International Product Testing Teams

A systematic approach to manual market research by hiring international teams to test and document products, inspired by Vungle's early strategy of using teams in Pakistan to analyze mobile games and ads.

Key Points:

• Manual Research Team Setup:

  • Hire team in countries with low labor costs (e.g., Pakistan)
  • Simple job description: play/use products all day
  • Document and track everything in detailed spreadsheets

• Product Testing Process:

  • Buy multiple versions of products (up to 50 versions)
  • Test all variations systematically
  • Rank products on attribute system
  • Create comprehensive lists of everything tested

• Real Examples Used:

  • Mobile Games Research:
    • Team played games all day
    • Documented what ads appeared
    • Tracked which ad networks were being used
    • Built lead generation database through manual observation

• Personal Application:

  • Applied to various categories:
    • Books
    • Baby accessories
    • Chocolate
    • Book bags
    • Apparel

• Business Value:

  • Creates proprietary market intelligence
  • Builds comprehensive product databases
  • Generates detailed competitive analysis
  • Provides actionable insights for product development or marketing