OBJECTIVE

2023 marks the 150th Anniversary of the iconic Levi's® 501® jean and to mark this historical moment, XYZ was commissioned to create the brand’s largest ever initiative in London. In May 2023, XYZ delivered 

the 150th Anniversary Experience, taking over two adjacent buildings, Dray Walk Gallery and 11 Dray Walk off Brick Lane with an immersive brand activation. 

The primary objective was to celebrate this milestone moment, and connect new generations with an icon of youth culture, the Levi's® 501® jean. 

To pay homage to the Levi's® 501® brand legacy, the initiative needed to deliver much more than a series of IRL events and activations. It  had to be impactful across multiple consumer touchpoints, from social and press to OOH. It needed to trigger a connection with younger generations  - particularly the 18-25 year old demographic where there is less brand affinity - to ignite a lifelong relationship with the brand, while strengthening the love of existing fans. 

Every part of the activation had to embody the unique style of 501® jeans as the uniform of changemakers, risk takers, experimenters, thinkers, icons and originals and creatives, from artists to music makers. 

KPIs were set to ensure the 150th anniversary experience would capture the hearts of consumers through immersive experiences (measured in terms of sentiment and social engagement); create consumer desire and traffic (measured in “at capacity” attendance of all programmed events, as well as regular traffic inside the activation space outside of planned events); drive media and influencer coverage to reflect a “centre of culture mindset” and build cultural relevance. And to inspire influencers, media and guests alike to create native social media content for their audiences, social media mentions and shares were quantified in an overall goal of 20 million impressions.  

STRATEGY

Our goal was to make this 150-year-old iconic brand relevant to today’s youth culture by creating a lasting emotional connection. Levi's had identified that going back in history to tell stories can be less relevant to modern audiences, and therefore less impactful.

So we chose music as the thread, tapping into the brand’s musical roots and London’s sound system culture that remains so current, influencing fashion and music scenes today.

A city that has always been a breeding ground for sonic subcultures, London is home to some of the greatest musical stories ever heard - and they have always played loud, from rave, to roots, to reggae, to garage, and today’s grime scene. Sound systems have pumped out bass music to live audiences who always wear the latest fashion. Of course, some styles are enduring like Levi's® 501® jeans. 

So we connected sound system culture, bass music and fashion to resonate with current fans and build a new fanbase, telling the story of 501®s  history as the “The Greatest Story Ever Worn”. Brick Lane was chosen because this area is diverse and ever-evolving, and has been home to the city’s youth and music subcultures throughout the years.

EXECUTION

Events and immersive activations  have the unique ability to establish powerful emotional memory structures with attendees. So we created a visually and sonically arresting four-day immersive activation with installations and performances that celebrated the culture of bass. It spun emotionally nostalgic eras together, yet felt entirely relevant to today’s London, carrying across to the campaign’s multiple touchpoints. 

We took the original orange 501® thread as the starting point for the activation, and built a bold colour palette around it, drenching the spaces in a vivid energy that brought the flavour of underground bass scenes alive. 

The centrepiece of the experience was a functioning sound system speaker stack that linked the storytelling of bass culture and 501® jeans. It paid homage to the systems that still move thousands at carnival and parties every year, directly inspired by the ‘Precious Cargo’ story of 501® jeans landing in Kingston, Jamaica. It nodded to those who brought sound system culture to London and changed the course of its musical history forever. 

Our Bass Genes genealogy map, curated by artist Cedar Lewisohn, took over an entire wall to visualise the extensive influence of bass culture. We used real Levi’s orange thread to connect each genre, interwoven with images by photographer Yushy, and Behind the Scenes video. This piece was kept in its entirety by Levi’s to live on wherever they decide.

Alongside this, an acoustic therapy ‘bass bath’ installation nodded to 501®’s pre-shrunk heritage, using deep bass frequencies to provide a unique moment of calm.  

In the Faded installation, selected 501® jeans from the brand archive were displayed.  Each pair told the story of a musical era through their fade; evoking memories of the bass culture movement, from rave to drum n bass. Doubling as a listening post, QR codes linked to partner curated playlists of era-defining music. 

In partnership with agency Exposure, we created sold out ticketed and invite-only events, as well as continuous programming over the weekend, curated by legendary DJ and musician Don Letts. The programme hosted both old-school legends and emerging talent including David Rodigan, Zema, Channel One, Congo Natty, Eva Lazarus, DJ Storm, Tash LC, ShyOne and Reggae Roast. By showcasing talent spanning multiple decades, we embodied the timeless essence of the brand. 

More artworks and installations delivered  highly shareable culturally-led storytelling throughout the weekend. We were responsible for the entire creative experience, from content through to production, bringing it all alive through social and out-of-home content that focused on original imagery and illustrations. We even produced a documentary to tie it all together and extended the campaign’s legacy. 

IMPACT

Levi’s and our partners were delighted with the results. 

A partnership with Secret London delivered 1.2M impressions. This  was up +20% vs planned numbers, achieving a click through rate of 1.4%  on its Instagram stories(versus an industry average of 0.33-0.54%.)

With Time Out London, we reached 18,000 page views, up +3% vs planned numbers, and we delivered 400K social impressions, which was up +23% vs planned. 

Across all social media platforms, we achieved 50,278,139 impressions which was up  +77% on the original KPI. We achieved 54,367 clicks, which was up +147% on the original KPI. 

Other results were immediate. Levi’s London stores saw a +31% YoY

increase in footfall despite train strikes and London overall footfall being -18%. 

In the activation week, Levi’s footfall skyrocketed, matching Christmas 2022, an all-time high. A legacy extending campaign also translated to revenue. London revenue was up +8% versus +2% target, hugely exceeding our objective. 

Finally, hard to shift consideration metrics also saw the biggest quarter-on-quarter shift since Levi's tracking began, up a massive +9% points. 

227 invited guests had a combined following of 2,209,190. Both talent and guest responses have been overwhelmingly positive, many reaching out post-event to share thanks and love.
James Harper, Reggae Roast said, “Well done, you’ve done this tastefully. Sometimes brands try to approach us and soundsystem culture/ subcultures in the wrong way. This is the right way. It’s tasteful and I know Don had a part to play too and we appreciate it.”

Anit Van Eynde, VP Brand Marketing, Levi Strauss&Co, said:“The activation exceeded all of our expectations. We saw an uplift in brand metrics across the board, including consideration and brand sentiment. We’re so delighted with the impact of the project and how it will future-proof the brand for new audiences”.