Generate Strong and Defensible Messages from Consumer Data

Measure what consumers really think about your product or service. Extract strong claims from research results. If needed, obtain the right to use these messages in official channels with Claim Letter and regulatory approval.

Claim testing is a research type that generates strong and defensible messages (claims) from consumer research results about a product or service. Results that achieve sufficient rates (such as "92% of consumers recommend product X") become usable in official communication. Sorbunu accelerates this process with its self-serve research infrastructure and also offers Claim Letter preparation and regulatory approval process support when needed. Suitable for brands, agencies, and startups.

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A Strong Product Message Is Built on Data, Not Intuition

The claims a brand uses in its communication often come from internal brainstorming. Statements like "consumers prefer us" or "the most recommended brand" may sound strong at the desk, but without data behind them, credibility is weak and legal risk is present.

Claim testing solves this problem at its root. First, you conduct research with real consumers about your product or service. You collect quantitative data on satisfaction, recommendation tendency, preference, and performance perception. Then you generate messages usable in communication from the strong results in this data.

For example, if 93% of participants in a skincare product study say they would recommend the product to friends, a concrete and defensible claim like "9 out of 10 women recommend it to a friend" emerges. This claim is based on measurable data, not intuition.

How Does This Research Type Work?

The logic of claim testing is two-phased: first research, then message generation. In some cases, a third phase of official approval also comes into play.

Phase 1: Consumer research

Questions about your product or service are directed to the target audience. Quantitative data is collected on satisfaction, recommendation, preference, performance perception, and usage experience. The research design is built to identify areas with strong message generation potential.

Phase 2: Message generation from results

Research results are examined. Findings achieving 90% or higher become candidate messages for official communication. Statements like "94% of consumers are satisfied with this product's performance" or "91% of users say they would buy again" take shape at this stage.

Phase 3 (optional): Claim Letter and official approval

If strong results are obtained, a Claim Letter is prepared. This document summarizes the research methodology, sample structure, and results in an official format. When needed, regulatory approval is obtained to enable the brand to officially use this message on packaging, advertising, and digital communication for a specified period (typically 1 year).

Message Comparison Can Also Be Done

Not every claim test has to result in message generation. Sometimes the need is to see which of existing message alternatives is stronger. In this case, the research is designed differently.

You can test multiple message or claim alternatives in the same study. You can compare which statement stands out on metrics like credibility, clarity, differentiation, and purchase impact; multiple alternatives can be evaluated side by side with a sequential design.

This type of message comparison is especially useful when you need to decide which statement to use on packaging or which main claim to feature in an ad campaign. If a strong rate emerges from the research, the Claim Letter process can also be initiated from there.

Ask the Right Message to the Right Audience

The same message can get different reactions in different consumer segments. "Natural ingredients" might be a strong trust signal in one segment and a commoditized category norm in another. "Clinically tested" might score very high credibility in the sensitive skin segment but remain neutral among general users.

That's why it's recommended to design the research for strategically prominent segments rather than the general audience. With Sorbunu, you can separately target category users, existing customers, competitor customers, and demographic subgroups. Seeing which message works stronger in which segment enables you to build segment-based communication strategy instead of imposing a single claim on everyone.

A personal care brand might find through research that "dermatologically tested" scores 94% credibility in the sensitive skin segment but only 71% among general users. This information directly affects packaging variations, media targeting, and which segment to reference in the Claim Letter.

Different Teams, Different Needs

You can use claim testing at different scales and for different purposes to generate strong strategic messages from consumer data.

For an FMCG brand, this could be a large-sample study with 1,000+ participants. A Claim Letter is prepared from results, regulatory approval obtained, and the message printed on packaging.

For a startup, testing how credible the value proposition is found with 600 people may be sufficient.

An agency may want to present pre-campaign consumer data to their client.

On Sorbunu, you can customize the question structure, define segment and quota structures according to needs. For more complex setups or the Claim Letter process, expert team support is also available.

When Is This the Right Research Type?

Claim testing may not be necessary for every communication project. Knowing when it's the right research focus is important.

Choose claim testing when:

You want to generate a strong message about your product or service based on consumer data
You want to base a claim you'll use on packaging, advertising, or digital communication on defensible data
You need a message with regulatory approval that can be used in official channels
You want to see which of multiple message alternatives is stronger
You want marketing, product, and legal teams to align on the same data

Consider a different research type when:

Your question is "is this ad creative effective?" (measuring the creative whole)Ad Testing →
Your question is "does this product concept generate interest?" (measuring the product idea as a whole)Product & Concept Testing →
Your question is "would this product be bought at this price?"Pricing Research →

Designing claim testing and concept testing back-to-back is also a common strategy. First validate the product direction's appeal, then generate messages usable in communication from the research results.

How It Differs from Sibling Research Types

Claim testing vs ad testing:

Claim testing focuses on generating messages from consumer data or validating existing messages. Ad testing evaluates the performance of a creative whole like video, storyboard, or banner. "What claim comes from this data?" or "is this statement credible?" is claim testing's domain; "is this ad film effective?" is ad testing's domain.

Claim testing vs product & concept testing:

Concept testing looks at the product as a whole: appeal, clarity, differentiation, purchase intent. Claim testing focuses on generating concrete messages usable in communication from research results. Concept testing answers "is this product idea strong?" while claim testing answers "what can we say about this product based on consumer data?"

When are the two designed together?

In a new product launch, you may want to first test the concept's overall appeal, then generate messages usable in official communication from the research data. In this case, the two research types complement each other.

Frequently Asked Questions

Claim testing is a research type that generates strong and defensible messages from consumer research results about a product or service. Findings achieving sufficiently high rates (typically 90%+) are converted into claims usable in official communication. These messages are called "claims" in the industry.

A Claim Letter is a document that summarizes the research methodology, sample structure, and results in an official format. It's prepared for brands that want to officially use the message on packaging or in advertising. It's not mandatory for every study, but it's required if there are plans for official channel use. Claim Letter and approval processes are budgeted separately.

Regulatory approval is an approval process that confirms a research-based message can be used in official communication channels for a specified period (typically 1 year).

Yes. Claim testing can be used not only for message generation but also for comparing existing message alternatives. You can test multiple statements in the same study and see which is stronger in terms of credibility, clarity, and purchase impact.

Functional benefit claims ("48-hour moisture effect"), content highlights ("95% recycled packaging"), emotional claims, expert-based statements ("recommended by dietitians"), and comparative messages can be tested.

Yes. A startup's value proposition is also a message that can be validated with consumers. Claim Letter and regulatory approval aren't always needed. Getting basic feedback with a 200-300 person sample strengthens message strategy even for an early-stage team.

For basic message validation, 300-500 participants is a good starting point. If a Claim Letter will be prepared and official use is planned, sample size and representativeness become more critical.

Message-based scores, segment breakdowns, statistical significance indicators, and open-ended responses are tracked together on a live dashboard. Results can be exported as Excel or PDF.