Professional Documents
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(LS&CO) is a privately held clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of
denim jeans. It was founded in 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Buttenheim, Franconia, (Kingdom of
Bavaria) to San Francisco, California to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods
business. Although the company began producing denim overalls in the 1870s, modern jeans were not
produced until the 1920s. The company briefly experimented (in the 1970s) with employee ownership and a
public stock listing, but remains owned and controlled by descendants and relatives of Levi Strauss' four
nephews.
In order for a new brand to establish itself in its market and for its
products to sell successfully, thus achieving company goals and
shareholder profitability, a number of key principles concerning
consumer behaviour have to be fully grasped and addressed. As well as
producing a range of new, exciting and quality garments, the firm will
need to ensure that its products are cleverly and thoughtfully
marketed to the appropriate consumer groups.
When advertising the 'Anti-Fit' product Levis must ensure that its
messages are clear and perceived by the desired audience in the
intended manner. Evans, Moutinho and Van Raaij (1996) believe that
…"the more we understand about the perceptual process both generally
and of the target market concerned, the more we can ensure that the
intended receivers of the message will interpret it in the intended
manner"… (pp. 55). The notion of branding can have significant effects
on consumer's perceptions of product characteristics and attributes.
Studies have shown customers can often not tell the differences
between the various brands but labels and their associations
definitely influenced their evaluations. (Consumer Behaviour G R
Foxall) This shows that customers' perceptions of products can derive
from marketing effort alone; brand images and brand differentiation
can be the consumers' only guide to want satisfaction. This is
particularly evident in a highly branded stylised market such as the
jeans market. Therefore pursuing the correct marketing campaign is
essential to appeal to the target audience, in an already highly
differentiated market. When shopping for designer jeans consumers are
more likely to consider purchasing a brand product from his or her
awareness set than from a company who's brand image he or she has not
been exposed to. Brand awareness is an obvious precondition to
purchase. (Jobber 2004)
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