Leading with Values
Levi's has long stood by its commitment to lead with its values around equality, inclusiveness, and sustainability. I'm proud to feature a few programs that were led directly from the US, including: Beauty of Becoming, VOTE, and Sustainability via Levi's Secondhand.
Beauty of Becoming
This content series was created and directed by Oge Egbuonu as a way to connect Levi's values moments throughout the year under a single and unified umbrella. It featured influencers who are not afraid to use their voice to create positive change, including Naomi Osaka, Tremaine Emory, Willow Smith, Jaden Smith, Brandon Flynn, Leyna Bloom, Haben Girma, Dolores Huerta, Karla Welch, Angela Beyince, Xiye Bastida, Melody Ehsani, Carlos Montes, Melina Abdullah, and Aja Monet, with portrait photograhs by Shaniqwa Jarvis and original music by Phantogram.
Vote
To help encourage and increase voter turnout (specifically with youngest voters who have historically had the lowest voter turnout) we launched a multi-year program starting with the 2018 mid-terms, and continuing with the 2020 election and 2022 mid-terms. The activations were multi-pronged and included:
Public service announcements designed to educate and motivate the youngest, largest and most diverse generation of the United States to get out and vote. These powerful cross-platform campaigns assembled diverse groups of voters, influencers, and activists. The 2020 PSA produced in partnership with filmmaker Oge Egbuonu garnered 76 million views across platforms which paved the way for a second PSA in 2022.
Live segments on social media to further educate youth on important issues of interest.
Use Your Vote paid media campaign with millions of investment behind it.
In-store voting registration kiosks in Levi’s stores and in a dedicated Vote section on Levi.com.
A capsule collection of T-shirts and hoodies bearing the message "Vote."
Strategic non-profit partnerships in collaboration with the Levi’s Foundation.
Across the board, the 360 activation emphasized why voting matters and provided eligible voters with the education, rights and resources they need to head to the polls.
Sustainability
We launched Levi’s® SecondHand in the US as a part of the company’s larger commitment to making fashion sustainable and circular. This was a first-of-its-kind buy-back program for a global denim brand, enabling customers to purchase second-hand jeans and jackets on Levi.com and select Levi’s stores while also allowing our customers to turn in their worn jeans and jackets for a gift card towards a future purchase. We pulled in sustainability activist and influencer Emma Chamberlain (also a huge Levi’s 501 fan) to help spread the word.
Objectives
Reinforce and drive equity association of Levi’s values
Drive consumer engagement
Specifically with Vote, increase voter turnout during 2018 and 2022 midterms, as well as 2020 election
Results
Improved equity metrics around “does the right thing”, and “cares about the planet”, especially with younger generations (and improved market share among 18-30 year olds.
The 2018 midterms saw record youth turnout, a trend that continued over recent elections.