The Challenge

Youngsters are not only fickle in their tastes they’re also big spenders on fashion clothing. It’s a key market for Levi’s and the jeans giant decided that it needed to build a closer connection with dance culture in order to build a better brand image.

The TV Solution

Trouble offered the venerable jeans brand a clear route to the target audience. With a monthly reach of more than 1.7m 13-24s, and 1.6m 16-24s it could provide the audience Levi’s was looking for.

Trouble viewers were also more likely than adults to spend a lot on clothes. They were 93% more likely to spend more than £50 on a pair of jeans, 105% more likely to want to keep up with the latest fashions and 159% more likely to “spend a lot on clothes”.

Levi’s sponsored Bump ’n’ Grind, a dance talent show offering a chance to win dance contracts and appear in a video with R’n’B star Mis-Teeq. Presented by Harvey from So Solid Crew and Sarra Elgin, the half-hour show was broadcast three times a day in August, culminating in two weeks of daily live shows broadcast from around the UK.

The Levi’s association would be made clear from 15-second opening sponsorship credits, five-second break bumpers and 10-second closing credits.

Activity and promotion on Trouble would be backed up by promotion on other Flextech and UKTV channels. Trailers would carry Levi’s branding.

In addition there would be a dedicated website with the ability to download clips, SMS voting campaigns and extensive PR. It would also be promoted in-store and flagship stores in London would also play host to street dancers who would entertain shoppers.

Results

Bump ’n’ Grind was watched by more than 1.7m viewers and 70% of them were in the target group of 16-34-year-old adults.

More than 31% of Trouble viewers could correctly name Levi’s as sponsor of the show when prompted and the figure rose to 49% among viewers who tuned in to the channel at least three times a week, an impressive result for a four-week campaign.

More than two-thirds of 13-24-year-old viewers could remember that the sponsorship credits showed a pair of jeans dancing on their own. Eighty-four percent thought the credits were cool.

Perceptions of Levi’s  also improved among those who could recall the sponsorship, scores for Levi’s are funky increased from 70% to 88%, and scores for Levi’s are iconic rose from 15% to 68%.

This group also claimed to be more likely to purchase a pair of Levi’s. 62% of sponsorship recallers said their next purchase would be a pair of Levi’s, 32% more than the figure among those not aware of the sponsorship.

Footfall in Levi’s flagship stores increased by 7% during the month of transmission.

“This was an exciting concept for us – dance is a defining part of youth culture and has inspired many of Levi’s products. We’re proud to support the UK’s best up and coming dance talent, showcased through Trouble’s Bump ’n’ Grind.”
Scott Morrison, Head of Levi’s Marketing, UK and Ireland