Credit: Contributed photo

Jeans and Jimmie: The Perfect fit

By now, you've gotten the idea that NASCAR is a perfect fit for many companies who want to harness the incredible loyalty of its fans, all 75 million of them.

Most of them, at one time or another, wear blue jeans. Or black jeans, or some of the other colors that Levi Strauss and Co. makes and distributes around the world.

Harnessing NASCAR's incredible demographics is the goal, and to accomplish the goal, you need a vehicle. Or in this case, a driver.

Credit: Contributed photo

As part of its overall marketing effort to raise brand and consumer awareness, Levi Strauss Signature jeans became an official status partner of NASCAR, and that includes an official apparel sponsorship with the current point leader, Jimmie Johnson.

Since the announcement of that venture in 2004, Levi Strauss Signature has ridden the Jimmie Johnson brand -- that's how marketing folk think of the kid from El Cajon, Calif. -- to big increases in brand awareness. The Levi Strauss Signature brand, exclusively aimed at what are known as mass channel stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Meijer, Pamida, ShopKo and Kmart, launched in 3,000 Wal-Mart stores in July 2003.

"Beyond motorsports being an extremely exciting sport, what is really appealing is the size of the fan base," said Sherri Phillips, Vice President Marketing and Store Development. "It offers an amazing opportunity to reach so many consumers quickly and being a new brand that was very important to us.

"We are targeted to the mass channel, and what we saw as a real point of alignment was the basic core equity elements of NASCAR and how well they fit in with this brand. LSS is really focused on maintaining our equity position of being real, authentic and trusted and bringing that element of style into the mass channel. You think about authenticity and un-pretentiousness in the way a brand is portrayed, it just aligns so nicely with NASCAR."

Try this on for size: one third of all jeans sold in the United States are purchased in the mass channel. That's 33 percent, for those of you scoring at home. That's a bunch of jeans, y'all. Yet Levi Strauss was, until Levi Strauss Signature launched into Wal-Mart, not heavily involved in mass channel marketing. More than 160 million consumers shop in the mass channel on a yearly basis.

Levi Strauss Signature offers denim and non-denim pants, shirts, skirts and jackets for men, women and children, and since NASCAR fans are the world's most loyal (three times as likely to buy products from NASCAR sponsors than non-fans), the program made sense. Plus, 40 percent of NASCAR fans have children under the age of 18.

In February 2004, Levi Strauss Signature brand signed Johnson to an apparel sponsorship that activated both retail and at-track programs. In addition to an Levi Strauss Signature patch on Johnson's uniform, the California native made race-market appearances on behalf of them.

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"NASCAR fans appreciate quality clothing that is a great value, which is why I'm proud to announce this partnership with the Levi Strauss Signature brand as my exclusive apparel sponsor," said Johnson when the program was announced. "I look forward to seeing the entire family at the track looking stylish to cheer on No. 48."

In addition to the sponsorship, Levi Strauss Signature is using Johnson in a series of commercials. Last year, during the rollout, the spots featured Johnson and his brothers, Jarit and Jessie. This fall, a new series of commercials will feature Johnson and his "extended family," which includes crew chief Chad Knaus and NASCAR.COM's own Marty Smith.

Levi Strauss Signature has also stepped up as the title sponsor of the All-American Soap Box Derby, set for July 30 in Akron, Ohio. Johnson is the national spokesperson for the event, and appears in the advertising for it.

You can get body-scanned in the Fit Pit for perfect measurements. Credit: Contributed photo

One of the more exciting aspects of this partnership is the interactive Levi Strauss Signature "Fit Pit," which offers consumers a custom fitting session at the track.

"Fit Pit is a mobile marketing unit that we have that will attend nine races in the summer and fall," said Phillips. "It provides an interactive element to our program that is very important. To be able to bring your product and your brand to life in a relevant way is also very important. It's really a solution for the consumer as well.

"Once you have the printout, every shopping trip you make to replenish jeans, you don't have to go to the dressing room and see what style and fit is right for you."

Phillips said the Fit Pit program is powered by IntelliFit, which is a body-scanning technology. "Consumers can come in, get their body scanned in about 10 seconds, and it spits out their exact size and style," she said. "It's a fun, fun tool. I did it for the first time about 6 months ago, and I was amazed when I looked at the printout how completely accurate it was. I know the product styles very well. It nailed my measurements and spit out my favorite style."

Interactivity is a bonus in the world of marketing, and the more interactive it is, the more fans will come to see and experience, and hopefully, buy. NASCAR fans in particular are very good at being marketed to.

"The fan base really values and understand the role that sponsors play, and that carries across any category," Phillips said. "That was one of the things we used to evaluate and be comfortable with leveraging NASCAR as an opportunity to speak to our brand. You take the fan base and the opportunity to reach that many consumers in place, it becomes very easy to put a program in place that brings your product to life when it's not a motorsports-oriented product."

This weekend, NASCAR heads to the Bay Area, which is home to Levi Strauss and Company. Levi Strauss Signature will have a big presence at Infineon Raceway, both on the consumer side and as a vehicle for its employees.

"We are sponsoring the Monster Garage, a family-oriented area that plays off that TV show, we have signage there and hospitality," Phillips said. "It's the best opportunity here in the Bay Area for LSS employees to be able to get out to the track and really experience NASCAR.

You might say it's an interactive marketing experience in reverse.

The NASCAR.COM business feature appears weekly on Wednesday afternoons.