The tool uses a similar technique to the firm’s Metaphorix research product, which employs avatars to measure how respondents feel about brands by putting them through a range of online scenarios.

Respondents using iSpark are asked, for example, to show how “excited” they are by a new product by moving their animated avatar off the ground if it excites them or leave it on the ground if they are unimpressed, something Conquest director Melanie Cameron said is “extremely difficult” to measure verbally.

She said: “Gut reactions are more accurate markers of a consumer’s intention to act than a verbal or ‘considered’ response. Our experience is that traditional concept screeners can be misleading and make it harder for marketers to identify winning ideas.”

Two clients have already signed up to use the tool, and Cameron said that the recession has not put customers off experimenting with new products. “It is not the most expensive tool,” she said, “and clients are still investing in early stage product testing.”