brand personality

Kathmandu University School of Management Report on Brand Personality Assessment

Submitted to,

Asst. Prof. Rupesh K Shrestha

Submitted by,

Amit Pathak

14325, MBA 4th

A Report on Brand Personality Assessment Page 2

I. Introduction

Fastrack is a brand of watches from the house of Titan Industries Ltd which is the market leader

in the watches category in India. Fastrack was launched in 1998 as a sub-brand of Titan. It was

spun off as an independent brand of watches targeting the urban youth in 2005. Since then, it has

infiltrated the lives of Indias youth with designs that were refreshingly different and affordable.

During that time, Fastrack also jumped headlong into the sunglasses business and in the last 4

years has quickly notched up the title of being the largest sunglasses brand in the country.

Fastrack has now pushed past the horizons into newer areas bags, belts, wallets and wrist bands

as part of its mission to offer the youth everything they need to be cool! The brand entered the

market saturated with International designer labels and has carved a niche for itself in the youth

accessories market (Watches and Sunglasses) with design that are refreshingly different casual,

electric and fun with prices that dont burn a hole through the pockets. Targeted at Generation

Next, the brand captures the essence and philosophy of days fun loving, free spirited youth

through the new positioning encapsulated in a tongue in cheek colloquial phrase How many

you have? Fastrack is positioned as the ultimate fashion accessory for the youth variety,

multiplicity and constant excitement being the order of the day. The brand revealed a new logo

signifying the spirit of bonding among todays youth.

II. Brand Personality

a. What does it means?

Brand personality can be defined as the set of human characteristics associated with a given

brand. Therefore it includes such characteristics as gender, age, socioeconomic class, as well as

such classic human personality traits as warmth, concern, and sentimentality. Brand Personalities

are more emotion than logic-driven because they reflect the feelings people have about brands,

and the way those brands transmit feelings back to them. It is not the personality of the target

audience, it is the personality that is most likely to draw their attention, interest them, and

encourage them to take action and buy the brand.


b. Why it matters

Personality plays a vital role in who we are and what we do. It also affects how passionate you or

I are working as an employee for a company. However, if any external factors influence us, our

performance as an employee might be affected. This brings us to brand personality. There is a

strong link between personality has a strong link with a brand. Just like an individual has

particular traits, a businesss external representation of its internal vision, mission, and value are

represented through brand personality. People buy products from brands they connect with, and

the process of connection is done on a few levels:

Does the product functionality fulfill the need?

Is it the right price?

Does it have the right image and personality?

People are still influenced even when they claim brand is not important to them, and dont care if

its not trendy or the one to have. We can take an example of Skoda cars, once joked about in the

long distant past, but now making cars that win awards.

Fastrack are creating a brand personality that is stylish: trendy, dependable gadget if we only talk

about watched that are just as good as their rivals like Timex, Sonata but with smaller price tags.

Personality is no less important in this case as people like the Trendy, Stylish, Rough and youth

based personality that Fastrack promote. Theyve also made the watches(brand) a lot targeting

the corporate people.


c. Brand Association:

III. Methodology

The tools and measures used for assessing the brand personality of Fastrack are mentioned

below:

A. Aakers Brand Personality Scale (1997)

B. Projective Technique

C. ZMET

D. Fourniers Typology


A. Aakers Brand Personality Scale (1997)

Recent researches on brand personality have majorly used Aakers Brand Personality Scale,

while; some researchers have developed scales for the purpose of their specific study. Owing to

doubts on the reliability and validity of available scales, some researchers argue that if

unequivocal results are to emerge, consumer behavior researchers must develop their own

definitions and design their own instruments to measure the personality variables that go into the

purchase decision. For the purpose of this study, a questionnaire on Brand Personality of

Fastrack Watch was constructed

For this purpose of this study, a questionnaire on brand personality based on Aakers scale was

done. The items of the questionnaire were based on the five core brand personality factors-

Sincerity, Competence, Excitement, Sophistication and Ruggedness, as indicated by Aaker. The

questionnaire included a reverse-coded question to check response biases and get accurate

ratings. A 5-point Likertscale ranging from Not at all Descriptive to Extremly Descriptive

was used. A sample of 60 was selected based on random sampling and data was collected.

Exclusionary criteria for sample were: age more than 19 and less than 35 years. The following

table indicates the demographics of the sample:

Brand Fastrack

Number of Respondant 60

Gender Male and Female

Occupation Students

Table: Characteristics of Respondents

The five core dimensions measured fifteen facets as follows:

1. Competent Corporate, Success, Confident

2. Exciting Spirited, Coolness, Youth

3. Ruggedness Outdoorsy, Western, Down to Earth

4. Sincerity Family Oriented, Original, Friendly

5. Sophistication Glamorous, Good Looking, Feminine


IV. Findings

Brand Personality Dimensions developed by Aaker characterize a brands personality on five

factors. The scores of Fastrack brand on each factor are represented by the graph below.

From the graph, none of the dimension of the brand personality is dominating. Every

dimension is almost on the same pitch.

A. Factors and Facet Comparisons:

i. Competence:

3.32 3.53 3.49

3.16 3.23

1

5

Competent Exciting Rugdness Sincere Sophisticated

Aakar's Five Dimension

Mean


In terms of competency, among various facets, it can be said that, Fact like Confident and

Success are on the higher side of the mean. Whereas another fact called Corporate belongs to

the low side of the mean. So, according to the numbers, Fastrack is not the brand for those

who are into corporate level but still Fastrack brand associates with success and confidence.

ii. Exciting:

3.45

3.30

3.25

3.21

3.34

2.86

3.55

3.30

3.61

1.00 5.00

Reliability

Hardworking

Secure

Intellegence

Technical

Corporate

Success

Leader

Confident Competent - Fastrack

Mean

3.41

3.77

3.54

3.21

3.79

3.89

3.64

3.41

3.39

3.21

3.57

1.00 5.00

Daring

Trendy

Exciting

Spirited

Coolness

Youth

Imaginative

Uniqueness

Uodated

Independence

Modern

Exciting - Fastrack

Mean


In terms of Exciting, various facets like Youth, Coolness, and Trendy are higher on number

which can be said that Fastrack as a brand is more youth oriented who loves to be fashioned and

trendy. Remaining all the facets lies on the same terrain.

iii. Rugged:

Fastrack brand scores high in the facet Western and Outdoorsy whereas in Down to Earth

facet, it scores low compared to other facets. But there is not so high fluctuation the facets of

Ruggdness. So Fastrack is the brand more toward a masculine and it is tough as well. Whereas

we cant even say that the brand is doesnt fall under Down to earth facet.

iv. Sincerity:

3.61

3.57

3.70

3.43

3.48

3.14

1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50

Outdoorsy

Masculinity

Western

Tough

Ruggedness

Down to Earth

Rugged - Fastrack

Mean


In terms of Sincerity, Facets like Friendly, Original and wholesome are on the higher side. These

all facets are more suited to young generation. And the value of mean is lower in Family oriented

and small town.

v. Sophisticated:

2.66

2.73

3.21

3.20

3.36

3.18

3.50

3.43

2.71

3.66

1.00 5.00

Family Oriented

Small Town

Honest

Sincere

Real

Wholesome

Orignal

Cheerful

Sentimental

Friendly

Sincere - Fastrack

Mean

3.18

3.39

3.68

3.34

2.59

3.20

1.00 5.00

UpperClass

Glamorous

Good Looking

Charming

Feminine

Smooth

Sophisticated - Fastrack

Mean


In Sophisticated section, Good lookings mean is on the higher side. It can be clearly assumed

that Fastrack brand is more focused on Look and design, and its rough look which attracts youth.

And similarly facet like Charming and Glamorous is also carrying the good number. Whereas

this brand is not suited more on Feminine side as the mean value clearly shows it and is lower.

vi. Gender Comparision:

Out of 60 respondents, 28 were the number of female respondents and remaining 32 were the

male respondents. As per the response from the survey, from the mean value it can be said that

there is not much domination among both. So Fastrack is the brand which is preferable for both

sexes.

B. Projective Technique

In this technique, 60 respondents were asked to project their feelings and thoughts onto other

things Animal, Fabric, Music, Sports etc For example: If Fastrack was an animal, which animal

would it be? Then those 60 respondents were asked to explain their answers. This 'why' question

is the important part of using projective techniques, as the projective techniques are designed to

release the sub-conscious though rather than to be, in themselves, revealings. For example, if a

0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00

Competent

Exciting

Rugged

Sincere

Sophisticated

Female

Male


Fastrack was seen as a Leopard, the explanation may be that the respondent sees it as fast, eye

catching. During the data gathering, top 4 common answers were picked.

I. Findings

i. An Animal

According to the survey done, out of 60, 21 respondent associated brand with Leopard, 10

associated with Tiger, 9 associated with Lion, 11 associated with monkey and whereas 9

were mixed numbers of animals.

ii. A Fabric

Activity

Running 14

Clubbing 20

Cycling 5

Racing 10

Others 11

Total 60

Leopard 35%

Tigers 17%

Lion 15%

Monkey 18%

Others 15%

Animal

Running 23%

Clubbing 34%

Cycling 8%

Racing 17%

Others 18%

Activity


As per the Survey, out of 60 maximum respondents, 14 respondents associated the brand

Fastrack with Running, 20 respondent associated brand with Running, 10 respondent associated

it with Racing, 5 respondent associated it with cycling whereas remaining 11 respondent had the

mixed activity association with the brand.

iii. A Fabric

Fabric

Cotton 17

Jeans 12

Silk 12

Leather 13

Others 6

Total 60

According to the survey done, out of 60 respondent, 17 associated Fastrack with Cotton, 12-12

respondents associated Fastrack with Silk and Jeans respectively, 13 respondents associated it

with Leather whereas 6 has mixed thought about the fabric to associate with Fastrack,

Cotton 28%

Jeans 20% Silk

20%

Leather 22%

Others 10%

Fabric


iv. A Cologne or Perfume

Cologne or

Perfume

Axe 21

Fog 9

Setwet 11

Nike 7

Others 12

Total 60

As per the response of 60 respondents, 21 respondent associated the brand with Axe, 9

respondent associated Fastrack with Fogg, 11 respondents associated Fastrack with Setwet, 7

respondents associated Fastrack with Nike and whereas 12 respondents have the mixed

associated of the brand with the perfumes.

v. A Car:

Car

Scorpio 13

Ferrari 17

Lamborghini 11

Gypsy 8

Others 11

Total 60

Axe 35%

Fogg 15%

Setwet 18%

Nike 12%

Others 20%

Cologne or Perfume

Scorpio 22%

Ferrari 28%

Lamborghini 18%

Gypsy 14%

Others 18%

Car


As per the survey done, out of 60 respondents 17 is the highest number of respondents who

associated Fastrack with Ferrari, 13 respondents associated Fastrack with Scorpio, 11

respondents associated the brand with Lamborghini, 8 respondents associated the brand with

Gypsy whereas 11 respondents have mixed thoughts on the brand association with the car.

vi. An Occupation:

Occupation

Sportsman 19

DJ 14

Travel Agent 9

Marketing

Manager 8

Others 10

Total 60

As per the survey, out of 60 respondent 19 respondent associated the brand with Sportsman, 14

respondents associated Fastrack with DJ, 9 associated it with Travel Agent, 8 respondents

associated it with Marketing Manager, whereas 10 respondents have different thoughts to

associate Fastrack with Occupations.

Sportsman 32%

DJ 23%

Travel Agent 15%

Marketing Manager

13%

Others 17%

Occupation


vii. Sports:

Sports

Cricket 18

Car/Bike

Racing 13

Cycling 9

Running 9

Others 11

Total 60

As per the survey, out of 60 respondent 18 respondents associated Fastrack with Cricket, 13

respondent associated Fastrack with Racing, 9-9 respondents associated the brand with Cycling

and running respectively and remaining 11 respondents have different perception on the brand

association with Sports.

viii. TV Series:

TV Series

Roadies 16

Man Vs Wild 8

Friends 8

Game of

Thrones 14

Others 10

Total 56

Cricket 30%

Car/Bike Racing

22%

Cycling 15%

Running 15%

Others 18%

Sports

Roadies 29%

Man Vs Wild 14% Friends

14%

Game of Thrones

25%

Others 18%

TV Series


sAccording to the survey done from 60 respondents, 16 respondents associated the brand with

Roadies, 14 respondents associated the brand with Game of Thrones, 8-8 respondents associated

the brand with Man Vs Wild and Friends respectively whereas 10 respondents have mix feelings

about the brand association with TV Series.

ix. Music:

Music

Pop 14

Club Music 17

Rock 10

Rap 10

Metal 9

Total 60

As per the survey, out of 60 respondent 17 respondents associated Fastrack with Club Music, 14

respondents associated Fastrack with Pop Music, 10-10 respondents associated the brand with

Rap and Rock music respectively whereas 9 respondents associated Fastrack with Metals.

II. Analysis:

As per the survey, these are the following brand association done with various things and have

the maximum response:

Pop 23%

Club Music 28%

Rock 17%

Rap 17%

Metal 15%

Music


Features Brand Association

Animal Leopard

Activity Clubbing

Fabric Cotton

Cologne or Perfume Axe

Car Ferrari

Occupation Sportsman

Sports Cricket

TV Series Roadies

Music Club Music

Animal: Highest number of respondents associated leopard with Fastrack brand. The

reason is because they perceive the brand very eye catching because of its features and

also its a wild animal and they prefer to live out without any restriction. They perceive

the brand as outdoorsy.

Activity: According to the responses, association with Clubbing. Among the activities is

made. This is because youth generation loves to party and during the party and clubbing

everyone wants to look cool, trendy and stylish. So Fastrack is perceived as trendy and

stylish.

Fabric: According to the response, highest number of respondents associated cotton with

the brand. This is because Cotton is perceived as a cool fabric during the summer, and

also it is the fabric which is not preferred everytime. Fastrack is also something which is

not preferred during the formal parties, and meetings.

Cologne or Perfume: The association of Fastrack is made with Axe as per the maximum

responses by the respondents. This is because Axe brand is widely perceived as youth

brand to attract the ladies. So Fastrack is perceived as youthful and attractive.

Car: The association of the brand is done with Ferrari which has been responded by the

maximum respondents. This is because of Ferrari is perceived as very stylish and racing

car. And Fastrack brand products are perceived racing gadgets.


Occupation: According to the survey, Sportsman is the occupation which has been

associated by the maximum number of respondents. This is because Fastrack is perceived

as sporty brand because of its outlook and appearance.

Sports: The association of cricket is made with the brand as per the maximum responses

by the respondent. This is because and also in the promotion Ad of Fastrack, Virat Kohli,

Famous Indian Cricketer was appeared for quite a long time and he was the brand

ambassador of Fastrack brand too.

TV Series: According to the survey, Roadies TV series has been associated with the

brand as per the maximum respondents. This is because the show is based on young

generation who is very passionate to do something, accept challenges which are

perceived as tough and strong and that is the reason Fastrack is associated with Roadies

because of the tough and strong attributes and youth based show.

Music: The association of Club music is done with the brand Fastrack by the maximum

respondents because Club music is based on todays young generation and the club music

is loud and freaky and is trendy and famous among the youth. Fastrack is perceived as a

brand for those who love to party.

C. Zaltmans ZMET Technique:

There were the few questions asked to few of my friends which are mentioned below:

Describe your any experience with Fastrack in pictures.

What are your thoughts and feelings about Fastrack? Tell them in image,

Describe a landscape in image that you can relate with Fastrack.


Few of my classmates were asked 3 above mentioned questions. The reason to do this is that this

may have something to do with his perception of the brand, about how he interprets the world. It

was very surprising to know the answer of those questions asked by visualizing the collage.

These were the following opinion received from them when I asked them about the mentioned

things in the collage:

Attributes Opinions

Clubbing Style, Youth, Fashionable, Enjoyment, Trendy

Leopard Rough, Fast, Eye Catching

Ferrari Sporty, Fast, Race, Stylish, Design

Axe Youth, Seductive, Attractive

Roadies Rough, Youth, Strong, Adventurous

Cotton Most preferred, Cool

Club Music Club, Youth, Loud, Fun, Enjoy

Sportsman Sporty look, appearance

Cricket Virat Kohli, Young, Sporty


D. Relationship with the brand according to Fourniers Typology

There is always a reason behind doing a term paper on a certain brand, most of the times the

reason is loyalty, trust and love. Well I also share a wonderful relation with Fastrack. According

to Fourniers typology, I share an attachment, engagement and brand community relation with

the brand.

Brand Attachment: My personal attachment with this brand Fastrack is 5 years long. I

am very passionate about wrist watch with adorable and stylish look. And Fastrack is

something which suits my personality. The factors that define my attachment are further

classified as:

o Affection: while I was pursuing my bachelors degree in Mumbai, the brand had

just launched itself. I really was amazed to see the advertising strategy of the

brand. Little did I know about advertising strategy or the target market it was

referring to, but as a youth I knew those ads were meant to target audiences like

me. After some months of watching the extraordinary ads on TV, I finally thought

of buying the brand. I wasnt very much into online shopping but this time I

thought of trying something new, the watch and online shopping. So with the

pocket money I had saved by myself I ordered for a big watch online. I was

delivered exactly 24 hours later, and I couldnt be happier. I got my value for

money. This watch and this brand have a special affection for me because I

bought the brand on my own pocket money and it was my first time online

shopping.

o Passionate: there are very few things on earth I am passionate about, among

those few things wrist watch is one. Not only am I attached to wristwatches I can

proudly say that I am equally passionate Fastrack, my passion is another

attachment with the brand. My passion creates a different relation with the brand.


o Connection: Also I have a connection with the brand due to some reasons. After I

finished my graduation and started a job, with my first salary I gifted my brother a

watch of the same brand. Fastrack somewhat connects me with my brother also.

The happiness in my brothers face is something which I can never forget of,

thanks to Fastrack. My brother loved the wristwatch. So I share a sense of

connection as well with this brand.

Brand Community: Personally I have no sense of attachment to anyone belonging to the

community of Fastrack brand. But I have a cousin who is also the follower of the

Fastrack brand. He is the one to whom I have a sense of affiliation regarding the brand.

Brand Engagement: I have somewhat a strong attachment with the Brand Fastrack. In

terms of watch, Fastrack is th first preferable brand for me. I have a kind of personality

which is counterparts with all the mentioned attributes of this brand.

Insight

From the survey that has been done, it is quite well known that Fastrack has been somewhat

successful to communicate the brand personality it has. But it is very important for any brand to

be consistent in communicating the right brand personality. Brand power is very crucial.

However for a brand like Fastrack to remain competent in the market, with communicating the

actual brand personality is essential. The surveys hows that there is very little gap or no gap at

all between the actual personality of Fastrack and the perceived personality of Fastrack. But this

does not mean the brand has saturated and there is no further moving at all.

Today most of the luxurious items have become a need for every human being. Many years ago,

a watch was something that showed time, but today it is a necessity a matter of prestige and

luxury. The trends are changing very soon. New designs, colors, analog, digital, leather band,


rubber band change too often. In this fast moving industry it is not only important to adapt to

change, but equally important to be consistent in communication the right brand image. There

are very few but some areas on which fast track can work so as to build and enhance the brand

equity of Fastrack, which are mentioned below:

1. Improve the brand power: Surveys like this can be very helpful in improving the brand

power, focus on the weaker points and remain consistent in the stronger points. By

marketing surveys, the brand can find out various ways to improve brand power.

2. Try to establish a relation with the target audience through mass media marketing.

Fastrack used above the line promotions a lot sometime before, but today we hardly see

any celebrity endorsements. Cricketers, movie stars, entrepreneurs can be used as a

medium to establish an attachment towards the brand. Eg. Some people get attached to

the brand if their idol or favorite people endorse it.

3. There is no substitute for a strong brand reputation, spend more time, money and brains

to cater t the need of the target customers, provide them value for money, consistency and

assurance. So as to stand ut with a distinctive brand image.

4. Create buyer or target market stories to promote. Use stories relevant to buyers, which

reinforce the value of the brand.

5. Try to remain consistent as a brand. The brand personality, image should not change

since this creates a sense of chaos and misleads the target market.

Conclusion:

The survey done to know the brand personality assessment of Fastrack brand and the results

which we get proves the fact that the target people perceive all those attributes which the brand

tried to portray. While the respondent were asked to response on certain things like animal,

Sports, Music etc, it came out as a result that Fastrack has positioned its brand image as an

youth, trendy, stylish, rough and fashioned which exactly Fastrack tried to plunk its brand image

and they have been successful enough in doing that. Overall result from this study, there is no

sense of doubt that Fastrack is well defined Brand Personality.

brand personality

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