The New Nautica, Part 1 - Live-N-Jeans

Nautica Co.’s revival as a brand and a style arbitrator for the young & hip happens right about now with the launch of their new men's jeans. When I mention Nautica jeans to friends of mine they seem confused, "Nautica makes jeans", they say. Apparently no one I have spoken to is attuned to the fact that Nautica is a hip, stylish label that makes hip, stylish jeans. They all seem to relate it to older, distinguished, casual clothing. It is time that Nautica Co, the 25-year-old label, change the perception of a market just waiting to be plucked.

Enter live-n-jeans.com, the gateway to a super cool, super stylish fashion home for men. Inspired by the hit HBO TV show Entourage, live-n-jeans.com was created around the central theme of three hip guys and their modern lifestyles. From chilling out by day to hitting the town by night, all three guys, literally, live in their jeans, no matter what the occasion - hence, the promo title Live-N-Jeans.

The site, a promotional vehicle for the launch of their new jean, the N-Series, is chock-full of interactive features - video reels with blog-like commentary, music clips and a MySpace link. These features provide a high level of "stickiness" – an industry buzz word indicating the capacity of a website to keep visitors on the site for the longest possible time. On a scale of 1-to-10 (10 being the highest), I think live-n-jeans.com rates a 10+. I've been on the site multiple times and every time, I discover something new.

The web videos are a cheeky take on the un-cool guy-next-door with a bad fashion sense and the wrong pair of jeans. Their videos are purposely corny and I think a great deal of market research went into producing "un-cool" rather than "cool" videos. Men are more likely than females to replay, revisit and tell their friends about these "hilarious videos they saw on the Nautica site" and are less likely to respond to a great video they saw on a fashion website. Females on the other hand are the opposite, watching an "un-cool" video is a turn off and they are more likely than not to stop watching the video, never revisit the site and never tell their friends about it.





Nautica Co. hit it right on when they posted these videos and has definitely built a stellar attraction. Even if the videos are corny, it does not matter; they are funny and provide great entertainment.

Another main attraction to the site is the Live-N-Jeans Sweepstakes. Modeled once again after the hit HBO show Entourage, the sweepstakes offers visitors the opportunity to live their own Entourage experience, by offering them a chance to win a trip to a cool and stylish city. The Live-N-Jeans Sweepstakes will grant 4 winners with an all expensed paid trip for them and a friend to Los Angeles, New York, Miami or Chicago (Airfare, hotel, food and transportation to and from the airport will be provided. Contest ends May 8th. Click to Enter).

The sweepstakes is yet another traffic/excitement building feature to this grand scale promotional campaign all with the intention of hitting their new target customer - the 20-something, Entourage loving, cool and stylish American male.

I think they have done more than a phenomenal job at understanding this market and appealing to them in a positive results driven way and I truly believe that in the end, every dollar spent on this campaign will be worth it. We live in such a media soaked world that getting to any consumer is a challenge but getting to the male consumer in a non-sexual way is an even bigger challenge and I say bravo to Nautica Co. for going the non-sex route – it is great proof that sex is not the only thing that sells.

Photos & Videos courtesy of Nautica Co. & hbo.com