Sportswear Case Study: Awareness vs Brand Recall

Four findings that reframed the brand's growth problem

Aided awarenessOf consumers recognized the brand when prompted with the name

Never visited the site1 in 5 aware consumers never visited the website despite knowing the brand exists

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Discovery channelSocial media emerged as the biggest discovery channel, overtaking launch buzz

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Market sizeValue of the Indian sportswear market in rupees, growing at 11.5% CAGR

A premium sportswear brand with strong visibility but slowing post-launch momentum

The Client

VelocityX is a premium Indian sportswear and activewear brand built around performance, movement, and modern lifestyle culture. It launched with significant visibility driven by a high-profile celebrity partnership and quickly generated strong early traction across digital platforms.

The Brief

Following launch, traffic and engagement began slowing despite continued brand familiarity. The core business question was simple: are consumers unaware of the brand, or are they simply not converting?

Four questions that defined the research

The recall

Do consumers remember the brand name without being prompted?

The funnel

Is awareness translating into website visits and active consideration?

The perception

What do consumers believe the brand mainly offers?

The barrier

What is preventing aware consumers from taking action?

A quantitative study built to separate a visibility problem from a memory problem

Flickly conducted a quantitative consumer research study among urban SEC A/B consumers across India's major metros and Tier-1 cities, evaluating brand recall, aided awareness, product understanding, website behaviour, traffic sources, and barriers to action.

Recall and awareness mapping

Respondents were evaluated on both unaided brand recall and aided awareness, isolating whether the gap was a visibility problem or a memory problem.

Funnel behaviour tracking

The study covered website behaviour and traffic sources to test whether awareness was actually converting into consideration and site visits.

Product perception check

Respondents were asked what they believed the brand mainly offers, testing whether perception had narrowed to a single product category.

Audience and reach

Urban SEC A/B consumers across India's major metros and Tier-1 cities, digitally active millennials and lifestyle-driven sportswear buyers, with cuts by age group and region.

Consumers recognize VelocityX, but struggle to recall it unprompted

VelocityX achieved exceptionally high aided awareness, but unaided recall was significantly weaker, a memory encoding problem rather than a visibility problem.
1 in 5 aware consumers never visited the website despite knowing the brand exists, revealing passive awareness without a compelling trigger to engage.
Consumers mainly associated the brand with shoes instead of a complete sportswear range, narrowing cross-category consideration.
Social media emerged as the biggest discovery channel, overtaking the original celebrity-led launch buzz.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do some sportswear brands struggle even after a successful launch?

Many brands generate strong initial visibility through celebrity partnerships, advertising, or social media buzz. However, sustained growth becomes difficult if consumers do not strongly remember the brand name or clearly understand what the brand stands for.

Why does awareness not always convert into sales or website visits?

Awareness only means consumers recognize a brand when prompted. Conversion requires stronger recall, relevance, motivation, and clear reasons to engage. Many consumers may know a brand exists but still never take action.

Why do consumers forget newer sportswear brand names quickly?

The sportswear industry is highly cluttered, with consumers constantly exposed to global brands, creator-led labels, and trend-driven activewear content. Without repeated reinforcement, newer brand names often fail to become mentally sticky.

Why is narrow product perception a problem for sportswear brands?

If consumers associate a brand with only one category such as shoes or gymwear, they limit how often they consider the brand. This reduces cross-category growth opportunities across apparel, lifestyle, and accessories.

Why do celebrity-led sportswear brands face long-term retention challenges?

Celebrity visibility can create rapid awareness spikes, but long-term retention depends on whether the brand itself develops an independent identity beyond the celebrity association.

Sportswear Case Study: The Gap Between Awareness and Recall

Four findings that reframed the brand's growth problem

A premium sportswear brand with strong visibility but slowing post-launch momentum

Four questions that defined the research