Be curious. Be adaptable. Be comfortable with constant change – that’s how to not only survive, but to get ahead as a modern day marketer, says Levi Strauss & Co’s CMO of global brands, Jennifer Sey.
Sey, who just last month moved from CMO to CMO of global brands, has been with the globally renowned brand since 1999, so it’s fair to say, she knows the company inside and out. The Stanford University graduate entered the San Francisco-headquartered retailer as a senior manager marketing 16 years ago, following a two-year stint as advertising manager at Banana Republic.
As a result, there’s no doubt Sey has witnessed some major fundamental shifts across the marketing sector, and also within Levi's own marketing hub. Speaking to AdNews, Sey says while things have got much more complicated, they’ve also got a heck of a lot more exciting.
“As a marketer, it used to be that the tools at your disposal were fairly limited – TV, print, POS. Now, we are always ‘on’ with unlimited ways to reach the consumer, each doing a different thing well, all necessary to connect. And the tools are ever changing so you have to be constantly curious, always learning,” Sey begins,
“Secondly, ‘going global’ has changed everything. In ’99 we operated as an ‘international’ company, present in many markets but not coordinated centrally to ensure a consistent message/brand around the world. Now we operate globally, with a consistent communication platform that can be adapted as needed for local relevance.”
Coming to life in 2017 and current marketing strategy in Australia
Levi’s has 12 mainline retail stores in Australia and New Zealand with its 13th store due to open later this year in Adelaide. It also has 12 outlet stores and close to 1,200 wholesale accounts across both markets.
While as a brand its feet are firmly on the ground, Sey says it started to re-invest in the ANZ market over the last three years and will be launching the first locally produced Levi’s campaign in over 10 years which we’ll see “come to life in 2017”.
Regarding marketing investment, over the past 12 months here Levi’s focus and energy has been on how is shows up in-store at wholesale and retail. In addition, Levi’s says it has continued to invest in recruiting new fans.
“We have done this through meaningful engagements with them at music festivals and through our involvement and continued support of the music and creative industries,” Sey says.
“In the past few years, you’ve likely seen the Levi’s Tailor Shop pop-up at Splendour in The Grass and Bluesfest, countless smaller festivals. Next year you’ll see the Levi’s Tailor Shop make its debut at Laneway Festival, also supporting the music industry in exciting ways that perfectly align with our brand focusing on innovation, authenticity, rebellion and originality.”
Media and creative set-up
In terms of agency arrangements, Sey saysthe brand uses a mix of resources. It has an agency of record, FCB, that created Live in Levi’s – the overarching brand platform which launched in 2014. It was this that succeeded Levi's previous strapline Go Forth which was devised by Wieden + Kennedy. FCB executes Levi’s TV and video and its global media agency that handles its biggest markets inclusive of demand generation for e-commerce is OMD.
It also works with AKQA on digital and social and then the local markets use a mix of smaller agencies for projects. It also has a “robust in-house creative studio that handles a tremendous amount of the work seen in the market” – encompassing everything from POS across channels (wholesale, retail, outlet) to navigation and packaging, e-commerce content, windows, social content and so much more.
“They hold the keys to the ‘look’ for the brand that all of our partners adhere to,” she says.
“We aim to develop content that works globally. Our brand platform – Live in Levi’s – is highly relevant in all the markets we operate in. And we create core content – TV, video, print, POS, in store etc – that works around the world. Markets are able to customise/adapt and create new content off of Live in Levi’s to support local programs and products. This localised content represents about 20-30% of the total mix in any given market.”
Weighting the right channels – at the right time
In terms of the strategy behind the weight given to certain marketing channels, Sey says each year it conducts a business driver analysis, which quantifies its return on investment by channel. Levi’s is then able to model different investment levels across channels to understand how to allocate funds to drive the maximum return.
“We are heavily invested in traditional channels like TV and print as they drive a high return for us and give us broad reach. But we are able to target precisely with various digital channels (direct response, SEM, SEO, affiliate, mobile video, social, etc) to also drive a high return. It’s how it all stacks together that is the key. They are all necessary and play a critical role.
“We’ve gotten the mix down pretty well. Through much rigour and leveraging of our Business Driver Analysis study we’ve landed in a good place.”
Sey says the brand is always optimising as the business mix is always changing – adding that its women’s business is growing as its direct to consumer business.
“This inevitably changes things, for example, women read more print so a growing women’s business requires a more robust print investment, a growing direct business requires more paid search, and there are always new social channels like Snapchat to tackle – but the foundation is set. Almost 50% of our spend is in digital at this point which feels right for right now.”
Check out a previous "Live in Levi’s" campaign created by FCB.
How to get ahead in marketing
With marketer roles becoming more and more diverse, demanding and all encompassing, there’s no doubt that Sey sits atop of one of the most well-known brands in an incredibly sought after role. So how to get your hands on her job?
Sey says it’s key to find a brand and culture that matches your values and ways of working.
“You’ll spend a lot of time at work – you better have a passion for the brand/business and feel comfortable in the culture. Be open and willing to learn. Be open to what others have to teach. Have fun! This is a fun business. No reason you shouldn’t enjoy every step of the process as you build your career,” she says.
The biggest challenge ahead marketers, Sey says is very much the constant pace of change.
“The complexity of reaching consumers in today’s world requires a nimbleness and fluidity beyond what I could have imagined when I started in this business. But ultimately it makes it more fun and keeps it challenging – which for me, makes it even better,” Sey says.
Admiring from a far
Looking outside of Levi’s, Sey says she admires brands that build a strong and emotional connection with their consumers – those that have a passionate fan base that stays with them over time.
“That requires amazing product and emotionally resonant marketing that taps into a human truth that goes beyond product. It sounds cliché but brands like Nike, Apple, Disney do this better than anyone and I admire them greatly for the sustained brand love they’ve built. I’d like to think Levi’s also falls into that category.”
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