acceleration..." Testing revealed that in fact, "in a cross section of 5,000 motorists, we found that credit for ‘good pickup’ was given three times more often to cars in which it was easy to depress the gas pedal than it was in cars in which it was hard to press the gas pedal." (Hardy, 1990, p. 17)
The recommendation Politz made to Chrysler was to weaken the accelerator spring. However, the net result was all leading car manufacturers began using softer springs in the production of their automobiles. (Hardy, 1990, p. 18)
COCA COLA
In 1951, Politz was hired by Coca Cola to determine if the reputation of their brand was being undermined by a diluted version of the soft drink being served a soda foundation. His research indicated that this was not the case, but Politz took the opportunity to present a "hunch" he developed while conducting his research. Upon completion of his research, he outlined a detailed recommendation for Coke to increase the size of their bottles. In his recommendation, he outlined how even with the necessary manufacturing changes needed to produce a larger bottle; Coke would stand to gain $40,000,000 in sales. (Hardy 1990, p. 18)
FEMS
In the 1950’s Politz conducted continuous market research for the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, consumer products division, which made Kleenex tissues, Kotex and table napkins. His research revealed the need for a new product as well as its product specifications. In 1958, Politz created Kimberly-Clark’s new product introduction -- FEMS feminine napkins.