Core Concepts of Marketing

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PRODUCTPLANNINGANDSTRATEGYFORMULATION 169

INTEGRATED MARKETING7.


PUTTINGLEVI'SBACKINTHESADDLE


LeviStraus&Co.isoptingfora newmarketingdirection.
ThesituationisreflectedbyMaressaEmmar,highschool
sophomorefromSetaukat,N.Y.,andherfriends,whowon't
wearanythingfromLevi's."Itdoesn'tmakethestyleswe
want," saysEmmar,whoprefer.sbaggypantsfromJNCOand
Kikwear."Levi'sstylesaretootightandfortheoldergen-
eration,likemiddle-agedpeople."
Afterthreeyearsoftumblingsales,layoffs,plantclosing,
anda failedefforttowookidsonline,Levi'sisgearingup
forseveralproductlaunches. NotesnewchiefexecutivePhilip
Martineau,"Levi'sis a mythicalbrand,butourperformance
hasbeenpoor.Weneedtoturnourattentionbacktocustomers
andhavemorerelevantproductsandmarketing."
Incomingmonths,Levi'swillunveila slewofyouth-
orientedfashions,rangingfromoddlycutjeansto nylonpants
thatunzipintoshorts.ButMartineauisnotgivinguponthe.
geezers.HewantstobroadenLevfsappealtogrown-upsby
extendingtheDockersandSlatescasualpantsbrands.Mar-
tineaualsoneedstosmoothoutkinksinmanufacturingand
shippingthatpreventLevi'sfromrushingnewproductsinto
stores.
Howdoyouselltheideathatyou'rehipwhilenotturn~
ingofftheoldsters?Newadswillshowcasetheproductsthem-


selvesratherthanrelentlesslytryingtoconvey"attitude."A
televisioncampaignforfrayedcutoffshortsshowsa young
womanthrowingherjeansinfrontofanoncomingtrain,which
slicesthemtocutoffs.PrintwillsupportitsLot 53 fashion-
forwardLevi'sEngineeredjeans.ThisnewstyIehascurved-
bottomhems,slantedbackpocketsanda largerwatchpocket
toholdpagersandotherelectronicitems.
AsLevi'strytoriselikea phoenixfromtheashes,oneof
thegreatestAmericanbrandiconsis passingintoa newera
initshistory.ClassicLevi'sJeansmayfinditsgreatestinflu-
ence,muchliketheAmericancowboy,ismoremyththan
reality.

Sources: MichaelMcCarthyandEmilyFromm,"AnAmerican
IconFadesAway,"Adweek,April26, 1999 , pp.28-35;AliceZ.
Cuneo,"Levi'sMakesMovetoDropAlltheHypeandPushProd-
ucts,"AdvertisingAge.Aptil17,2000,pp.4,69;LouisLee,"Can
Levi'sBeCoolAgain?"BusinessWeek.March13,2000,pp.
144-145;DianeBrady."CustomizingfortheMasses."Business
Week.March20, 2000 .pp.130-131.

Definingthe"New"inaNewProduct

Thedeterminationofwhatconstitutesa "new"productremainsoneofthemostdifficult
questionsfacedbythemarketer.DoesthemostrecentTVmodelintroducedbySonyrep-
resenta newproducteventhough95%oftheproductremainsthesameaslastyear'smodel?
Arepackagedsaladsa newproduct,oristhepackagetheonlypartthatis reallynew?
Indeed,companieshaveoftenbeenguiltyofusingtheword"new"inconjunction
withsomequestionableproducts.Forexample,olderproductshavesimplybeenmarketed
innewpackagesorcontainersbuthavebeenidentifiedasnewproductsbythemanufac-
turer.Flip-topcans. plasticbottles,andscrew-oncapshaveallbeenusedtocreatethis image
ofnewness.Industrialcompanieshavebeenguiltyofsimilaractions.Computermanufac-
turers,forinstance,haveslightlymodifiedsomeofthebasichardwareordevelopedsome
softwarefora particularcustomer(banks,churches),andhavefeltfreetoclaimnewness.
Finally,manufacturersmayaddanexistingproducttotheirproductlineandcallitnew,
eventhoughitisnotnewtotheconSUDer.
DoestechnOlogymakea productnew,orfeatures,oreventheprice?Itis important
tounderstandtheconceptof"new"ina newproduct,sincethereis sufficientevidencethat
suggeststhateachseparatecategoryof" newness"mayrequirea differentmarketingstrategy.
Perhapsthebestwaytoapproachthisproblemistoviewit fromtwoperspectives;
thatoftheconsumerandthatofthemanufacturer.
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