Providing reliable evidence of materiality to consumers.
In cases alleging false or misleading advertising, claimants must show that the statement was false or misleading - but that may not be sufficient. In some cases, they must also show that the statement was likely to influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. To establish this, either side of a false advertising case can use a materiality survey.
Materiality surveys are also valuable in damages analyses, and other economic assessments, including questions of causation, valuation, and consumer willingness to pay. By quantifying the importance of a disputed element - such as an advertising claim or an infringing trade mark - a materiality survey provides evidence about how much revenue may be attributed to that element, or how much more a consumer is willing to pay because of it. In class actions, materiality surveys can also demonstrate commonality across the proposed class.
IMS’s in-house survey experts design, conduct, and analyse surveys measuring materiality, with or without a companion false advertising survey, and can support clients’ evidentiary needs by rebutting opposing materiality surveys when called upon. Our survey team has extensive experience providing reliable expert evidence in high-stakes litigation. Count on IMS to bring reliable evidence to the table so you can focus on building your case.
