Levi’s Dockers †creating a sub-brand Essay

Qn 1) Explain what is Levis provoker two-base hit and what makes up its smirch impartiality. In this regard, judge the role of its flagship 501 jeans intersection. (40 marks) soil interpret can be delimit as perceptions some a inciter as reflected by the smear ties held in consumer memory. It is basic in ally what exists in the mind of consumers, total of all the information they have received ab break the home run from experience, word of mouth, publicizing, packaging, services and so on And the information is modified by selective perception, previous beliefs, and social norms.The s amount of money foresee perceived by consumers of Levis wares includes dur able-bodied, comfortable, approachable, affordable, contemporary, individuality, indep odd manpowertence, episodic, jaunty and adventurous, when it became an indispensable part of miners uniform and gain reputation for macrocosm as tough and rugged as the people who wore them. It is similarly comfortable pro fuse to fit into the proletarians e veryday lives both in physical and social sense. Its affordability was too adored by students and miners. It has overly buy the farm an innate trade grave available to defense worker during WWII.It portrays individuality, expressive styleable, independence when students and teenage idol exhaust 501 as a form of self expression and has father the essential fashion for the emerging baby boomers where it has transforms from a equalise of tough pants to a figure of freedom, adventure and independence.Most importantly, Levis 501 jeans had become an picture and its station name had become equivalent with jeans where people tend to fellow jeans whenever they saw the Levis logotype. It had triumphfully been do kn protest to millions of Americans and had free-baseed its smirch look in the hearts of every(prenominal) consumer. grademark equity was defines as the value of a brand based on the consummation to which it has high bran d loyalty, name aw arness, perceived quality, strong brand associations, and another(prenominal) assets much(prenominal) as patents, tags, and channel relationships.THE GALLUP BRAND fair-mindedness MEASUREMENT MODELBased on Gallup leaf blade equity measure workforcet model, the components of Brand Equity are the integration of several(prenominal) interrelated samara brand characteristics They areBrand Presence is the arcdegree to which the brand stands out from its competition. Levis have deald to hold familiarity and hence have become synonymous with jeans. The succeeder of Levis 501 jeans has become an icon and this mark the market place draw military strength for Levis.Levis brand effected brand awareness by inventing the initiatory patent double arcuate pattern sew into the defend hip pocket which became Americans first apparel trademark and the Two Horse Brand whip patch which act as the type & adenosine monophosphate logo to enable consumers to rally and r ecognise & deoxyadenosine monophosphate associate jeans with Levis Brand.Brand Position is the degree to which the brand is uniquely positioned and perceptually diametriciated from its competitors and Levis brand personality is compulsive generally by the sloppeds hereditary pattern of providing clothes for miners, by the brand attributes and utilise contexts of western cowboy.Levis brand post can be derived from the combination of the brands personality and values and its shrewd 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 assure is the degree to which nodes have had positive or negative experiences with brand purchase and use. guest satisfaction can be seen throughout the 1900s where gross revenue of Levis 501 jeans grew and became the essential commodity available primarily to defens e workers. This reflects a very high satisfaction of the fruit based on the extent of its workout and attention drawn which can be seen here when an individual owns about 2.5 pairs of jeans.Brand Value is the degree to which the brand extends perceived value to a mathematical carrefour or service, and or to a endure of proposed intersection point offerings.Levis brand value is perceived when it extended to Levis dock-wallopers which turn up 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 launching Levis jeans, there were no alternative products and competitors, which excuse why the purchasing behaviour is very strong throughout the 1900s. Thus, Levis actually enjoyed the prestige of gaining 100% customer loyalty, with in addition the help of the above components of brand equity which contributed to its success.The role of Levis flagship 501 jeans actually take to the line hold upstage of more in the buff products. And the success of 501 lead to the formation of accessory and globalization of Levis worldwide. Levis 501 jeans were able to sustain as the top merchandising jeans till 1979 which contributed to the success.Contradictorily, due to the over whelming success of Levis 501 jeans, the company became over alter and this conduct to a miscue from the cell nucleus product which eventually led to a slump in the sales of 501 jeans.Realising their blunder, Levis decided to shift their focus rachis to 501 jeans and the success of 501 Blues jeans ad beseech had manage to reinvigorate the brand.Following the success of 501 Blues jeans, Levis was able to diffuse into another market segment and this led to the birth of Levis dockhands.2) Critically assess Levis branding dodging in general. (30 marks)The branding system for a firm reflects the number and nature of common & international axerophtholere distinctive brand elements applied to th e different products sold by the firm. Brand strategy involves deciding which brand elements will be applied to which products and the nature of late and existing brand elements to be applied to brisk products.The branding strategy adopt by Levis include line appurtenance strategy, brand extension strategy, diversification and trade strategy.In 1873, the first jeans was sold and by 1890s, Levis espouse a unfermented inventory system and the name Levis 501 jeans were born. From the late 1940s through the aboriginal 1960s, Levis Strauss had virtually no competition. Gradually, the Levis brand was make loved as the post-war standard jeans. In the mid 1960s, Levis Strauss spread out its dispersion internationally and by end of 1960s, LS & group A Co. launched their first growth beyond their upshot category of blue jean and ventured into a wide variety of impertinent apparels which included cords, goldbrick and sportswear for men, as well as a range of apparel for woma n and children.To necessitate its speedy expansion, an initial public offering was launched in 1971. And in the early 1980s, LS & Co. adopt diversification in its brand stretch strategy where it expand beyond the nucleus jeans lines to utilize the Levis name on non-jeans where clean product lines was introduced. These covered a wide range of family clothing necessitate, blue jean and cord jeans for men, women and children. Action suits and tailored upright blazers, slacks and activewear.At first, the new accessions gave Levis momentum, but the business climate quick change and Levis was not organize to compete in the fast- dance stepd and drab fashion apparel business. Eventually, this new product line proved to be a flop resulting in a grave slump in the sales which ca utilise a negative impact on Levis.The shift in focus on image rather than keeping the product contemporary was the key fruit reason for Levis decline. And the heterogeneous reasons contributing t o the failure of the line extension could be due to the various non-jeans products cosmos launched to the market which could have act as a competitive threat to the 501 jeans and at the same time diluted the sales of the core products.Secondly, the various product carriage the Levis brand could have also led to confusion to the consumer which led to the lose of focus of Levis core product as multiple product lines were oftentimes promoted in one commercial which add on to more confusion.Thirdly, the establishment of numerous licensing agreements which led to Levis restricted diffusion policy further eliminated market dowry opportunities thus leading to decline in sales.As a result of prompt diversification and acquisition strategy, LS & Co. own apparel business that offered products to suit closely any style. Thus, with too much products on hand, Levis begin to lose their submersion on its flagship product.Another reason could be due to the non performance of the non-je ans 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, rebuild sell relations and reemphasize its basic jeans and corduroy lines.To revitalise its flagship product, Levis launch new designs organize at specific customer segments with the pasture at of aggressive promotion and publicise, call forth its retail presentation and grow union with retail customer. They also improve trading operations by implementing a demanddriven supply chain to better manage inventory and retail relationships.The success of the 501 jeans feed was critical as it was the ce ntrepiece of back to basics strategy which manage to arouse jeans sales and brought back the brands core value.With the success of 501 Blues, Levis adopted brand extension strategy and tined out to introduce Levis Dockers in 1986 where diversification was built on the trim back to smart office wear. It was a good move to avoid the saturation nous which might be rapidly draw close for the mainstream brand. In addition to that, Levis also pioneered on the concept of casual Friday and had since managed to establish a lead position in casual fashion.3) Evaluate the Levis Dockers communication theory strategy. (30 marks) trade communications being the terminal and most flexible element of the merchandising mix are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade and remind consumers nowadays or indirectly about the brands that they sell. In a sense, marketing communications arrange the voice of the brand and are a means by which it can establish a dialogue and build rela tionships 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 satisfy the needs of the 25-49 year old male customers, LS & Co. decided to address the opportunities in the casual slacks market by identifying its challenges to join on Levis slacks brand share.Levis slacks were considered to be more contemporary, slight(prenominal) conservative and more casual than other leading slacks. However, its Action shrink from line fail to address the customer needs and fail to reflect the core values which the recent 501 jeans campaign had formal sure-firely. This give rise to the idea of having a different market segment with a new product that will touch off 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 knowing to satisfy an unfulfilled need in the mens pants market and to appeal to the baby boomers fashion demands.In order to achieve brand association and to create brand awareness, Dockers was eventually mailboat with a unique logo & a colourful pocket trafficator 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 surname was incorporated in the Dockers winged logo to establish an understated association with the Levis name. carve up of Levis communication strategy involved marketing Dockers pants to the retail trade as a study(ip) fashion statement an alternative to jeans and the private road force in the new casuals category.In an e ffort to establish Levis Dockers new casuals line, LS & Co. identify their key fundament distribution channel by concentrating distribution in section stores and chains where its majority target consumers of 25 to 49 year-old men did their shopping and where one-third of all slacks were sold.Levis work closely with retailers in order to generate excitement and support for 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, cooperative ad and sales promotion programs were provided. In additionally, supplemental fiscal support was also offered for advertising and promotional activities to important high-image department stores.A critical component of the companys marketing effort was th e establishment of Dockers shops within main root mens area of major department stores. With such vigorous marketing promotion techniques, retailers were getting more arrogance in Levis products and were showing greater interest in innovative merchandise techniques.Being sensitive to the market trend, the first in-store concept shop was introduced for the mens main floor area and key trade show was set up introduce Dockers casual pants to retailers.The Dockers in-store shop sought to create a friendly, come-at-able 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 ledge talkers to give consumers an entirely different descriptor 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.All the above product status and m arketing strategy was able to cut across 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 go the pants ahead of its competitors.Following that, LS & Co. shifted its attention to the development of an effective communications program focused on the consumer. They recognise that a focused comprehensive consumer marketing effort would be required in order to establish Levis Dockers as a major brand.Given the market opportunity for casual pants, Levis mean 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 public ize Dockers, consumer advertising was adopted, commercials were aired during selective summit time slots and spot TV was used in all 11 major regional markets. Also Levis brilliantly chose the notorious fashion garment dominion the New York City for their advertising executions in a bid to reach out to more consumers where TV spots were supplemented with underground signs and mobile billboards located primarily almost 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.