Stage 2 - Global

Trade Press

Levi Strauss is working hard to make itself a global brand. To that end, Levi’s has been beefing up its human capital, the better to bring its global campaign and corporate citizenship message to the world.

The brand just hired Beto Guajardo from Avon to serve as global VP of strategy, following its recent hiring of Rebecca Van Dyck as global CMO, a marketing whiz who Bloomberg reports “led Nike Inc.’s ‘Just Do It’ campaign and helped Apple make the iPhone a best-seller,” to help revive the Levi’s brand.

“I had always worn Levi’s, but they sort of drifted away in my mind,” said Van Dyck, who was wearing Levi’s (of course) and prefers to go by "Becca," to Bloomberg's reporter. “I want us to be present and show up and be confident, and that’s going to be appealing to young people as well as old people who grew up with Levi’s.”

Levi’s market share has fallen because the market has become glutted with both lower-end and higher-priced “luxury” jeans in recent years. Bloomberg notes that Van Dyck’s hiring is part of a systemic overhaul, quoting Robert Hanson, president of the global Levi's brand, saying: “We’re 20 miles into a 100-mile journey.”

Researcher Euromonitor International says Levi-Strauss is still the top-selling jeans manufacturer, but its share of women’s jeans sales went from 5.4% in 2005 to 4.4% in 2010. On the men’s side, its market share went from 8.4% to 7% in the same time period.

The company’s other big global push is in marketing, with a global advertising campaign that expands its "Go Forth" campaign with the youth-stirring tagline, “Now is our time.”

The global push kicked off this week with a 60-second "Levi's Legacy" short film (at top) that premiered on Levi’s Facebook page, where it's the most "liked" denim brand on the site. The first worldwide "Go Forth" commercial is launching with 19 in-language versions (including Japanese, French, Spanish and German) and coming to cinemas around the globe starting this week, followed by a TV run later this fall.

Like the Walt Whitman poem "Pioneers! Oh Pioneers!" that kicked off its award-winning "Go Forth" campaign — which celebrates America's pioneering spirt, and work as a lifestyle (in keeping with Levi's utilitarian denim roots) — the global Go Forth spot by W+K references "The Laughing Heart," a poem by the late Charles Bukowski. (It also, unfortunately, containsimages of riots that strike too close to home for those in the U.K.)

The global campaign — which features (naturally) good-looking, rebellious youth — will also include a digital-engagement program featuring present-day pioneers from around the world, and also makes smart use of Facebook.

Journal Article

http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE%7CA95651200&v=2.1&u=swinburne1&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w&authCount=1

Global advertising strategy

International Marketing Review. 19.2 (Feb. 2002): p176.

• -In this Levis Ad we see bunch of young individuals from all different parts of the world taking part in a range of activities

• -The message of this ad is to take action, give hope take a chance to all young people. 

• -Its saying to make the most of life

• -The video uses a lot of blue which adds calmness to the video

• -The tone of the narrator is very passionate and not American which ads to the Global aspect of the ad

• -The music used is soothing calm

• -The intended audience is youth aged 18+ both male and female who love life and love jeans

• -There is a lot of inclusive language in the ad which would make the audience feel apart of the Go forth movement

• -The slogan of the ad is Go Forth- take a chance just like how Levis is taking a chance globally

• -The ad doesn't have much to do with the actual brand of the product so you don't know its about Levis as a brand of product till the very end.

• - They hired top end people to help them Re-brand themselves globally people who worked in campaign sAvon, Nike and Apple iphone

• - The ad will be in 19 different languages so that it can reach its targeted markets around the world

• - The ad will be played in Cinemas, most likely before movies that their targeted market will go to see

• -The company also have a Facebook strategy to coincide with the campaign which will help them connect with their consumers on a more direct basis

• -Using Different languages will help them gain more recognition as a brand globally 

• - By using facebook Levis can connect with their audience from around the world and by being the no1 denim company on facebook gives them an advantage over their competitors so they must maintain this position with e-marketing/social media strategies.