The symptom requiring immediate attention in the evaluation of Levi Strauss's advertising strategy is that all international directors of advertising and communications are not adhering to the company's core value of excellence. In the review of its current ads, Levi is particularly concerned about the poor quality of the creative work in its Latin American division. Because quality of advertising reflects on the quality of the product, this problem should be addressed immediately.
The fundamental issue that has given rise to Levi's immediate problem is the company's choice of consistency in product image as its priority. Given the diversity of the global market, consistency of product image might be an unrealistic goal. For instance, Levi has already noted the success of its United Kingdom campaign which focuses on Levi's as an all-American brand. This strategy had to be fine-tuned in Japan by focusing on Levi's as the brand worn by all-American cult heroes. In contrast, the Brazilian campaign projects Levi's as the brand worn by young, fashionable Europeans. Thus Levi's must tailor its product image to particular markets instead of applying a "one-size-fits-all" image across the globe.
Levi's present program of creating advertising campaigns locally or regionally but with generous input and influence from headquarters has numerous pros and very few cons. The most overwhelming recommendation for this strategy is that it works-- Levi Strauss International has posted record sales. Creating local or regional advertising campaigns acknowledges the cultural and political differences in the countries where Levi's products are manufactured and distributed. For example, in Australia, a localized campaign that focused on Levi's high quality construction boosted brand awareness by almost 100 percent. The influence of corporate headquarters on localized campaigns has, for the most part, gone smoothly. The notable exceptions a...