Lee Jeans has awarded its e-commerce business to independent agency Barkley, which also manages Merriam, KS-based Lee’s PR and cause marketing.
Barkley will work with Lee’s media buying agency, New York-based Mediaedge:cia, and its traditional advertising firm, Arnold. In addition to its existing duties, Barkley will handle online media buying, e-mail marketing and Lee’s social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and blogs.
Liz Cahill, VP of marketing at Lee, said that Lee “invested in e-commerce to demonstrate the brand in its full form, as opposed to retail partners maybe only having certain items.”
“We wanted a place where consumers could get anything and everything,” she said.
Minneapolis-based Olson previously handled Lee’s e-commerce business for one year. Cahill added that Lee’s e-commerce site is in its third year of operation and that Olson, which has worked with apparel companies such as Nike, improved the e-commerce platform from when it featured both a transactional site and a catalog site.
Kansas City-based Barkley, which has worked with Lee for 14 years, won the two-year contract without a review.
“We like having an agency close by, and Barkley is more than a partner — I consider them almost Lee employees,” said Cahill. She declined to comment on the contract’s value.
“We’re focused on growing the e-commerce business and getting Lee a better idea of the consumer,” said Mark Logan, VP and director of interactive at Barkley. “Direct marketing is one more touch point with which we can build a good understanding of consumer.”
