This week was a big one for Levi’s® and our colleagues at H&K Beijing as the Coppers Fall Collection ’07/’08 Launch Campaign won the “Most Effective Use of PR” award at the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards 2008!

I am a fan of this campaign, which targets the Chinese Youth “Online Oxygen Generation”, as well as companies like Levi’s who go that extra mile to create something out of the ordinary with the ability to entertain its target audience. You should familiarize yourselves with this campaign, as it’s a great example of how online media can be leveraged to engage and entertain audiences. 

The concept is simple and stays with the product (always a plus) 

• Levi’s® wanted to leverage the launch of Coppers Fall Collection to reinforce its leadership as a cool, fashionable brand and create awareness of the Coppers collection amongst the youth.
• A nationwide online contest searching for the “Coppers Cool Hunt for Stylish Guy and Girl” was designed, capitalizing on youth’s interest in interaction and aspirations in becoming a recognized style icon.  The contest integrated numerous online tools, such as webcasts, BBS (bulletin boards, most popular online tool in China), partnerships with web portals to drive traffic and blogs
• 1,000 consumers participated in the online contest. Your way to participate – Just Buy the new Levi’s Coppers and using the receipt number to be able to enter the contest online. Participants were then invited to create profiles and upload the stylish pictures of themselves wearing the new Levi’s copper jeans. The 1.3 million visitors that surf on the site during the two month campaign were then voting for the 6 most stylish guys and girls.
• The six selected finalists were given the amazing chance to fly to Hong Kong for fashion training and the final stages of the contest. Finally, judges from the fashion and entertainment industry selected our two most stylish winners.

Cool way to get discovered and get famous!

In addition to the consumer events and contest, the campaign included a media launch at Levi’s flagship store for top fashion media with interactive sessions that drove attention nationwide. By the end of campaign, sales had jumped by 58%. Wow!

I think the campaign worked on a number of levels - it taps into people's creativity and is in tune with today's obsession with instant celebrity aspirations. The campaign also infused good “M(ART)keting” in the Chinese online community and leveraged the “Tryversting” trends well online, where consumers can telling other consumers about their real, tried and true experiences of a product. Always keep in mind that “Word of mouth is the best medium of all”. In a world where mass advertizing is dying, Levi’s created a more interesting way of igniting conversations and letting consumers becoming familiar with new Levi’s Coppers by actually trying them out.

Another good point and lesson from the campaign: It is not enough to help your customers improve their fashion skills, but also give them the chance to show them off.  Winners won a chance to be part of an exclusive partnership with Levi’s Coppers for one year as an ambassador of the brand in China, appearing in online ads and others events and giving them the possibility to show off their skills to improve their image.

Last but not least, by giving them prize worth 30,000 RMB, it fits with the desires of the Chinese generation for cash and gifts. It’s not like brands have a choice: consumers will no longer be satisfied with just thank you notes. Get ready to reward your creative consumers with schemes and sumptuous gifts if you want to get them on board.

The "Almost famous" mentality will only continue to grow, so these competitions should continue to make more people’s dreams come true. Meanwhile, I am happy for Levi’s and our colleagues on their newly-found fame.