Problem Statement Previously, Levi's jeans were most popular with older generations because of their traditional styled

jeans; however, the industry trend favors more premium jeans targeting a younger market.. In essence, Levi's is having a problem separating their old brand image from their new, more contemporary one. By doing research, Levi's will gain a better understanding of how to target this demographic by researching college age students. Research is needed because there is insufficient information available on college students' attitudes towards premium jeans. By making a decision based on judgment alone, Levi's runs the risk of not effectively attracting college students. Because the college student demographic is part of the Millennial generation, which is expected to become the largest age group by 2012, the potential benefits gained by going after these consumers could have lasting significance for Levi's. The $10 million budget for Levi s advertising campaign would be at risk if there was no research conducted to support an advertising decision. Research will need to find out what college students desire in jeans and their attitudes towards Levi's and its competitors. We will also identify the types of people they expect to wear Levi s and competing jeans brands, in which situations they wear jeans, their digital media usage patterns, and the type of spokesperson that would best appeal to them. Research Objectives The objective of our qualitative research is to find out what college students desire in jeans and their attitude toward Levi s and its competitors. The research will help us to determine in which situations they wear jeans, the factors that drive them to purchase new jeans, and their digital media usage patterns. Research will correctly identify the best type of spokesperson for Levi s. By analyzing these informational needs, Team can determine the most appropriate way to communicate with our target market. 19

Team will conduct a focus group in order to gain a stronger understanding of the target market s perception of Levi s brand image and how this compares to what they desire in jeans. The findings from this research will allow us to identify themes that will help us make an informed recommendation for Levi s to effectively target this new segment. Research Method

Justification for Qualitative Research

After completing secondary research, Team conducted qualitative research to gain consumer insights about their attitudes towards Levi s jeans and competing brands, their digital media usage patterns, in which situations they wear jeans and the factors that drive them to purchase jeans. Qualitative research is the next logical step because our secondary research identified that Levi s was not effectively targeting the 18-24 year old college student market. We do not have any information on why the Levi s message is not resonating with the target; therefore, qualitative research will give us insights into consumer attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Conducting qualitative research at this point in our study is more beneficial than quantitative research because of its exploratory nature. It leads to background information that our moderator will be able to use further probe to get more in-depth information. Qualitative research will help us gain consumer insights so that we can understand their motivations and answer our informational needs. Through qualitative research Team can observe first-hand the consumers verbal and nonverbal reactions to our questions. The open-ended questions lead to rich, in-depth information. Responses to these open-ended questions are descriptive rather than just statistical. Information obtained from the qualitative research will help us to develop future research and refine our problem definitions. Qualitative research is quicker and less costly because of the smaller the sample size of eight to 12 people. Justification for Focus Group

Team conducted a focus group as a part of our secondary research. In our focus group, a moderator assisted the group in discussion on the subjects relevant to Levi s informational needs. A focus group was chosen over in-depth interviews as the best form of qualitative research for several reasons. A focus group was better because it is less costly than in-depth interviews. Focus groups generate deeper and richer discussions between participants, and group dynamics stimulate thoughts in participants which cause them to view things differently. A focus group causes spontaneity in participants in that there is an active exchange of opinions, a reduction of defense mechanisms and a decrease in made up answers. Though in-depth interviews work well for highly sensitive subjects, the topic of jeans is not very confidential or embarrassing. It is also necessary to keep our discussion highly structured and meet certain time criteria, so Team decided a focus group is the best route for qualitative research. Procedure

After our secondary research Team decided to conduct qualitative research to better understand the needs and wants of our target consumer. We decided to conduct a focus group that consisted of both male and females who are jean consumers and have purchased new

jeans within the past year. Team met on February 18, 2010 to create the moderator guide and discuss the logistics of our focus group. The moderator guide included the objective for research and informational needs, guidelines for the moderator, and the discussion guide. We decided on the date and location of the focus group, the refreshments to be served and delegated the assignments and responsibilities of each member during the focus group. Each team member distributed three pre-screening questionnaires to friends and acquaintances, and we chose 10 people based upon their questionnaires in order to get a group of participants that were representative of the target market. The focus group was held in Room 1074 of Weimer Hall at 7:00 p.m. and lasted for approximately one hour. The tables were arranged in a semicircle with the participants facing the moderator and the projector screen. An audio device was used to record the conversation, and all members of Team were present to make observations. We met on Friday, February 26, to analyze and discuss the findings from the focus group (refer to Appendix A.2for a time cost table). Instruments A pre-screening questionnaire was used to select appropriate candidates for the focus group. It asked questions on their personal information along with other questions about their jeans usage patterns(refer to Appendix D.1 for the pre-screener). The purpose of this pre-screener was to help select the correct participants for our focus group by ensuring they were qualified and representative of our target market. Participants were not told the brand that we were studying at any point in the pre-screener. After selecting participants Team provided an informed consent form to them. This form included information about the purpose and procedures of the study. They were also told that there were no risks involved by taking part in this study and that their opinions would be kept confidential. Dr. Kim s contact information was provided in case participants had any questions or concerns. After reading and agreeing to the terms of the consent form, members of the focus group were asked to sign and date the document (refer to Appendix E.1 for the informed consent form).For the actual focus group study, a moderator guide was given to facilitate and direct the focus group. The moderator used it to gain an understanding of the objectives and informational needs of the study. It included directions for the moderator to follow in order to ensure impartiality as well as rules for the members of the focus group to follow. Also, an introduction, including an icebreaker, was provided to get the focus group members acclimated and comfortable with the moderator and the environment. The moderator then reminded the participants of the purpose of the study.