Is Levi's losing its cool?

Paul HiebertData Journalist
October 03, 2017, 12:30 PM GMT+0

A week before Levi Strauss & Co. releases its Q3 results, data shows that US consumers are giving the denim brand its lowest Impression score in two years

Levi's has long tried to imbue each pair of its jeans with a good amount of cool. As parent company Levi Strauss & Co. states in its latest annual report, merchandising and marketing efforts have aimed to associate the brand with the following characteristics: authentic, courageous, confident, effortless, connected, and purposeful.

Indeed, data from YouGov Profiles suggests that people who report purchasing Levi's apparel in the past three months are more likely than the general public to say they seek out challenging situations (70% vs. 54%), are not afraid of taking risks (70% vs. 56%), and consider themselves well-dressed (69% vs. 57%). In this sense, Levi's marketing seems to be winning over the intended crowd – or at least helping to shape the group's identity.

Recent data, however, suggests that all is not well in the image department. When asked if they have an overall positive or negative impression of Levi's, more Americans today are saying negative than at any point in the past two years, according to data from YouGov BrandIndex. Within this time frame, the brand hit of high score of 48 on New Year's Eve 2016. At present, Levi's sits at 40.

On the positive side, a recent commercial for Levi's entitled "Circles" seems to be leaving a lasting impression. With over 20 million views on YouTube, plus an estimated 1,600 national TV airings since the beginning of September, additional YouGov BrandIndex numbers suggest that 16% of Americans currently recall seeing a Levi's ad in the past two weeks, up from 10% in early July.

Photo: Getty

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