Lee Australia has revamped its efforts to capture the youth market, with the launch of a new website, festival sponsorship deals and a more creative approach to promoting the brand to its target market of 18 to 30-year-olds.
The denim brand, operated domestically by distribution house True Alliance, has launched a three-tier strategy to better align itself with Australian consumers. Lee marketing manager Nelly Phelan said an interactive website which features dedicated content for the local market is key to the revamp.
“We think it’s time to reinvigorate the brand and one of the best ways to do that is via a new website,” she said. “We target the youth market, so it’s very much about online, social media and the web experience. Hence our objective was to create something that we felt was much more layered, integrated and interactive for our target market. Rather than a one-way communication strategy, we now have the opportunity for a truly 360 degree approach.”
The website, created by a Melbourne-based digtal agency, presents a slick, minimal user interface by featuring photography more prominently and maximising screen-view through a digital design feature.
The traditional Flash presentation has also been replaced for a Javascript development which can be accessed by Apple and mobile devices and provides the benefits of Flash minus the slow download time. The content will include Lee’s latest campaigns and collections, fit guides and promotional activities, as well as providing an “Insider” section that allows visitors to enter the “world of Lee” behind the scenes and also incorporates a Facebook feed.
Lee will also be launching two new denim styles – Lee Jetts for women and Lee Swagger for men – exclusively online in March, in an effort to draw interest to the fledging site. The styles will only be released to stores in April. The iconic denim brand also recently entered into a partnership with the popular St Jerome’s Laneway music festival, using the event to promote both the brand and the website to their key target market.
“I think Lee, as a mainstream brand, needs to look at being directional and innovative [through these events] so we can capture that fashion-forward youth market, and aligning through music by the Laneway festival allows us to do that,” Phelan said. “So, these are some of the things that we’re doing in a more interesting way to get the Lee brand back to its rock n’ roll roots and there’s more to come.”
Phelan declined to comment further, but said a new campaign is set to launch and more collaborations are coming up for the brand within the next six to eight months.
Daniela Aroche