Levi's uses Instagram to crowdsource stars of next campaign

Levi’s is to launch a global casting call for its 2012 brand campaign using photo-sharing app Instagram.

The brand is testing out crowdsourcing via the app, which now has 15m users and recently saw US President Barack Obama sign up.

Levi’s is asking both men and women to upload images of themselves onto Instagram and tag them with #iamlevis.

The chosen few will then feature in a campaign that spans broadcast and print, to go live in September.

Exactly how the winners will be picked isn't yet clear, though Levi's may also open this up to a public vote.

This isn’t Levi's first venture with Instagram. Last February, Levi’s Brazil opened its regional profile, and used it to post photos of the company's new collection.

Only 127 people participated and followed at the time (the company's global profile only has 645 followers), but as we all know, this represents the tech-savvy fans most likely to foster conversation about the brand online.

Now, with Instagram getting covered by the likes of the Mail Online, it’s becoming better known. Creating a profile alone is no longer innovative, particularly for a fashion brand ever chasing the 'next big thing'.

But applying a tried-and-tested PR tactic like crowdsourcing to a ‘new’ network like Instgram adds a different dimension to things, and allows Levi's to leverage its increasing popularity in the process.