You are required to select a clothing retailer in Singapore and critically evaluate its strategies for brand positioning using the concepts covered in this module.
A brand name can be considered as a symbol that is used to identify a particular product or company. Most often, it is seen that customers purchase products based on the brand image. Without proper branding, organisations cannot gain a competitive advantage in the market. Hence, creating a brand identity is important for any organisation. According to Wheeler (2017), brand identity helps in creating a proper purpose for the branding. The assignment focuses on Levi Strauss and the strategies that the company have adopted to strengthen its brand position in the market. The assignment focuses on green branding, brand communication, emotional branding and brand extension strategies. Evaluation of each of the strategies is done in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of Levi Strauss and recommendations are provided for improvement.
Levi Strauss is an American clothing company that provides sophisticated designs of jeans. It is considered as one of the best and trustworthy products that provide quality jeans for the customers. The company was set up in 1853 with the headquarters being in California. Levi Strauss, based on whom the name of the company is provided, founded the company. Currently, the company has 2800 stores and more than 15,000 employees worldwide (Levistrauss.com 2018). In Singapore, the company is located all over the country such as in private roads and malls to provide customers with the authentic quality of product at a reasonable price. Hence, the branding of the company needs to be done based on the financial positions of the customers.
Green branding strategy
Concept of green branding
Green branding can be associated with the environmental conservation and sustainable business practices. These brands appear appealing to customers that perceive the conservation of the environment and aim at sustainable development (He and Lai 2014). Organisations tend to use this strategy as it adds a unique point for the proper sell of a product. This is because it can reach a larger part of the customers as most of the times it is seen that customers prefer to purchase a good quality brand. It also helps in enhancing the brand image of an organisation. However, MacInnis, Park and Priester (2014) stated that if companies try to overuse the green branding strategy then it might be a disadvantage. This is mainly because customers may get suspicious of the intention of the company. Hence, it is needed to consider the green branding strategy that is used by Levi Strauss.
Evaluation of Levi Strauss’s green branding strategy
Levi Strauss focuses on a long-term objective and focuses on maintaining a corporate social responsibility. This helps the company to gather information about the different customers that exist in the society and the ways to deal with their demands (Ghodeswar 2017). The development of corporate social responsibility can help Levi Strauss to be more popular in the country. This can help in improving the brand image of the company and ensure that the responses of the people are positive. However, there may a negative consequence with such promotion. The excessive advertising of green branding may get customers to remain suspicious of the type of products that are manufactured along with the process. Indulging in corporate social responsibilities also require huge investment and the positive response of the people. Kim and Hall (2015) stated that despite the strong emergence of sustainable practices in the modern world, it remains unclear whether customers provide favourable responses to such initiatives.
Recommendation
It can be recommended that Levi Strauss can target customers that show a strong response towards the conservation of the environment. To do so, the company need to ensure that proper marketing research is undertaken before implementing the practice. Green branding strategy is more popular among customers supporting environmental sustainability. Levi Strauss needs to provide its perception towards green branding to the customers. Based on such projection, customers may get to identify the importance of the issues and understand the intentions of green branding. Apart from this Levi Strauss, need to ensure that the new brand strategies undertaken are aligned with the overall strategies of the company. This includes corporate social responsibility and the manner in which the company applies it. Customers identifying the intentions of the parent brand can judge the strategies of the company. Hence, it is important for Levi Strauss to ensure that the strategies applied by the company in terms of green branding do not hinder the company image.
Strategy
Brand communication strategy
Concept of brand communication
Brand communication refers to the manner adopted by organisations after it meets with the customers. The communication between a brand and the customers signify the level of interaction that can take place between the two factors. According to Keller (2017), the communication and interaction with the customers are considered as brand meeting wherein improvements about a particular brand is discussed. Some of the common methods adopted by organisations to meet the brand include advertising, sponsorships, online and direct visit. Organisations need to keep in mind that four essential components are required to be kept in mind to interact with the customers in an efficient manner. The audience, message, medium for transferring the message and the creativity of the message are essential components of a proper brand communication (Bravo et al. 2017). Hence, it can be said that for a company like Levi Strauss the brand communication need strategy need to involve the people residing in Singapore.
Evaluation of Levi Strauss’s brand communication
It has been seen that Levi Strauss uses the contemporary brand communication strategy for gaining the attraction of the customers. It has been seen that the motto of Levi Strauss is to follow one’s dream during the turn of the year (YouTube.com 2018). This provides a sense of motivation for the customers in chasing their dreams and ensuring that they end up with their dream profession or passion. This form of brand communication strategists is the thinker and doer of the company. Every company need to ensure that the customers are given a clear message so that they can comply with the brand. However, as stated by De Chernatony (2016) it is essential for the companies to ensure that the promises made are not false. This can create a negative factor in the mind of the customers. Brand interaction with the customers can result in positivity but at the same time, it is also essential that the interaction be restricted up to a certain level (Sung et al. 2014). In this regard, recommendations can be provided for Levi Strauss keeping in mind the promises that the company usually makes to the customers.
Recommendation
As evident from the video, Levi Strauss ensures that customers follow their passion in taking up activities that they dream. Similarly, it is evident that the company provides similar encouragement to the target market to purchase products from the company. However, it has been seen that the company tends to make promises that are not kept by them. This creates a great deal of hindrance to the companies. The focus of Levi Strauss is on the Chinese New Year festival that is celebrated with great pomp and joy in Singapore. Hence, the building blocks that drive an individual towards attaining the goal are the desire to achieve it. To purchase the Levi Strauss jeans customers needs to have similar passion. The video link provides details about the manner in which the characters managed to fulfil their dreams and become creative in their field. Levi Strauss need to follow such ambition and makes their products keeping in mind the goals of the company and the demands of the customers.
Strategy
Emotional branding strategy
Concept of emotional branding strategy
Emotional branding is used to describe the brands that directly appeal to the emotional state of a customer. The needs, aspirations and the reason behind the purchase of a particular product are sometimes considered as an act of emotion for a customer (Vigneron and Johnson 2017). For example, being passionate about purchasing technologies can be considered as an emotion for a customer. Hence, it is necessary that every company try to get an emotional response from the customers (Okonkwo 2016). Emotional branding can be strong once the customers feel connected to a particular brand. This can help managers of an organisation to take up initiatives regarding better promotion of the brands. According to Schallehn, Burmann and Riley (2014), emotional bond needs to be developed between the customers as well as the organisations to attain success. However, it is to be kept in mind that excessive emotion towards a brand may lead to high expectations. This may lead organisations to be under pressure for consistency in their services.
Evaluation of Levi Strauss’s emotional branding strategy
In the case of Levis Strauss, emotional branding of the company can lead to its enhancement in the market. As stated by Aaker (2013), brand needs to be considered as a friend and person. Love towards a particular brand develops through experience. Levi Strauss needs to ensure that the brand remains in the memories of the people even if the company fails to perform to its potential. However, it is also to be kept in mind that the customers need to own the brand before purchasing it. This can be supported from the official video of the company that shows that a common taste in brands can bring people from various backgrounds together (YouTube.com 2018). Apart from this it is also seen from a news article that the return of Levi 501, spurred memories for an individual (Brandingstrategyinsider.com 2018). Thus, these prove that brands need to be emotionally attached to the people so that customers can feel a sense of belongingness. Hence, Levi Strauss need to make some changes regarding the strategies adopted for emotional branding.
Recommendation
Levi Strauss needs to ensure that the target customers are considered as loyal to the product by finding its emotional state. As seen previously the return of the Levi 501 brought in old memories for an individual. Hence, rejected brand of jeans can help the company to gain more customers based on the emotions that they possess. Apart from this, the company also need to ensure that the market analysis is done properly so that the emotional state of the customers can be accounted for. This can help in formulating the plans so that the brand of the company can be recognised. Hence, this can help Levi Strauss to improve its brand image and gain back the customers that they had once lost.
Strategy
Brand extension strategy
Concept of brand extension strategy
Brand extension strategy refers to the marketing of a brand image using a different name. This can be considered as subsidiary marketing in which companies tend to provide products that can reach customers in a different manner (Ferrandi, Valette-Florence and Fine-Falcy 2015). For example, in the case of Ralph Lauren, the company successfully extended from clothing to home furnishing items. This provides more profitability for the brand and ensures that customers get a variety of product from their favourite brands. However, as stated by Mete, Davies and Whelan (2018) it needs to be kept in mind that the brand image is already well-established and that the products provided are of good quality. The association of customers towards the brand is important for this strategy to be a success (Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy and Pervan 2015). Sometimes brands may extend products to provide innovation for the customers. An example of this is Coca-Cola that extended the initial product to Coca-Cola diet for people suffering from diabetes.
Evaluation of Levi Strauss’s brand extension strategy
The strategy applied by Levi Strauss in the case of its brand extension includes gaining access to the Asian market. The company used the name of Denizen to enter the Asian market and spread itself in the international market. This helps the company to gain more customers and ensure that the Asian people remain aware of the brand. In the case of Singapore market, Levi Strauss operates under both the original name as well as Denizens (Levi.com.sg 2018). Such branding tactic helps in the formation of the partnership with other companies. Levi Strauss follows the introduction of new products in the market with the help of Denizen. Similarly, Denizens can extend its market to borders outside Asia (Grohs and Reisinger 2014). However, it is to be kept in mind that such brand extension strategy need to be done with companies that struggle in the market (Solomon 2014). One of the major weaknesses of this strategy is that with the failure of the extension, both companies may suffer huge loss. It may be difficult for the parent company as well to gain the trust of the customers due to such failure in the market.
Recommendation
It can be recommended that Levi Strauss focus more on making skinny jeans for the women of the country. Under the brand name Denizen, the company can ensure that experiments are made for increasing its reputation in the market. One of the most important features that the company can make is the fact that it can develop a full collaboration with Denizen to get more penetration in the Asian market. The collaboration can help Levi Strauss gain access to the US market. The innovative nature of the design of jeans in the Asian market can be applied in the US.
Conclusion
Hence, it can be concluded that the success rate of Levi Strauss can be attributed to the clever strategies that the company uses in attaining brand image. Branding is always considered a strategic advantage for a company as it helps customers understand the type of products that are sold. The manner in which Levi Strauss promotes its business indicates that the company uses the customers to act as the brand ambassadors. This strategy is effective as it ensures that excessive amount is not spent in the case of promotion of a product. An example of it is provided in the official promotion of the product or in the New Year resolution statement of the brand. The fact that the company tries to encourage people is a positive sign as the brand can be considered as a part of the emotion of the people. Levi Strauss also focuses on the emotional branding strategy that helps in understanding the nature and personality of the customers.
In the markets of Singapore, the company uses a different brand name for its promotion. This helps in gaining the trust of the local market as the people in Singapore and other areas in Asia prefer to purchase products from the local market. Thus, it can be said that Levi Strauss uses the people for the promotion of the product and creates a brand image in the mind of the target market. This can be considered as one of the reasons behind the success of the company on a global level.
Aaker, J.L., 2013. Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of marketing research, pp.347-356.
Brandingstrategyinsider.com. (2018). The Return Of Levi’s 501 Brand | Branding Strategy Insider. [online] Branding Strategy Insider. Available at: https://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2009/08/the-return-of-levis-501-brand.html#.Wlivoa2B1AY Brand as a friend via the commercial campaign of Levi%E2%80%99s which is named %E2%80%9CCircle%E2%80%9D: [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Bravo, R., Bravo, R., Buil, I., Buil, I., de Chernatony, L., de Chernatony, L., Martínez, E. and Martínez, E., 2017. Managing brand identity: effects on the employees. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 35(1), pp.2-23.
De Chernatony, L., 2016. Brand management through narrowing the gap between brand identity and brand reputation. Journal of marketing management, 15(1-3), pp.157-179.
Ferrandi, J.M., Valette-Florence, P. and Fine-Falcy, S., 2015. Aaker’s brand personality scale in a French context: a replication and a preliminary test of its validity. In Proceedings of the 2000 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 7-13). Springer, Cham.
Ghodeswar, B.M., 2017. Building brand identity in competitive markets: a conceptual model. Journal of product & brand management, 17(1), pp.4-12.
Grohs, R. and Reisinger, H., 2014. Sponsorship effects on brand image: The role of exposure and activity involvement. Journal of Business Research, 67(5), pp.1018-1025.
He, Y. and Lai, K.K., 2014. The effect of corporate social responsibility on brand loyalty: the mediating role of brand image. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 25(3-4), pp.249-263.
Keller, K.L., 2017. Managing the growth tradeoff: Challenges and opportunities in luxury branding. In Advances in Luxury Brand Management (pp. 179-198). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Kim, H.S. and Hall, M.L., 2015. Green brand strategies in the fashion industry: Leveraging connections of the consumer, brand, and environmental sustainability. In Sustainable Fashion Supply Chain Management (pp. 31-45). Springer International Publishing.
Levi.com.sg. (2018). Levi’s. [online] Available at: https://levi.com.sg/cny/collection?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Search&utm_campaign=CNY_Collection&utm_term=Levis [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Levistrauss.com. (2018). Levi Strauss – Levi Strauss & Co. [online] Available at: https://www.levistrauss.com/ [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
MacInnis, D.J., Park, C.W. and Priester, J.W., 2014. Handbook of brand relationships. Routledge.
Mete, M., Davies, G. and Whelan, S., 2018. Employer Brand Image and Employee Engagement: An Exploratory Study in Britain. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Economics and Management Engineering, 5(2).
Nyadzayo, M.W. and Khajehzadeh, S., 2016. The antecedents of customer loyalty: A moderated mediation model of customer relationship management quality and brand image. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 30, pp.262-270.
Okonkwo, U., 2016. Luxury fashion branding: trends, tactics, techniques. Springer.
Rosenbaum-Elliott, R., Percy, L. and Pervan, S., 2015. Strategic brand management. Oxford University Press, USA.
Schallehn, M., Burmann, C. and Riley, N., 2014. Brand authenticity: model development and empirical testing. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 23(3), pp.192-199.
Schroeder, J.E. and Schroeder, J.E., 2017. Corporate branding in perspective: a typology. European Journal of Marketing, 51(9/10), pp.1522-1529.
Solomon, M.R., 2014. Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Sung, Y., Choi, S.M., Ahn, H. and Song, Y.A., 2015. Dimensions of luxury brand personality: Scale development and validation. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1), pp.121-132.
Vigneron, F. and Johnson, L.W., 2017. Measuring perceptions of brand luxury. In Advances in Luxury Brand Management(pp. 199-234). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Wheeler, A., 2017. Designing brand identity: an essential guide for the whole branding team. John Wiley & Sons.
YouTube.com. (2018). Levi’s® “Circles” Commercial l Full. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgcgFP9nGqY [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
YouTube.com. (2018). Levi’s® Chinese New Year: Follow Your Resolutions. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysuemYGVEok [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download