The Search for the Levi's® Photographer

A case study in Social Media

Background: how it came about

- to give Levi's ® contemporary local relevance

- to establish a look and feel that was immediately recognisable

- to stay true to international values

- to tap into wealth of local talent

Target Audience

- young, aspiring photographers

- existing professionals

-secondary audience = consumers: to portray Levi's ® as a company that supports Local creative talent

Reaching the Audience:

Mainstream: TV, Radio, Outdoor (Why?)

Niche: online, word-of-mouth, talent agencies, creatives

OSS.net = existing online social networking community

Why we chose OSS

- existing community with a common, relevant goal: to further local creative opportunities

-logging into OSS means you are open to being spoken to about opportunities

-- undiluted messaging

Why we didn’t choose facebook: facebook is for friends,Not brands.

How we did it

Step 1: Negotiated a media package from OSS

Step 2: Set up a group on OSS, and invited people to join

Step 3: Maintained group through interaction and postingwork-in-progress

Step 4: Announced winner online on OSS.net

Challenges / Learnings

1. Hire a project co-ordinator to run your SNS activation – it's a full time job.

2. Attention to detail is NB.

3. Be prepared to have a conversation ie. Answer questions and ask them in return.

4. Understand the community you’re entering and its unspoken 'rules'.

5. Be open, but establish boundaries, too. Your are still custodian of the brand.

6. Be flexible according to feedback.

An ongoing commitmentKeep a group relevant by keeping it active in a non-intrusive way.

The results

- over 60 original entries

-- connected with over 100 young creatives nationally

- generated a lot of word-of-mouth, which led to sign-ups

-- fresh new look and feel for the Levi’s® Brand

The finalists

The winner: Romi Stern

Thank You.