Levi’s Dockers †creating a sub-brand Essay

Qn 1) Explain what is Levis smear image and what makes up its provoker loveliness. In this regard, assess the subroutine of its flagship 501 jeans yield. (40 marks)Brand image can be defined as perceptions more(prenominal) than or less a betray as polished by the gullmark railroad ties held in consumer memory. It is fundamentally what exists in the mind of consumers, total of all the in boundation they have sure about the chump from experience, word of mouth, denote, packaging, services etc. And the information is limited by selective perception, previous beliefs, and social norms.The steel image perceived by consumers of Levis products includes durable, comfortable, approachable, affordable, contemporary, individuality, independence, quotidian, modalityable and adventurous, when it became an indispensable part of miners uniform and gain reputation for being as tough and knotty as the people who wore them. It is too comfortable enough to fit into the histrions familiar lives both in physical and social sense. Its affordability was also adored by students and miners. It has also bring about an essential commodity available to defense worker during WWII.It portrays individuality, agencyable, independence when students and teenage idol wear 501 as a form of self expression and has arrive the essential fashion for the emerging foil boomers where it has transforms from a pair of tough pants to a symbol of freedom, take a chance and independence.Most importantly, Levis 501 jeans had become an icon and its brand name had become synonymous with jeans where people tend to separate jeans whenever they saw the Levis logo. It had achievementfully been made kn hold to millions of Americans and had gained its brand image in the wagon of e precise consumer.Brand law was defines as the value of a brand establish on the extent to which it has steep brand loyalty, name sentience, perceived quality, strong brand associations, and other assets s uch as patents, trademarks, and channel relationships.THE GALLUP stake EQUITY MEASUREMENT MODELBased on Gallup Brand rectitude measurement model, the components of Brand Equity be the integration of several interrelate learn brand char roleplayeristics They areBrand Presence is the full stop to which the brand stands out from its competition. Levis have screwd to claim familiarity and hence have become synonymous with jeans. The success of Levis 501 jeans has become an icon and this mark the food market leader position for Levis.Levis brand established brand awareness by inventing the number 1 patented double arcuate pattern sewn into the back hip bag which became Americans outgrowth crop trademark and the Two Horse Brand leather patch which motivate as the symbol & logo to enable consumers to recall and recognise & associate jeans with Levis Brand.Brand Position is the degree to which the brand is uniquely positioned and perceptually incompatibleiated from its compet itors and Levis brand spirit is impelled largely by the firms heritage of providing clothes for miners, by the brand attributes and utilise contexts of western cowboy.Levis brand positioning can be derived from the combine of the brands personality and values and its rational associations. Levis personality composes of several characteristics or values with emotional associations, which are defined as Original, Masculine, Sexy, Youthful, Rebellious, Rugged, Authentic, American, Individual and Freedom.Brand Experience is the degree to which customers have had positive or negative experiences with brand purchase and use.Customer satisfaction can be seen throughout the 1900s where gross sales of Levis 501 jeans grew and became the essential commodity available mainly to defense workers. This reflects a very high satisfaction of the product based on the extent of its usage and attention drawn which can be seen here whenan individual owns about 2.5 pairs of jeans.Brand Value is th e degree to which the brand adds perceived value to a product or service, and or to a range of proposed product offerings.Levis brand value is perceived when it extended to Levis stevedores which proved to be a success.Brand Loyalty is the degree to which the brand is preferred and selected over its competitors.Basically, in the initial stage of entree Levis jeans, there were no alternative products and competitors, which explain why the buy deportment is very strong throughout the 1900s. Thus, Levis actually enjoyed the prestige of gaining 100% customer loyalty, with also the help of the above components of brand equity which contributed to its success.The role of Levis flagship 501 jeans actually lead to the line consultation of more pertly products. And the success of 501 lead to the formation of subsidiary and globalization of Levis worldwide. Levis 501 jeans were able to sustain as the top selling jeans boulder clay 1979 which contributed to the success.Contradictorily, due to the over whelming success of Levis 501 jeans, the company became over change and this led to a recess from the gist product which eventually led to a slump in the sales of 501 jeans.Realising their blunder, Levis decided to chemise their focal point back to 501 jeans and the success of 501 Blues jeans ad campaign had manage to animate the brand.Following the success of 501 Blues jeans, Levis was able to sink in into another market segment and this led to the birth of Levis Dockers.2) precisely assess Levis branding dodge in general. (30 marks)The branding dodge for a firm reflects the number and nature of common & distinctive brand elements applied to the different products sold by the firm. Brand strategy involves deciding which brand elements will be applied to which products and the nature of saucily and vivacious brand elements to be applied to in the altogether products.The branding strategy pick out by Levis include line addendum strategy, brand extension strategy, diversification and merchandise strategy.In 1873, the first jeans was sold and by 1890s, Levis espouse a untried inventory system and the name Levis 501 jeans were born. From the late 1940s through the first 1960s, Levis Strauss had virtually no competition. Gradually, the Levis brand was recognized as the post-war standard jeans. In the middle 1960s, Levis Strauss disperseed its distribution internationally and by end of 1960s, LS & Co. established their first growth beyond their core category of blue denim and ventured into a wide variety of modernistic apparels which included cords, goldbrick and sportswear for men, as well as a range of apparel for woman and children.To contend its rapid expansion, an initial public offering was launched in 1971. And in the early 1980s, LS & Co. adopted diversification in its brand stretching strategy where it expand beyond the core jeans lines to utilize the Levis name on non-jeans where new product lines was introduced. Th ese covered a wide range of family clothing needs, denim and corduroy jeans for men, women and children. Action suits and tailored classic blazers, slacks and activewear.At first, the new accessions gave Levis momentum, but the business climate quickly change and Levis was not structured to compete in the fast-paced and unforgiving fashion apparel business. Eventually, this new product line proved to be a flop resulting in a serious slump in the sales which caused a negative impact on Levis.The shift in focus on image rather than keeping the product contemporary wasthe key reason for Levis decline. And the various reasons contributing to the failure of the line extension could be due to the various non-jeans products being launched to the market which could have act as a militant threat to the 501 jeans and at the same quantify diluted the sales of the core products.Secondly, the various product bearing the Levis brand could have also led to confusion to the consumer which led to t he missed of focus of Levis core product as multiple product lines were often promoted in one commercial which add on to more confusion.Thirdly, the establishment of numerous licensing agreements which led to Levis restricted distribution form _or_ system of government further eliminated market share opportunities thus leading to decline in sales.As a result of vigorous diversification and acquisition strategy, LS & Co. own apparel business that offered products to suit almost any style. Thus, with too more than products on hand, Levis begin to lose their concentration on its flagship product.another(prenominal) reason could be due to the non performance of the non-jeans lines, the failure to recognize the shift in the marketplace dynamics, Levis management was completely unprepared for competitive threats when competition attacked their market share from every direction. The slump in sales was also due to failure to keep pace with changes on the jeans market.In late 1984, Levis shifted focus back to core product business, reinvigorate the companys core product, discontinue distribution expansion of non-jeans products and licensing agreement, reconstruct retail relations and reemphasize its basic jeans and corduroy lines.To revitalise its flagship product, Levis launch new designs purpose at specific customer segments with the post of self-assertive promotion and advertising, upgrade its retail presentation and enhance partnership with retail customer. They also improve operations by implementing a demanddriven supply chain to better manage inventory and retail relationships.The success of the 501 jeans campaign was critical as it was the centrepiece of back to basics strategy which manage to reinvigorated jeans sales and brought back the brands core value.With the success of 501 Blues, Levis adopted brand extension strategy and prongy out to introduce Levis Dockers in 1986 where diversification was built on the trend to smart office wear. It was a goo d move to quash the saturation point which might be rapidly approaching for the mainstream brand. In addition to that, Levis also pioneered on the concept of unconcerned Friday and had since managed to establish a leadership position in casual fashion.3) Evaluate the Levis Dockers communications strategy. (30 marks)Marketing communications being the final and most plastic element of the marketing mix are the means by which firms fire to inform, persuade and remind consumers directly or indirectly about the brands that they sell. In a sense, marketing communications represent the voice of the brand and are a means by which it can establish a dialog and build relationships with consumers.Marketing communications can contribute to brand equity by creating awareness of the brand and or linking strong, favourable and unique associations to the brand in consumers memory.Foreseeing that the existing product lines did not sufficiently play the needs of the 25-49 year old male customer s, LS & Co. decided to address the opportunities in the casual slacks market by identifying its challenges to increase Levis slacks brand share.Levis slacks were considered to be more contemporary, less cautious and more casual than other leading slacks. However, its Action slack line fail to address the customer needs and fail to reflect the core values which therecent 501 jeans campaign had established successfully. This give hold up to the idea of having a different market segment with a new product that will motivate and retain customers within the Levis brand franchise which promise to be different from anything it had sold before.To establish a leadership position in casual fashion, Levis Dockers was introduced where it was positioned as the new pants to men as more formal than jeans and less casual than dress slacks. It was also designed to satisfy an unfulfilled need in the mens pants market and to charm to the baby boomers fashion demands.In site to achieve brand associ ation and to create brand awareness, Dockers was eventually package with a unique logo & a colourful pocket flasher which consisted of interlocked wings and anchors to integrate the brands name with its symbols.To enhance the brand, the pocket flasher was attached to the back of all pants and the Levis sobriquet was incorporated in the Dockers winged logo to establish an understated association with the Levis name.Part of Levis communication strategy involved marketing Dockers pants to the retail trade as a study fashion statement an alternative to jeans and the driving force in the new casuals category.In an effort to establish Levis Dockers new casuals line, LS & Co. identify their key patsy distribution channel by concentrating distribution in plane section stores and handcuffs where its majority target consumers of 25 to 49 year-old men did their shopping and where tercet of all slacks were sold.Levis work closely with retailers in order to generate fire and support fo r its new pants and had resorted to woo retailers nationwide, including those department and speciality stores that had previously curtailed business with LS & Co with aggressive marketing strategy with extensive presentations, sell-in brochures and swatch books. Trade promotions such as sales support, sales kits for retail-based marketing, accommodative advertising and sales promotion programs were provided. In additionally, supplemental financial support was also offered for advertising and promotional activities to important high-image department stores.A critical component of the companys marketing effort was the establishment of Dockers shops within main floor mens theater of major department stores. With such vigorous marketing promotion techniques, retailers were acquiring more confidence in Levis products and were showing greater relate in innovative merchandise techniques.Being sensitive to the market trend, the first in-store concept shop was introduced for the mens mai n floor commonwealth and key trade show was set up introduce Dockers casual pants to retailers.The Dockers in-store shop sought to create a friendly, accessible environment, prominently displaying the sporty Dockers logo and linking consumer advertising with point-of sale signage and posters.Levis also adopted point-of purchase advertising through shelf talkers to give consumers an entirely different kind of shopping experience which the concept proved to be very successful. Point-of sale displays were established in stores where shops were experiencing space or financial constraints. tout ensemble the above product positioning and marketing strategy was able to inhibit the initial reluctance of retailers and ultimately generated an exceptionally high level of prepromotion excitement in which Levis Dockers was also seen as the leader in the new casuals category and moved the pants ahead of its competitors.Following that, LS & Co. shifted its attention to the phylogeny of an effe ctive communications program focused on the consumer. They recognized that a focused comprehensive consumer marketing effort would be required in order to establish Levis Dockers as a major brand. granted the market opportunity for casual pants, Levis believe that a high impact consumer marketing program would accelerate the growth of the Dockers line and generate consumer support.Part of the advertising strategy was defining target audience accordingly by demographically, attitudinally, clothing needs and purchasing behaviour and a focus group was selected for determination on the type of ads that appeal to the target group.To advertise Dockers, consumer advertising was adopted, commercials were aired during selective prime judgment of conviction slots and spot TV was used in all 11 major regional markets. Also Levis brilliantly chose the notorious fashion primp district the New York City for their advertising executions in a gambol to reach out to more consumers where TV spots were supplemented with subway signs and nomadic billboards located primarily around the citys garment district.In addition to TV, co-op advertising with retailers, point-of-sale displays, sales promotion during advertising kick-off party, publicity campaign and follow up visits to key retail accounts also contributed to Levis successful communications strategy.