Q] What made you decide that Vijay Deverakonda is the right fit for the ‘BeBoth’ campaign?
Fastrack is known for faces that resonate with the youth of our country. When we were working on the ‘BeBoth’ campaign, which is about the contradictions that the current generation is quite comfortably embracing, we realised that Vijay’s personality suits this kind of insight that we have gathered, and perhaps as an individual, he’s quite comfortable embracing the extremes. We realised that from a business requirement point of view, he is a very good fit and the connection that the brand needs, not only nationally but given the immense focus that the brand has in the southern part of our country, also regionally.
Q] How does Fastrack keep in touch with the ever-changing trends and beats of Gen Z?
The trends are here to come and go, and that’s fundamental to any trend. That is why the job is extremely important for brand managers. We need to be acquainted with what’s happening in the market and what’s happening in the world of fashion, because that is where the brand has pivoted its entire philosophy, from being just a casual, college-goer brand to transforming into a fashion-oriented and trend-driven brand. It’s an entire change in the positioning of the brand. In that respect, it becomes even more critical to keep an eye on what’s happening in fashion so that we can bring that to the category we are working on.
Q] What is the contribution of Fastrack Watches to the total revenue of Fastrack?
Around 75% of the entire Fastrack business comes from Fastrack watches, and it is perhaps the most important category that is within the ambit of the Fastrack family of products. Having said that, the other categories that are doing really well are Fastrack Smart watches and Fastrack eyewear.
Q] Does Fastrack advertise on the radio? And do you think radio has the potential for advertising?
Everything has gone Digital in today’s day and age. But it is important for a brand like Fastrack to be in the ears, minds, and finally, the decision-making process of our consumers. The most important aspect of radio is that it is able to gather the attention of our consumers at a time when they really have nothing else to do.
For example, when they are driving a car or when their phone is away from them. During such moments, radio is important and it makes a huge difference. It also gives us a method to connect with the regional audiences colloquially, because that is the power of radio—it can get you the right kind of communication message that can be delivered to our audiences in the vernacular languages. Having said that, we use radio during our tactical interventions whenever there is some kind of activation or promotion going on.
Q] Does Fastrack solely rely on global giants like YouTube and Instagram for advertising, or does it also use other platforms as well on Digital?
We need to see the scope of the Digital landscape. It has moved beyond YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Even though these are the goliaths of the digital industry and perhaps the most important media platforms that you can’t escape, there are multiple smaller, yet very high-growth platforms that have emerged. What we try to do is maintain a mix of all, because there’s no better alternative to these giants for reach and frequency.
Then there are smaller platforms like Inshorts or even Spotify, where the relevance of the audience becomes very high. It is about quantity versus quality. That’s the global understanding of anything that you do. You get quantification through YouTube and Meta platforms, and quality through Spotify and the smaller platforms. In addition to that, the important focus of the brand is also on targeting and converting digital to conversion and to business, as a result of which e-commerce platforms like Myntra, Amazon, and Flipkart also offer a lot of Digital inventory for advertising. I would rather say it’s a combination of all three that is going together to make the Digital campaign come alive.
