Levi’s + Fader Fort

The Levi’s + Fader Fort (or, more commonly called “Fader Fort”) is a marketer’s playground. Fader Magazine, a music-centric culture magazine, has long had a presence at SXSW. Their partnership with Levi’s has perfected the art of organizing and presenting a branded event.

It strikes a delicate balance between exclusive and inclusive. Anyone can RSVP, wait in line to pick up their wristband, and then wait in line to gain entry. It’s a slightly laborious process, but that automatically weeds out people. There’s a certain sense of “We finally got in!” mentality that ultimately adds to the air of exclusivity. The free beer (Budweiser) and liquor (Southern Comfort) doesn’t hurt either.

Even though this multi-day event is still called the Fader Fort, once you’re inside the branding is all Levi’s. Levi’s has very skillfully executed a vibe of “rustic, American hipster” for lack of a better word, and this branding hits you right when you walk through the doors.

It literally feels like you walked into a Levi’s store at the mall via teleportation. Like we said, the aesthetic of American hipster is dialed-in, even having a rag tag group of 20-somethings playing old-timey tunes. Yes, that dude on the right is playing a washboard.

The environmental graphics throughout the store continue to further this message. There’s even a designated section to take your denim for custom stitching or other work done on them.

Once you walk outside (free beer in hand) it’s clear to see that the production values are top notch. What could be a weird Six Flags theme park actually feels somewhat authentic, down to the raw materials used throughout the Fort.

It’s a giant enclosed space, with different nooks to sit in and different “shops” set up to explore, including an area co-branded with Ray Ban sunglasses. Multiple screenprinters were set up to print custom shirts and a photobooth was close by as well.

One bizarre event that was happening while we were there featured Cherie Currie (lead singer of the 70’s rock band The Runaways and in town promoting a new biopic film with the same name) making a chain saw sculpture of a denim jacket. Sort of cool?

The main stage had some understated branding, and every performance was being streamed live on the Fader website. We caught the very excellent Austin band Harlem’s set.

The ultimate question is, “is this worth it?” Is all the obvious time, money and organizing of this event have any tangible benefit to Levi’s. From our time spent there we have to say “yes.” But it’s a yes mainly because it’s executed so perfectly. An event like this could be a disaster if not planned properly. In terms of pushing sales, there were definitely a noticeable amount of people there with Levi’s bags on their shoulders. People are buying jeans. The overall messaging is not really tapping into any kind of deeper meaning, it’s simply an aesthetic, albeit a very good one. The bands performing (thanks in no doubt to Fader’s connections) are buzz-worthy, diverse and all solid. Combined with the free beer, the Fader Fort is in essence a goodwill-generating factory for Levi’s. No one walking out of that place at the end of the day is going to hate Levi’s and, more than likely, will walk away with a more positive impression. That’s money in the bank and tons of smiles for the Levi’s marketing team.