Core Concepts of Marketing

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.