Levi's is looking to make the "biggest denim brand in the world" feel local with the first Australian brand campaign in nearly a decade.
The campaign will be the first piece of work not spun out of Levi's' head office in San Francisco in that time. Levi's is currently in the middle of a pitch process and the campaign is slated for 2017.
Levi's Australia marketing manager Nicky Rowsell told AdNews the reason for the localised campaign is that it will be focused on an Australia and New Zealand specific product.
She says the campaign will not only continue the global platform “Live in Levi's” but will build on the strain of work, namely grass-roots initiatives, she has undertaken since joining the business more than two years ago.
“When I came on board it was my mandate to really connect the brand with the youth market – the brand has been around for 150 odd years,” Rowsell says.
“I've been reconnecting the brand heavily through music as that's the most direct and on-brand relevant and authentic way to connect with our target consumer.
“Given that the brand is so global, and that the above-the-line campaign imagery that I receive from head office is very global in look and feel, the way that I can tactically make the brand relevant and resonate at a youth level is connecting with them at grassroots events.”
Levi's has done a number of partnerships in the music space, signing on as sponsor of BluesFest this year. In the past, it sponsored other festivals including Splendour in the Grass and Melbourne Music Week. Levi's has also partnered with a lot of niche festivals in the tattoo and motorcycle communities.
Rowsell says the brand's major challenge is also one of its benefits – that is so far reaching and well-known that it crosses demographics.
She says Levi's breaks down its consumers into three comms categories. There are loyalists, often older, who love their Levi's; people who loved the brand but went elsewhere for some reason, often to competitors due to a higher price point; and the youth market who often don't know Levi's heritage and storytelling.
“The challenge of the agency we work with and for us is that we need to communicate to all three target markets and not isolate anyone,” Rowsell says.
“That's the challenge and the beauty of our brand; we're inclusive, we're the biggest denim brand in the world and we speak to everyone.”
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