Fastrack was launched in 1998 as a sub-brand of Fast track. 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 designs that are refreshingly different,

casual, eclectic & fun with prices that don’t burn a hole through the pocket.

Targeted at Generation Next, the brand captures the essence and philosophy of today’s 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 today’s youth.

CURRENT STATUS

At present, Fastrack, keeping in mind that it wants to be the ultimate fashion accessory for the

youth has adopted the following core brand values:

1. Fashionable and trendy

2. Affordable Pricing

3. Fresh Communication to attract the young consumers

Fastrack has been maintaining this image by continuously maintaining freshness in its

communication. Most of the Fastrack ads have been refreshing. The adaptation of the 360

degree approach in its communication and the use of social media have helped it become the

ultimate fashion accessory of the youth.

In order to satisfy the want created in the market, Fastrack has its presence through 6000

outlets across 800 towns including 228 strong World of Fast track network, 122 Large

Format Chain stores, i.e., Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Central, Westside, Pantaloons and Multi-

brand watch outlets.

One can notice this brand in the wrist of most of the students. The brand had successfully

established itself as a fashion accessory rather than as a watch without compromising on

quality.

CREATIVE ADVERTISING

From Fast track Fastrack where fashionable jeweler was a gift on purchase of any Fastrack

watch. This jeweler set of a pendant and earrings is contemporary and unique in form and

material, with steel and acrylic being used together for stunning effect. This was launched for

Valentine’s Day where the name scheme, The watch being advertised for (Fast track) as it

pertains to the youth, jewellery (for the youth), valentine’s day (more so for the youth) and

adding to the excitement is a limited edition FASTRACK VALENTINE'S COLLECTION

that is being made available in four designs. Only 300 watches of each design will be on sale

across cities during this fortnight.

These watches are designed is steel with leather straps in the colors of the season – black, red

and silver. The dials are in matched colors with heart patterns, making the collection a true

blend of fashion and romance. "Young couples are looking for new ways to discover their

relationships and this set of special watches and matching jewellery from Fastrack, gives

them just the reason to do so.

The most interesting thing in all these Ads was the last statement “HOW MANY YOU

HAVE” which has a hidden strategy i.e. it is influencing buyers to have more than one

watch. Most of the people use a single watch at a time but Fastrack influenced people by

its Ad to use more than a single watch that may be according to their get up or their style.

PRICING

The price of the models of Fastrack ranged from Rs.550 to Rs 2,430 and was designed

exclusively keeping in mind the Generation X of the subcontinent.

Fast track’s primary pricing objective is to kill Competition. Being an Indian manufacture

and infusing the advantages of the Indian market with the dynamics of the western market the

company has carved itself a place difficult to

achieve by foreign players.

PROMOTION

1. Advertising

2. Public relation

3. Sponsorship

4. Seasonality

5. Promotion through Contests

ADVERTISING MEDIA

• Television

• Print

• Internet

PUBLIC RELATION

• Gift concept

• Promotion On Occasions

Bollywood rock star John Abraham was the brand ambassador for Fastrack.

Fastrack has recently appointed cricketer Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador.

According to the company, Kohli makes a perfect choice for Fastrack as both are

ambitious and symbolize style and fashion.

Most of its advertisements were dominated by youth.

Fastrack brand posses a excited and rugged personality.

MARKET

Fastrack was launched as sporty sub-brand of titan in 1998. As an independent brand, its

establishment was done in 2005. The target of these watches was the youth market of Urban

India. Being affordable and attractive, Fastrack emerged as a successful brand and sooner

jumped into eye-wears market also. Now, it is the largest Sun-glass brand of the country.

Now, fresh entry has been made by Fastrack into Handbags, Belts, Wallets, Wristbands and

other Fashion Accessories.

Here we are to consider Fastrack as a Wrist-watch brand only.

The size of the watch market currently is estimated to be around 40 to 45 million pieces

annually. The average growth in the size of the market is slated to be around 10 -15% per

year. Still, the penetration of watches is not more than 2.5% (as approximately 25 watches are

being sold after 1000 citizens). On this penetration, the industry size is around 2000 crore.

Many times, growth rate is single digit rather than 10-15%. The watch market has affected

highly with the penetration of Mobile Phones, as Mobile has taken place of a time-keeping

machine. Now, the use of a wrist watch is not timekeeping, but style, fashion and physical

appearance. More than 58 percent of the customers are under twenty five and more than 80

percent are below 45 years of age.

SEGMENT

The target segment of Fastrack brand is low age office-going people and the youth, having

purchasing power, lies between 15-25 years age. According to survey by Fastrack itself in

2005, youth between 11 and 20 years account for 42 per cent of the overall watch buying.

The average spending of a youth on his health and accessories is around 1000 per month, as it

has decreased from last year (2009). In such category, a boy spends more than a girl on his

looks and appearance.

STRATEGIES:

Often, watches are taken as one-time purchase goods, Fastrack is the first company to

promote the Multiple Watch concept, by promoting, “How many you have...?” Fastrack has

used the design and style to attract its customers. Pricing has been done very attractively,

from 500 to 5000. Giving stylish Branded watch for 500 has attracted customers much, where

competitors have an average price of 4500 for the same. Fastrack has used John Abraham, a

youth icon, for promotions.

COMPETITOR

Timex

However, Timex has a joint-venture with Titan for production, as an independent Brand,

Timex is a big competitor for Fastrack Brand. It covers the segments Kids, Youth, Fashion

and Sporty, same as Fastrack is doing. The pricing does not have much difference, as a

Timex RETRO watch costs around Rs. 500. Timex provides its ranges from Rs. 500 to 5500.

Moreover, it has a perception of being a US brand in the minds of Customers. Timex

messages its customers with “Keep on Dashing. Keep on Pushing. Keep on Daring”

statements. Timex lacks in having a different marketing strategy for Indian customers. Timex

has already covered 22% share of Indian Wrist watch Market, but in Fastrack segments, it is

far behind yet. Titan has taken more than 40% of the wrist watch market, where youth,

fashion and sporty segments have been covered 60% by Fastrack.

BRAND POSITIONING OF FAST TRACK

Positioning statement

For style loving, smart youth

Fastrack is the premium stylish wrist watch,

Which gives sporty look and style.

Because of its gorgeous design, Appeal and Brand.

The Fastrack range is seen as being contemporary, sturdy and reliable. The advertising,

packaging and merchandising of this range is young, vibrant and ‘cool’ (the ad line says “Cool

watches by Fast track”)

 

The Fastrack Digital range offers the customer a functional watch that is also attractive. The

digital watch has a “techno-geek” image, but Fast track seeks to differentiate its offering on the

basis of superior style and attractiveness.

Competitor Positioning:

With the entry of several foreign watchmakers into the market, fast track had to counter the

threat.Most of the entrants are catering to the upper end of the market- Omega, Tissot, Cartier

etc. Titan already had the Tanishq brand in this segment. However, it has tried to reposition

this brand by increasing the price range to encourage more customers.

Quality or Price Positioning:

In the overseas market, especially in Europe where it is competing with Swiss and Japanese

watches, it is positioning itself as ‘value- for- money’: reasonably priced (less than Swiss

watches and higher than Japanese), attractively styled and of good quality. In Indian market,

Sonata is a perfect example of Price positioning, Titan came up with Fast track segment when it

was facing heavy competition from lower end segment.

Men’s segment:

With Fast track positioning its range of watches as a life-style, the Indian market started

viewing watch more as a complement to dress than just a time showing machine. They

are also realising that, unlike other forms of art that are meant to be admired, high-end

jewellery watches have that added bonus: practical luxury with a function other than

beauty. Watches have joined the list of tie, deodorant and shoes to represent the

occasion and flaunt your status.

Target Audience

The target audience for this watch, in the 20-35 age group include working adults and

postgraduate students of both sexes in metros and mini metros. The Fast Track user,

in terms of attitude is one who wears an informal dress, wears branded jeans, shirts,

sunglasses and branded informal shoes. The Fast Track personality is that of a

young, energetic, achievement oriented person, who seeks to express his or her

individuality by braking free from constraints of formal environment, without being a

rebel. Built around the Cool concept, this watch from Fast track has virtually very few

competitors because no one offers the feature combination and price but Casio (in

digital range) and Espirit and Swatch (in the analog range) can be considered as

competitors feature-wise.

The woman's collection presents the all-new international 'Frosted' look, which is trendy and

chic. The ad line : ‘Fastrack- ‘Cool watches from Titan’, aims at building the brand around the

‘cool ‘ concept. Fastrack is targeted at a personality that is young, energetic, achievement

oriented, who seeks to express her individuality by breaking free from constraints imposed by

formal environments, without being a rebel. The positioning of Fastrack for men and women is

almost the same.

Consumers awareness

Survey says that out of 100 individuals 72% of them use Fast Track and remaining of them

use other brands of Titan.

72%

14%

6%

4%

2% 2%

FastrackSonataRagaNebulaWWFEdge

Period of use

Report says out of 100 individuals 64% of the individuals use Fast Track in the range of one

to four years. 24% individuals replied saying they use Fast Track in the range four to seven

years and the rest 12 % are using it for more than seven years.

Figure 5: Period of Fast track use

1 yr - 4yrs

4 yrs - 7 yrs

7 yrs - 10 yrs

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Reasons for brand loyalty

The respondents were asked to select the reasons from the options given for their preference

for Fast Track brands. For this question, multi-responses were received from the individuals.

Reasons for brand preference

Reasons No. of respondents ( out of total 50)

Attractive designs 39

Reasonable Price 7

Brand image 22

Good quality 25

New Campaign of Titan Fast Track

The 50% of the respondents who have seen the new campaign were asked to rate it with

respect to how effective the campaign is in inspiring consumers to have a new look everyday

and be more in lives.

Consumer perception of new campaign

Not at all effective Effective Highly effective

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Series1

BRAND INVENTORY:

Fast track sells different products like Watches, Sunglasses, Bags, Belts, Wallets and Wrist

bands. Fast tracks brands all its products in a way where all the youths are attracted as fast

track is a youth oriented brand. We can see in any of the Fast track advertisements and its

campaigns, that it has always taken up these campaigns by keeping in the mind the youth.

Even the brand ambassadors of this brand are youth (Virat Kohli, Jenneila)

BRAND AUDIT

Most of the Individuals in the age group of 20 – 30 years possess fast track watch.

This shows that the positioning strategy of these watches has been good.

Most of the consumers prefer Fast Track watches for their attractive designs and good

quality. However, there is a misconception about pricing of Titan products among the

consumers. They perceive them to be high priced.

Logos and taglines are rarely noticed by the watch consumers. Hence, any change in

them also goes unnoticed.

Advertisement in mass media such as television, newspapers, and magazines are best

means to spread awareness about brand.

Celebrity endorsement of watches not only increases the visibility of the product but

also gives an assurance to the consumers that it is of high quality.

Titan watches’ designs are rated as “good” by 78% of the consumers. This indicates

that they are looking forward for more innovative designs to be introduced by the

company.

Only 50% of the consumers have seen the new campaign launched by Fast Track.

This implies that the reach of the campaign in six months has been to more or less

half of the consumers. However, those who have seen the new campaign consider it to

be effective in conveying the message it intended to deliver.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduce more trendy and innovative designs.

Focus on niche markets such as working men and women.

Spread awareness about availability of watches in lower segments as most of the

consumers feel that Titan brand is synonymous with premium watches.

Take steps to change consumer perception that Titan watches are high priced.

Improve after sales service.

To increase its visibility, Fast Track can sponsor events similar to fashion shows in

which all latest designs launched are displayed. This would have multiplier effect as

the latest designs launched by the company gets noticed by different segments of the

customers in varied ways.

Tie –up with FM radio channels for reminder advertisements and informing

customers about various sales promotion offers from time-to-time.

Invest more in R&D as customer expectations are changing rapidly. Though Fast

Track has got more varieties, it should focus on introducing some more varieties in

already existing product collections. In other words, having a limited but more depth

in product collections would be more advantageous.

Introduce exclusive collection for working women which is more contemporary and

complements both traditional and western wear.

Majority of the population in India live in rural areas. So, showrooms should be set up

at places nearer to them. Introduce cheaper and rough use watches for this segment.

After sales service has to be improved. That is, the process of servicing and repairing

of watches should be made faster. This can be done by ensuring the spare parts

availability and training all sales personnel in Titan showrooms to undertake these

tasks.

Make use of internet to spread awareness among consumers about the brand.