The Marketing Strategy Employed by Levi's 

Works Cited Missing 

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. 

In this report I will look at the marketing strategy employed by Levis 

on their new 'Anti-Fit' style jeans, and at the importance of consumer 
behaviour in deriving this strategy. I will also look at the 
importance of a clear and up to date comprehension of the factors that 
affect consumer behaviour, paying particular attention to the key role 
that perception will play in forming consumer's attitudes towards the 
new range of designer jeans. I will continue on to show how favourable 
perceptions about Levis brand identity will have a positive effect in 
raising consumer motivation to purchase a product from their range. 

The fashion industry at this time; a time of increasing disposable 

incomes and incidence of recreational shopping, is intensely 
competitive. We can draw on many examples to highlight the point that; 
companies who have established a strong and clear brand image, have 
tended to command a larger market share than those companies who's 
image is either unfavourable, for example old fashioned, or unattached 
to specific and clear values. Establishing a strong and 
distinguishable brand image for the 'Anti-Fit' range of jeans is the 
central idea behind Levis marketing strategy for breaking into the 
competitive market and ultimately gaining a favourable share of the 
market for designer jeans. Creating the right brand image is largely 
dependent upon being in tune with the mindsets, beliefs, values and 
aspirations of the modern, well-informed consumer. Moreover ensuring 
that the consumer perceives the firm to be in tune with their way of 
thinking and holding similar values centrally to the Levis brand 
identity will be the key to ensuring marketing success. 

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) 

The purchase of a pair of designer jeans may be considered neither a 

high involvement nor low involvement purchase, where involvement may 
be thought of as …"the degree of perceived relevance and personal 
importance accompanying brand choice"... (Blackwell, Miniard and Engel 
2001: quoted in Jobber 2004). The following model is an amalgamation 
of Fisbein and Ajzen's model for high involvement purchases and 
Enrenberg and Goodhart's model for low involvement situation. 

[IMAGE] 

The influences at work when shopping for designer jeans. 

The purchase of a pair of designer jeans is seldom undertaken with the 

same abandon and low risk as, for example, the purchase of a pair of 
socks. Jeans may be worn and enjoyed for many months, even years. 
Therefore the consumer would want to ensure that the jeans will remain 
comfortable, fashionable and flattering for more than a few outings. 
Creating a brand that is seen to be fashionable, desirable and having 
a degree of exclusivity, is vital for attacking the designer end of 
the jeans market. Referring to the model above and what has been 
written up to this point, suppose two comparably priced jeans we're 
tested, both equally well fitting and both well styled. A consumer may 
be swayed by brand snobbery, wishing to attach herself to the brand he 
or she believes matches his or her beliefs and attitudes and will 
result in greater approval from his or her significant references. The 
more aware a consumer is of a brand, the more likely he or she may be 
to purchase its product. 

Perception of products and brand identity has a big impact on consumer 

purchasing behaviour, within a dynamic fast moving market, such as the 
jeans market; where style and originality is the key. Perception is 
defined as 'the entire process by which an individual becomes aware of 
his environment and interprets it so that it will fit into his own 
frame or reference' (Walters in Consumer Behaviour G R Foxall 1977). 
People become aware of their environment through the five senses, 
therefore sensation is the process by which perception begins. Also 
important is the process of interpretation, which depends on the 
socio-psychological meanings the individual attaches to the object 
perceived. Everybody perceives things differently and this is 
important when thinking about grouping people into a particular market 
segment or marketing a brand in a particular way, as potential 
consumers may not interpret such things with the same meaning as 
intended. 90% of stimuli are received through sight, therefore when 
marketing a new range of designer jeans visual stimuli are a key 
method of attracting potential consumers. 

Potential customers within such a competitive market have a number of 

factors influencing their purchasing behaviour. Consumer buying is 
motivated by something more than awareness; it depends on the 
consumer's needs and drives, tastes and aspirations, attitudes, 
personality and social environment. Products are not only purchased 
for their functional values but also, for the social and psychological 
meanings they convey. The purchase of a pair of jeans is linked, to 
what extent is dependent on the individual, to the formulation and 
shaping of a consumers self-image. Purchasing a pair of jeans will to 
some degree shape a person's self-image and the way others may 
perceive them. As marketers, a company must align the consumer's 
self-perception and the image they intend to project to others, with 
the attributes and values they perceive to be attached to the company 
and its associated products. Grubb and Grothwohl (1967) suggest image 
research within marketing seeks to ..."link the psychological 
construct of an individual's self-concept with the symbolic value of 
the goods purchased"... (p 23). A consumer will purchase goods that 
they believe will either enhance their self-image, or those which help 
the consumer to feel closer to their self image. Therefore we may 
think of goods, in this case designer jeans, as symbols that 
communicate something about the individual to his "significant 
references" (p 24). 

The selective nature of perception and attention act as a way of 

coping with the constant bombardment of stimuli, the precise manner in 
which the person allows some messages to penetrate while rejecting 
others depends on values, motives and attitudes as well as social 
situation. With a prior knowledge of this aspect of consumer 
purchasing behaviour, it is clear that when selecting and targeting 
potential consumers marketing strategies must incorporate a wide range 
of factors to appeal to a market segment which may encompass people 
with wide ranging beliefs, attitudes and values. For example marketing 
for young, trendy professionals looking for up to the minute style may 
represent a particular market segment but within this segment 
individuals may have varying beliefs or values. Therefore, by simply 
targeting a segment of the market we cannot assume homogenous 
perceptions of a new product. Differing attitudes to a particular 
strategy may be widely evident, therefore understanding consumers 
purchasing behaviour in relation to differing perceptions will give a 
wider insight into possible effective strategies.