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Levi Strauss exec details multichannel marketing strategy at ad:tech

SAN FRANCISCO ? A Levi Strauss & Co. executive recommended building on traditional advertising campaigns by adding digital channels such as social media and mobile to the mix during the opening keynote address at ad:tech.

Brad Berens, chief content officer of the digital marketing sector at ad:tech, kicked off the conference with introductory remarks, then introduced the opening keynote speaker, who discussed Levi?s brand revitalization and multichannel marketing tactics.

?Everybody has the sense that their business is going to change, but most people don?t know how,? said Jaime Cohen-Szulc, chief marketing officer of Levi?s brand and senior vice president at Levi Strauss & Co., San Francisco. ?Important trends that are driving change include faster product lifecycles and challenging macro-economics, as well as the increasingly complex marketing mix.

?First the iPod came out and we said, ?Wow,? then iPhone comes along and gets a billion downloads in 9 months,? he said. ?Also, now anyone with a credit card can get in and start a jeans business?the market cycles so fast, which is why the market is so challenging.

?The reason why the Internet and digital channels [such as mobile] are so important, they touch the core of human values?the need to connect, the need to feel loved and the need to feel productive, which can be really difficult to do in real life.?

Levi Strauss & Co. is no stranger to mobile marketing.

Last month, the first official Levi?s/Fader Fort application for iPhone and Android launched just in time for South by Southwest (SXSW) 2010 with the goal of engaging both festival attendees and trendsetting music fans who wish they could have been there (see story).

As an example of how a mobile application can be used as an effective marketing vehicle, Mr. Cohen-Szulc cited Volkswagen?s campaign to promote the launch of the GTI 2010, which was highly successful even though it included no paid media.

Realizing that the automaker?s tech-savvy target demographic dovetailed with iPhone users, Volkswagen launched the free iPhone game Real Racing GTI that included a photo gallery of the new car and a dealer locator feature.

To help build buzz, Volkwagen launched accompanying YouTube videos, an online leaderboard and a winner?s circle where gamers could enter to win GTI cars, exclusive apparel and accessories. The more users played, the more chances they had to win.

Real Racing GTI became the No. 1 iPhone application in many countries worldwide and surpassed 4.3 million downloads.

Mr. Cohen-Szulc also cited a viral Dove video that showed how images of female models are altered digitally for advertisements and magazine covers. The viral video achieved between 15 and 20 million hits.

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?What those campaigns have in common is they used very little money and focused on a core consumer insight,? Mr. Cohen-Szulc said. ?That strategy mirrors the change we?re trying to do.

?If you enact changes for the people, they will carry your brand,? he said. ?It?s about moving from loyalty to advocacy.

?Brand loyalty is very passive, but brand advocacy is about being active, not passive.?

Multichannel strategy important
While traditional television, print and out-of-home advertising is still integral to Levi?s marketing strategy, the brand is increasingly using digital channels such as mobile to complement and enhance that strategy.

?As market becomes more fragmented, we want to have more control over our consumer experience, both online and at retail outlets,? Mr. Cohen-Szulc said. ?Going global means you lose control of the dialog and you have to manage that dialog.

?In the digital space, it?s not necessarily a controlled environment, so as a brand you have to lose a little bit of control to gain other advantages,? he said.

New technologies and new consumer behavior is pushing marketing toward a tipping point, according to the Levi?s executive.

?Consumers are in the driver?s seat more than ever, and they only care about what?s original, real and relevant to me,? Mr. Cohen-Szulc said. ?The strategic role of each marketing mix element is changing by the minute.

?We wanted to change course and eliminate stagnancy by being disruptive with our Go Forth campaign,? he said. ?Go from traditional advertising and digital promotions to social media and mobile?the interactive campaign encouraged consumers to ?go forth? in provocative new ways.

?We didn?t start with digital, because it?s more important to disrupt the market in a way that people look at this TV commercial, the execution, as part of a larger [multichannel] campaign and say ?This is not really the Levi?s I know, this is a refreshed Levi?s brand.??