CAT Footwear Pakistan: Navigating the Pakistani Market for Premium Footwear
Introduction
CAT Footwear, once a modest collection of work boots, has evolved into a global lifestyle brand distributed in over 120 countries. Renowned worldwide for its rugged and durable footwear, CAT offers a wide range of high-quality shoes suitable for work, streetwear, and athletic pursuits. In the past decade, the brand entered the Pakistani shoe market to address the need for compatible and durable shoes among adventure enthusiasts.
The Challenge
CAT Footwear faced the challenge of introducing a rebranded image to the Pakistani audience. The primary concern was effectively marketing premium, high-end shoes in a market where brand equity was still in its infancy. Without a clear understanding of their target market and preferences, CAT Footwear risked struggling to create demand for their products and potentially eroding brand equity as they entered the Pakistani market.
Role of Akademos
In 2020, CAT Footwear employed Akademos with the crucial task of conducting a Brand Health Tracker in Pakistan to assess the target market's preferences. This initiative aimed to provide CAT with insights to effectively market their products, establish brand equity in the new market, and differentiate themselves from competitors targeting similar adventurous audiences.
Akademos assisted CAT in defining a customer profile specific to the target market, identifying potential customers with an interest in CAT's products and the capacity to make purchases. This profile also included characteristics unique to the target market, guiding Akademos on the most effective advertising strategies.
Action Steps of Akademos
Akademos executed the project through structured series of steps:
Pre-survey: Developed a customer profile encompassing age range, education level, hobbies, shoe brand preferences, buying frequency, and pairs purchased per trip.
Mobilization: Engaged 600+ respondents aged 25-34 across 5 Pakistani cities who aligned with the customer profile, focusing on locations such as gyms where this subset was prominent.
Survey: Surveyed individuals fitting the consumer profile to gather data on consumer decision behavior, buying patterns, brand recall, awareness, and competitiveness against other recognized brands.
Data Collection and Analysis: We meticulously recorded and managed a vast dataset in Excel, enabling a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative examination of the extensive survey. The resulting practical and actionable insights can guide CAT Footwear in positioning their brand effectively within the market. These profound conclusions are conveniently presented through an interactive Power BI dashboard.
Project Challenge
A challenge encountered in the project was positioning the brand effectively for consumers in pakistan. CAT's emphasis shifted from heavy-duty work boot users to adventure enthusiasts valuing both shoe performance and appearance. Akademos addressed this shift by concentrating on current consumer preferences and potential market segments for brand positioning.
Results
Akademos conducted a comprehensive examination of customer behavior and purchasing trends, yielding three crucial insights that played a pivotal role in CAT Footwear dominating its desired market in Pakistan.
Insights gathered from survey respondents illuminated opportunities for distinct brand positioning in segments devoid of competition, offering many chances to control areas that emphasized modernism and uniqueness. A net promoter score revealed a substantial percentage of consumers had brand awareness ranging from neutral to positive, which could be converted to loyal customers with the appropriate marketing interventions. These interventions included a focus on partnering with social media influencers that pertained to the same demographic CAT was trying to connect with. Lastly, the brand health tracker aided in pinpointing key footwear preferences in terms of functionality, comfort, and aesthetics within the target market that allowed CAT to focus on increasing new buyers and maximizing customer satisfaction.
What CAT footwear said about us
"Achieving our goals in connecting with the target market in Pakistan was made possible through Akademos' integral role. Their Brand Health Tracker project yielded crucial strategic insights, guiding us through a competitive landscape. The practical recommendations offered have notably strengthened our brand awareness and loyalty. "
Akademos excels in assisting organizations in reaching their goals. This case study underscores the essential insights and strategies that contributed to our project's success, showcasing our dedication to delivering results. We look forward to future opportunities to apply our expertise and drive positive outcomes.
