ZMET
RESULTS
A: Melody Gan, 25
Picture #1: Black and white are the colours of Zara’s logo. Also, they have a men’s fashion line.
Picture #2: Fire gives a fiery and somewhat sexy feel. There’s an alluring factor about Zara.
Blend: When combined, I see a professional working male with the drive to succeed in life. The fire in the background represents his desire to go far in life. Zara appeals to these kind of working professionals with their line of sophisticated yet monotone range.
B: Chow Kut Sheong, 53
Picture #1: Audrey Hepburn is one of the most famous fashion icons during my time and she’s known to be prim & proper and well-groomed. This photo strike to me as one that is most related to Zara because of Audrey Hepburn’s classic black and white image which is somewhat similar to what Zara has in its store.
Picture #2: Everyone seems busy at work at a place that looks like a clothing factory. This reminds me of Zara’s ability to change its seasons very quickly and have designer look-alike products on its racks.
Blend: When these two photos are put together, I see that the back end of Zara busy designing clothes and the hard work of these people (in the photo) seems like a reflection of Zara’s fast fashion of good quality clothing. They are probably designed for people like Audrey Hepburn; a confident and elegant woman, who hardly ages, that likes classic, trendy and fashionable apparels that are able to last. For example, most of Zara’s products are able to make me/ others look well maintained, younger and remain fashionable for a long time (transcends through time).
C: Germaine Tan, 20
Picture #1: This picture of a teenage girl is reflective of Zara’s youthful and trendy brand image.
Picture #2: These city lights remind me of the people in the city who are often decked in urban and corporate attire, which is descriptive of Zara’s fashion line.
Blend: When put together, everything seems to fit perfectly. I see a young and cool lady who seems like a personification of Zara’s apparels. They offer fast-fashion and cater to people who want to maintain a youthful and trendy image. Furthermore trends like these are apparent in the city, explaining the city lights in the background. The monotones in this picture show that Zara is more into simple and dark tones like black, white, and grey. It is kind of like a classic look that the brand wants to portray.
D: Clara Loh, 29
Picture #1: This picture of ‘Reflections at Keppel Bay’ reminds me of the rich who enjoy luxurious living in Singapore. Zara is pretty expensive so I guess it caters to the richer people. Also, Zara sells corporate wear which I draw a relation to the successful working professionals who own such luxurious homes.
Picture #2: This European lady has a clean and sleek look about her. Very refined and polished.
Blend: If Zara was a person, she would be a rich European lady. The world is her oyster. Luxurious living and keeping up to the latest fashion trends is part of her everyday life.
E: Brandon Lim, 19
Picture #1: I was able to draw an association between Zara and this drinks vending machine because both have variety and are accessible to me. Zara has a rather wide range of fashion apparels, and their collections change frequently, which gives me a myriad of options each time I enter the store. Also, they are convenient to me because they have many outlets in Singapore.
Picture #2: Zara is a well-known and sexy brand, just as Marilyn Monroe was a sex symbol and cultural icon.
Blend: When I put these pictures together, I see a classic icon that stands amidst a simple environment. I mean we usually see vending machines in the heartlands and schools. While Zara is a classic in the sense that its clothes are fashion-forward and never fail to have clothes that I find interesting, it may be a tad too classy and expensive to the average people. Zara needs to find a way to have a stronger appeal to the average people.
F: Nathan Huang, 24
Picture #1: It’s pretty strange to me how well-dressed the dog is. I find this a mismatch, because animals are not usually so well-groomed. This reminds me of Zara because despite the brand having a sophisticated image, I find their products overpriced and not value for money, just as I don’t see the value in grooming pets so well.
Picture #2: The bow tie, oracle and moustache give a sophisticated feel, which is what Zara is usually termed by people - sophisticated.
Blend: To me, the combined image is one that reflects my attitude towards the brand. While Zara is likened as sophisticated and classy to many people, I find a disparity between this image and the actual value of their products. This is similar to how I find a disparity between how an animal should be dressed and how it is actually dressed in the picture. Zara’s apparels may be good, but the overall experience is not good enough to justify the prices I am paying.
G: Lin Junlong, 29
Picture #1: The posh room looks expensive and neutral earthly tones are used. To me, Zara is a store that has a simple layout and the colours used are mostly earthly and neutral. However, with this simple layout, colour scheme and fine-looking furniture, Zara is able to exude a classy feel.
Picture #2: This picture reminds me of Zara because it is simplistic yet attractive. The attractiveness comes from the details like the stars in this case.
Blend: When combined, he sees Zara as something classy and distant like the stars. The store layout is something that is similar to the layout of the posh room. The user believes that despite its simplicity, Zara attracts the nitty gritties like the small stars and pays attention to the details in terms of fashion designs to suit consumer needs. He highlights an example whereby the finer details in a Zara blazer for men can be seen, going down to the colour of the threads used.
METHODOLOGY
After our focus group session, we got our 7 participants to engage in a ZMET experiment. They were instructed to think about what they closely associate Zara with and to go online to find 2-3 pictures, which answers the following question:
What does Zara mean to you on a personal level?
We interviewed them individually to uncover what associations each picture they had chosen had with Zara. Then, we instructed them to blend the pictures and encouraged them to formulate a simple descriptive analogy of the picture. The description of the blended picture would enable us to identify any underlying meanings that Zara have for them.
ZMET OVERALL ANALYSIS
Most of the pictures our respondents have chosen are somehow related to the brand being ‘sophisticated’, a ‘classic’ and ‘fashion-forward’. The models or celebrities found in the pictures are also associated to fashion icons and active fashion seekers. Most of our respondents said working professionals, elegant ladies and driven individuals who yearn for success when picturing Zara as a person. This reflects a relatively clear brand image of Zara through the apparels they offer and design of online channels and store.
Another interesting point to note is that 2 out of our 3 male respondents seem to have a general consensus that Zara’s apparels are expensive and not very value for money. From our focus group earlier, these 2 male respondents mentioned that price alone was not what they deemed as expensive, but rather, the value they feel that they are paying for. In-store service was an aspect that they felt could be improved on to enhance this value.
Through our ZMET experiment, we can conclude that while Zara has a clear brand image and generally a positive brand perception, it possibly still needs to look into improving its customer experience and proactively promoting a stronger value for potential customers who may have yet to seen its worth.
