Hiring Heats up Along Route 128

A bevy of small and midsize life science and high-tech companies are out front in this welcome trend, helping lead the way.

We are talking a feW dozen hires here, another dozen or so there. It’s not the kind of stuff that grabs big headlines, but it all adds up.

Just take Affinnova Inc., which makes software used by companies like Procter & Gamble and Unilever to design new products.

The Waltham-based operation plans to add another 25 software engineers and other specialists, a significant increase to its 100-person payroll.

Located just off Route 128/Interstate 95 on Winter Street, the software company recently opened up sales offices in Singapore and Chicago.

“It’s across the board,” Waleed Al-Atraqchi, Affinnova’s chief executive, said of his company’s hiring plans. “We are going global.”

Continue in the Boston Globe

The Diminishment of Don Draper

"The first of these relates to the alchemy of coming up with a good idea. Kamal Malek and Noubar Afeyan, two MIT-trained engineers, realized that new products, packaging, brands, ad campaigns, etc. are actually combinations of a relatively small number of elements. The packaging for a new line of eco-friendly copier paper, for example, is a combination of colors, logos, other design elements, descriptive words, and a few other important features. A branding oracle would come up with one combination of these, or direct his team to put a few options together so he could pick the ‘best.’ A more scientifically inclined oracle might put a few options in front of a few focus groups to get some consumer input. But all of these approaches ignore the vast majority of possible combinations of attributes; they don’t ever consider most of the ways that colors, logos, words, and so on can be combined."

 

Continued here: 

Can Software Identify Most Popular Veep Candidate?

It's obvious that the Internet is shaping opinions and becoming a vehicle for sharing information during the presidential campaign. It was only a matter of time before we began hearing more about how political operatives are using the Web to shape their strategies. Now, one technology company is touting a "secret weapon" for choosing the ideal presidential ticket.

Continued on InformationWeek

Affinnova Scales Heights with New Chicago Office

Daily Research News, Jan. 8, 2013

Concept testing and forecasting software specialist Affinnova has opened an office in the Willis Building (formerly the Sears Tower) in Chicago, for which it plans to hire additional personnel over the coming months.

Affinnova moves to the former Sears TowerThe firm helps clients identify ideas with the best potential from a wide range of options, then compares them to relevant benchmarks and competitor concepts based on consumer preference. 

Continued on Mr Web 

Affinnova Opens New Chicago Office

CNBC, Jan. 8, 2013

Affinnova, Inc., the global leader in innovation software and services, has opened a new office in Chicago. The office is located in the Willis Building at 233 South Wacker Drive, Suite 6225, in Chicago. 

Continued in http://www.cnbc.com/id/100363163/

Can the Campaigns Who Bombard You With Direct Mail Learn Anything from Beer-Bottle Design?

 

 

 

Slate Magazine, Nov. 3, 2012

A few weeks ago, I poked some fun at a PR stunt from the Boston-based packaging consultancy Affinnova, which claimed that its "repurposed algorithms devised for genetic research" had tested potential Romney running mates and determined that Condi Rice would have been the most valuable addition to his ticket. It seemed like the classic example of corporate marketers exploiting a media appetite for “Big Data” stories about politics without any idea of the problems campaigns try to solve. Now the company seems onto a more productive collaboration with political professionals.

Continued on Slate

Getting to “What”

 

 

 

 

PBIRG Perspective, Fall 2012

Market researchers and marketers in the pharmaceutical industry are often obsessed with why. They want to know and understand the motivation behind the choices made by participants in their research studies. They want to see and feel the reaction to ideas. There is a notion that it will better inform the study results and offer a rational explanation to support the recommendations made.

To read more, please click below.

 

 

Affinnova helps Ricola to innovate Cough drops with dual effect

 

 

Research & Results Magazine, Sept. 2012

Ricola, the Swiss candy producer, sought help from Affinnova, the innovation specialists, in order to counter the high degree of competitive pressure in the United States. The assignment was to test and optimize a concept for a new kind of herbal candy. “When we contacted Affinnova, we had a rough idea:  we thought that there could be a need for a combined herbal cough drop and throat lozenge”, said Melissa Robinson, Director of Innovation for Ricola USA. “However, it wasn’t clear to us how best to market the product.” With the assistance of Concept Studio by Affinnova, more than 2,500 possible concepts for dual action cough drops were developed. According to information provided by the Ricola manager, the winning product achieved sales revenues of more than five million U.S. dollars in the first six months after its introduction to the market.

Affinnova helps Ricola test dual-action cough drop

Waltham software firm aids Ricola cough drop design