Levi's faced fierce competition in Hong Kong. Market share as well as share of mind had been consistently challenged, not only from players from the jeans category but also from heavyweight spenders in sports apparel category.
Research revealed that Levi's is consistently one of the strongest fashion brands for Hong Kong's teenagers. Its success can be attributed to a continuous effort to adopt an innovative and unconventional communications with its target group. Even though advertising spending for the Levi's was far less than its competitors, the brand still enjoyed a high top of mind awareness.
Levi's wanted to launch the Square Cut series, a youthful, musically inspired collection in an already oversaturated market in an innovative manner that would fulfil consumer expectation of something exciting from the brand.
The goal was to promote the launch of Levi's revamped Square Cut collection and to re-establish Levi's as a leader in the denim market in an original way.
The target segment was teenagers. This group is always on a look out for ways to express themselves: The styles they wear and the music they listen to defines more about them than most other things.
The concept the Soundwash: A new invention that blended music with the traditional experience of classic American laundrettes to incorporate the target audience's sense of fun and love of music, while also clearly communicating the new product launch.
Echoing back to the iconic Levi's advertising of the 1980s in which a man stripped to his underwear in a laundrette to wash his Levi's, the Soundwash presented an interactive and engaging Levi's experience using music as a way into the consumer's hearts and minds.
The American laundrette or 'laundromat' is a place of waiting, hanging around and more often than not, finding ways to kill time while your clothes wash. By introducing music into this setting, Levi's created a place where shoppers actually washed their jeans in music, and by extension imbued their jeans with a something of the owner's personality.
The campaign was kick-started by a viral Soundwash video that featured popular local rock band MR. The laundromat was built inside a store, and the Soundwashing machines allowed consumers to select their own favourite music mix to Soundwash the new Square Cut jeans in Levi's special formula.
Sweets disguised as Soundwashing 'powders' complete with barcodes to activate the machines were distributed around Laundromat. Limited edition Soundwash packaging was tactically sold in controlled quantities in-store to regulate the traffic flow and increase the potential viral value of the experience.
The Soundwash Laundromat idea was also extended online and with an iPhone app and a specially branded interactive magazine cover. Consumers were also invited to participate in a Soundwashing competition to win a pair of new Levi's Square Cut jeans.
Results
Total Special Edition Package sell through rate: 125%
Over 10,000 people visited the Laundromat in just 4 days.
Levi's store foot traffic up 85%
Over HK$2.5 million generated in PR coverage.
An increase of 100% in page visits for website.
Generated 60,000 online conversations
The iPhone music app reached #2 in the app charts.
The Soundwash campaign was shortlisted in the Festival of Media 2011 Awards in the 'Best Communication/Entertainment Platform' and 'Best Use of Creative Media Campaigns'.