Tapping youth on the move, the Lee way

He may step out of the house without his wallet, but not without his cell phone. That is the average youth of today and Lee, the jeanswear and apparel brand, has realised that to attract this Gen Next, it must catch it on the move.

In an effort to add a different dimension to mobile marketing, Maxus Interaction, the digital media arm of Maxus, has developed a wap site for its client, Lee, in India. The wap site can be accessed through all GPRS enabled phones at wap.lee.com, or by sending an SMS to 7007. The content of the site is exclusive and free of cost to mobile phone users and has nothing to do with the online Lee site. This is a first for Lee in India.

The wap site enables you to download wallpapers, video ads of the brand and mobile themes. Other features include the Outlet Locator, through which you can locate the Lee outlets closest to you, and the Mobile Catalogue, which enables you to browse through the latest Lee collections on your cell phone.

New applications will be introduced on the wap site every month. For instance, Fit Finder and the Lee Game will be launched in a few weeks. To use the Fit Finder, you need to key in your vital statistics (weight, height and so on) via your cell phone. The Fit Finder will then recommend your best fit jeans.

The Lee Game is a game about a guy escaping traffic hoardings, potholes and other hurdles to locate a particular Lee outlet in the city. The player who scores the highest points in a month/week will be gifted free merchandise and discount coupons.

Maxus Interaction will also launch a Mobile Community in a few months so that users of the wap site can interact with each other about their Lee experiences.

Ever since the service was launched a few days ago, 3,500 video ads have already been downloaded. A total 9,500 downloads have happened, including wallpapers and themes.

The wap site was developed after research by Maxus, using 3D (GroupM software). It was discovered that the youth spend more time on their cell phones than on the Internet. It is also easier to buy a cell phone than a PC. So, it was decided that this was the best route to tap the SEC AB 18-24 year olds, Lee’s TG.

Sriram Sharma, general manager, Maxus, Bangalore, says, “Change is the only constant among the youth in India. The media is so fragmented among this set that one needs to use a multimedia approach to reach them. After all, innovation and technology catch their eye rather quickly.”

Chakor Jain, business head, Lee, adds that as a group, the youth are less forgiving, more demanding, more educated and sophisticated than their forefathers. “They behave more like adults than we would give them credit for,” he says. “Therefore, the challenge is to communicate to them through a medium to which they can relate.”

© 2006 agencyfaqs!