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Earlier this year, Levi’s CMO Kenny Mitchell received the kind of gift that most marketers can only dream of: Beyoncé named a song on her album “Cowboy Carter” after the brand. “Levi’s Jeans” was a hit — it was streamed over 60 million times on Spotify — and Mitchell and the Levi’s team moved quickly, changing the brand’s Instagram handle to include an extra “i” to match the song title. That small change opened up a conversation with Beyoncé that led to a full-blown partnership later in 2024.
The social handle change was a quick way to capitalize on the viral moment, but Mitchell knew that Levi’s couldn’t stop there. In September, Levi’s launched a multi-part marketing campaign featuring Beyoncé, tapping into the singer’s fame and organic love for the brand and the success of “Cowboy Carter.”
The campaign, called “Reiimagine,” took several famous Levi’s ads from throughout the company’s history and updated them. For example, one video was based on Levi’s 1985 “Launderette” ad which famously brought the 1966 Marvin Gaye hit “Heard It Through the Grapevine” back onto the charts.
“The fact that Beyoncé would name a song after us organically is really powerful. It says the brand has a meaningful place in culture, and we try to move at the speed of culture,” Mitchell said. “The Beyonce album started our conversation with her, but we moved quickly beyond that.”
According to Mitchell, the biggest challenge marketers face today is breaking through the glut of noise that fills up consumers’ days. Marketers are competing not only with other brands but also with all of social media, including thousands of creators and never-ending streams of content across multiple channels.
In addition to social posts, the Beyoncé campaign included out-of-home ads, print ads, exclusive products and IRL activations. The campaign earned Levi’s over $5 million in media impact value, according to one analysis. Levi’s third-quarter revenue this year was $1.52 billion.
Moving forward, Mitchell said he plans to take advantage of Levi’s “elasticity” by showing up in a wider variety of contexts and alongside a larger variety of brands to reach a larger audience.
“We are definitely an elastic brand,” he said. “We work with Beyoncé, we work with [rapper and music producer] Kaytranada, we work with [Japanese luxury brand] Sacai. What’s unique about Levi’s is that it doesn’t feel out of place in any of those contexts.”
