Brand Awareness and Changing Trends

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The solution below uses an interview of a middle aged male consumer who is loyal to the Levi brand of jeans. Discussion of the building of the brand and the repositioning after years of mediocre to poor performance in the market is included, along with strategies used to reposition the brand.

Part 1: Branding and Brand Positioning

A loyal consumer of Levi & Strauss blue jeans and denim wear has preferred this brand of denim wear since high school. The consumer is a 45 year old male with two children, working in corporate sales for a top competitor in the cellular service industry. When asked about brand preference, this individual responded that he may first try a popular brand simply because others speak highly of it. However, loyalty only comes when he perceives a difference in quality or some other feature, among competing brands. During the time he was growing up, competing brands such as Wrangler and Lee offered similar products at similar prices. The value that Levi Strauss provides is comfort, which is obtained by producing a better fitting blue jean.

As the company began to product other products, such as denim jackets, this consumer was eager to try the new products as soon as they hit the market, believing they would provide the same quality and comfort as the blue jeans. What this consumer specifically likes about the brand is that with each washing, the products seem to become even softer and more comfortable than before. Though styles of blue jeans have changed, even with the products Levi Strauss offers, this consumer prefers the original jeans for their reliable fit and comfort. This consumer does not exclude competing brands, if he feels they may offer the same fit and comfort. In the past decade he has purchased a couple pair of Lee jeans, as the new offerings seemed to provide the same comfort, but were easier to obtain.

Though the consumer has purchased other brands, the Levi Strauss brand represents a value that is hard to find in competing products. One perspective on brand equity, known as the information economics perspective argues "that a brand name acts as credible signal of product quality derived from perceived firm costs or investments" (Anderson, 2007). In other words, the consumer has come to associate the brand ...