Free Association

To better understand Hang Ten's current position in consumers' minds and to uncover some preconceived notions about the brand, we engaged eight individuals aged 21 to 30 in an in-depth interview to uncover their deep-seated impressions and motivations about the brand.

We used three main techniques- Free Association, Brand Personality and Laddering. Although the interview methods differed, one thing was common: Hang Ten held similar positions in most of our respondents minds... but this perception was not a very positive one!

Free Association

Free association is a simple technique used to identify a range of possible brand associations a customers has when they think about a brand. The two main question we asked to elicit free association are:

" What do you think of when you hear the brand name Hang Ten?"

" What would you associate Hang Ten products with?"

The network of associations derived are depicted below. Words that are bigger and bolder were mentioned in higher frequency. 

Cheap, Boring & Unfashionable

The most frequently mentioned words associated with Hang Ten were "cheap", "boring" and "unfashionable". These associations carry negative connotations leading us to believe that customers overall do not have a positive evaluation of the Hang Ten brand. Many of their initial negative associations lead to even more negative associations resulting in why most respondents do not consider Hang Ten as a first choice in casual wear.

"Unfashionable" was not only mentioned in great frequency, but it was one of the first associations that many respondents had when asked about the brand. This indicates the relative strength of association of Hang Ten being an "unfashionable" brand. This poses a hard perception to change as in the laddering technique later used, we see how fashion and trendiness are very important considerations when selecting apparel.

Design

One of the recurring themes in the words associated with Hang Ten was design. The type of associations falling under design include "ugly", "outdated", "common", "square" and "low class".  All of which imply Hang Ten apparel as being aesthetically unappealing. The use of the word "common" and "boring" conveyed to us that people are not keen to look like one another. They are all looking for ways to diversify their look.

As a result, Hang Ten's approach in providing coloured polo-tees of the same pattern but different colours, although practical, is not well-received because no one wants to buy the same garment of the same design in ten different colours. Thus, there is a need for Hang Ten to diversify their product offerings.