New Perspective on Levi Jeans

After choosing Levi's Jeans for a large "Brand Dissection" project in my Advertising Prinicples class, I suddenly began to notice the brand-- everywhere.  When we had our first group discussion about it, all of the girls realized that we didn't own anything by Levi.  However the boys in the group had each owned something; be it jeans or even shoes.  This brought me to a fundamental question: what was the brand missing when it comes to women?

I hadn't ever given much thought to buying the original denim brand.  I always chose jeans that were a. cute, b. fit well, and c. inexpensive.  And somewhere along the line Levi jeans just didn't cut it. 

Spending more than an hour at the mall made me realize, Levi jeans were advertising everywhere! There were sold everywhere!  And yet, I never had owned any.  Kohl's, Boston Store, and JC Penny were some of the retailers that I had found who sold Levi's.  All had them marked at reasonable prices, were attractively displayed, and located in the center of the jean area.  So what could be the reason that so many females around college and high school age do not buy this brand?

One thing I had noticed were the styles.  Levi lacked a lot of the very popular "Skinny" jean styles.  Instead, they had a much larger proportion of flair and boot cut denim.  The "Skinny" rack was demolished- with only a couple pairs (in sizes 00 and 16).  In addition, the wash of the jeans were not "BeDazzled" with any distress or gems...something very popular. Rather, Levi had way too many boring washes, fits, and styles. 

Over the course of the brand analysis I hope to discover a lot more about Levi Strauss Jeans including how to improve the number of female customers.  Stay tuned!

Grilled Cheese VS. Toasted Cheese

While at the local Target store this weekend I walked passed a sign in the food section.  The sign help a giant picture of a grilled cheese sandwich and above, said the words "MMM.  Toasted Cheese." Immediately, I grabbed my friend and pointed out the sign, wondering what the heck toasted cheese was.  Here, it is grilled not toasted. 

The sign brought me to an important understanding.. Lingo.  If you posted a sign in a Flordia Target that direct customers to the "bubbler," few shoppers, if any, would know what that meant.  Similary, in Milwaukee, a sign with a giant grilled cheese sandwich better hold the words "Grilled Cheese." 

Keeping in mind the regional dialect is always very important because if advertisers use the wrong words, they may turn off their consumers.  Forget about making the sale.

Buffalo Wild Wings Blackout

Each year Buffalo Wild Wings seems to come out with a new commecial about bringing sports fans together.  Usually airing on the typical Sunday afternoon, these ads are aimed at your typical sports loving man.  While I love football, the BW3's commercials do not encourage me to go to the bar/grill and eat because I am out of the target audience.  Nonetheless, I find the ads highly entertaining and laugh almost every time.

It's a clever idea, that Buffalo Wild Wings has insiders at every sporting event who are able to change the outcome of the game.  The absurdity of it is even more comical, as to how the NFL would react if something of the sort were ever to actually occur during a game. 

I think that the ads are effective at getting people to go to BW3's.  They create a sense of community throughout the sports world, thus enticing people to go watch a game with their fellow fans. 

"I mustache you a question"

As an employee of the Marquette Bookmarq, I see a lot of advertising targeted at students my age.  Over the past year, the campaign has changed quite a bit. 

 One year ago, renting textbooks was the center of the marketing ploy.  The "Rent-A-Text" program was aimed at students who didn't want to pay full price for textbooks, which often totaled upwards of $700 per semester.  Since the program had only started, posters were everywhere explaining what it was and how it worked.
 
 After one year of textbook rentals, a large number of Marquette students are now in the rental program..  The Rent-A-Text posters are still displayed, however are much more sparse than in the past.

Today, the signage in the Bookmarq takes a much different tone.  Instead of coming right out and saying something, all of the posters have a humorous and almost an indirect tone.  Even the associates were given t-shirts saying, "I mustache you a question." 

Upon my arrival at the end of Summer, I was unsure of what to think.  Quite honestly, I didn't even understand half of it, much less comprehend what the company was trying to say.  In addition to the shirts, customers were given sticker sheets of mustaches! (Which I do still see time to time on the sides of random buildings and bus shelters).

To this day I still cannot figure the marketing campaign out and feel as if my coworkers have little understanding either.  There too are other signs  around the store that are a bit less strange, but not by much.

They are interesting to look at, however I don't believe that the campaign is hitting its target audience. The signage seems to be better suited for a younger age group, perhaps middle school students. Many Marquette students are going to the bookstore to purchase their Organic Chemistry or Analytical Engineering Systems textbooks. For them, the signs are not amusing and appear to be immature.

NFL Sunday

The Fall season can be characterized by many things: crisp leaves, briskness in the air, and of course, football.  Spending Sunday's vegged out in front of the tv with family and friends is such a natural part of this time of year. 

Today, being a normal Sunday I spent my early afternoon watching Packer football.  However, instead of muting the commercials I paid attention to them and came across something interesting.

Nearly every advertisement was for one of three things: Food/Beer, Cars, or Movies.  All directed toward men.  Food commercials were all unhealthy foods like Pizza Hut and Doritos.  An ad for say, Yoplait Yogurt would never be seen during this time slot because the target audience would be completely missed. 

All of the commercials, especially those for beer, focus largely on manliness and masculinity.  It's all about "being a man."  The campaigns are all neglecting women and are assuming that men watch more football than woman.  My personal favorite was by Miller Lite.

The tactic must work because companies have been doing the same thing for years and years.  Commercials aimed at men appear on sports networks and on game day while those aimed at women most likely occur on The Cooking Channel or on networks like Lifetime.  Apparently the content of the ad is only as important as who the ad is targeted to.

Presentation Props

I spent the weekend in Madison and had a nice Saturday afternoon shopping at the small boutiques on State Street.  One display that caught my eye was a store named Shoo (yes, there is also one in downtown Milwaukee).  The shop sold a wide variety of unknown label, expensive shoes in addition to trendy and socially responsible Toms.

The part that got my attention was a large, old-fashioned bike in the front store window.  The store sold "Shoos" and yet attracted college students by having a model of their main method of transportation- bikes.  The same store in Milwaukee has a much different display- simply shoes.  Only because everyone at Marquette, the nearest campus, walks to class.

The advertising technique was interesting because it worked and I did go in and shop.  Since nearly every block in Madison had a bike store, this was their way to stand out by blending in.
 

Kenneth Cole & the Abortion Debate

Flipping through my Marie Claire I spotted an advertisement that caught my eye..

Kenneth Cole, a well-known label, had a new marketing plan with an interesting twist.
"Should it be a woman's right to choose if she's the one carrying it?" span across the entire page. A link to Where Do You Stand . Com sits underneath.  One can only assume this is meant to say, "CAN A WOMAN CHOOSE TO HAVE AN ABORTION?"

Ironically, the website link then directs you to either a) Take part in a provocative debate or b) Go shopping. Hmmm.. 

I don't know how to feel about this one.  They create a play on words as the woman is actually carrying, granted she's carrying a purse.   Sure, it is a hot topic, however can they really get away with comparing having an unwanted baby to holding a bag in your hand?

The advertisement has caught me off guard and Kenneth Cole has effectively made me uncomfortable. And not in the fashionable, sexy light that most designers go for.  It's bizarre to see the fashion world mixing with such a touchy subject, and to do it so openly, to make money?  The more I contemplate, the more I realize I am not a fan. 

What do you think?