Disrupt or be disrupted. That’s the name of the game when it comes to market leadership today. It’s also what Levi’s did by using innovation to create its Bluetooth-enabled jean jacket designed for the growing community of commuter bicyclists. This jacket gives commuters hands-free control over their electronic devices by integrating Google’s Jacquard technology into Levi’s most iconic piece: the classic denim jacket. 

Levi’s disrupted the adjacent industry of wearable tech by solving a real problem faced by many of its core customers: employees commuting to work on a bike who need to be ready to go into a meeting dressed appropriately. By identifying this niche customer need and bringing this innovation to market, Levi’s has gained over 1.8 billion media and customer impressions, yielding over $27 million in earned media attention from an investment of less than $2 million.

For Levi’s, bringing this new digital business value to market was not easy. Like most other companies trying to innovate, Levi’s quickly discovered that the road to disruption is fraught with internal obstacles. To succeed, Levi’s had to overcome many of these internal blockers by embracing change to enable strategic long-term value.

Here are a few actions your company can take that helped Levi’s be successful:

To learn more about how Levi’s brought its adjacent industry disruption to market, and how your company can overcome internal barriers to innovation, see our latest report, “Case Study: How Levi Strauss & Co. Used Innovation To Create New Market Leadership.”