under armour brand audit

Renee Watkins

Renee WatkinsIMC 613, Week 9 Assignment

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Table of ContentsExecutive Summary 3

Company History 4

Brand Inventory 5

Brand Position 5

Brand Hierarchy 5

Market Share 5

Brand Elements 7

Brand Name 7 URL 8

Logo 8

Spokespeople 8

Slogan 10

Marketing Support Programs 12

Product 12

Place 13

Price 14

Promotion 14

Analysis of Under Armour’s Marketing Efforts 17

Strengths 17

Weakness 17

Under Armour Competitors 19

Adidas 19

Nike 20

Competitive Analysis 22

Brand Exploratory 23

Under Armour’s Brand Position 23

Competitor’s Brand Position Brand Position24

Perceptual Map 25

Brand Elements 26

Brand Name 26 URL 26

Logo 27


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Spokespeople 27

Slogan 28

Marketing Support Programs 29

Product 29

Place 30

Price 30

Promotion 31

Analysis of Under Armour’s Marketing Efforts 32

Strengths 32

Weakness 32

Surveyed Responses 33

Brand Recommendations 43

References 46


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Executive Summary

The athletic apparel industry is the one of the fastest growing sectors of the apparel market today. Many consumers have found athletic apparel to be comfortable, versatile, and fashionable and therefore have been wearing athletic apparel to more places than just the gym. This increase in versatility and demand has lead athletic apparel sales to grow to $33.7 billion and represent 16% of total apparel market sales in 2014. (NPD Group, 2014). However, the growth doesn’t stop there. The athletic apparel industry is projected to grow an additional 4 percent over the next year. (NPD Group, 2014). Industry forecasters expect the largest segment of this growth to be in the women’s athletic apparel lines. (Tamariz, 2014).

This projected increase in industry sales provides Under Armour with a unique, favorable opportunity to gain additional revenue, increase its market share, and better position the brand as it tries to close in on Nike for the title as the largest athletic brand in the industry. Lastly, one of Under Armour’s largest competitors, Adidas is losing ground as it struggles to connect with its consumer base. Under Armour could not ask for a better opportunity to strategically position itself for growth than it has right now. Failing to devote resources to Under Armour’s branding activities at this time will cause Under Amour to open the door and watch others take its place as one of the industry’s leading athletic apparel brands.

Therefore, it’s imperative that Under Armour devotes its marketing resources to increasing brand awareness among the female demographic, marketing its unique synthetic temperature controlled athletic apparel, and continues to secure predominate athletic sponsorships.

Under Armour can potentially enjoy several tangible benefits from devoting resources to these brand activities. These tangible benefits include increasing brand awareness among all the different gender and age markets, improving consumer perceptions of Under Armour’s unique synthetic apparel advantages, increase brand loyalty among Under Armour’s current market, increase market share – particularly in the women’s athletic apparel line and sport sponsorship areas, and lastly the ability to further the gap between Under Armour and its trailing competitors such as Adidas. Overall, Under Armour has the potential to increase its market share by 2% if it strategically implements a strong branding strategy.


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Where it all began

Company History

Under Armour was founded in 1996 by former University of Maryland special teams’ captain football player Kevin Plank. Back in his playing days, Kevin Plank hated having to change his sweat-soaked cotton T-shirts over and over again during two-a-day practices. After researching a variety of materials that would keep athletes dry and cool, Plank discovered the benefits of synthetic fabrics. Before long, Plank designed his first Under Armour HeatGear® T-Shirt, which he named #0037. Working from his grandmother’s basement in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington DC, Kevin would travel up and down the East Coast selling his new, revolutionary #0037 product out of the trunk of his car. By the end of 1996, Plank made his first team sale and Under Armour generated $17,000 in sales. (Under Armour, n.d.). For the next three years, Under Armour grew at a slow pace. However, that all changed in 1999 when Under Armour caught a lucky media break.

In 1999, Under Armour played a supporting, highly visual role in one of the year’s most talked about movies, Any Given Sunday. In the film, the football team predominately wore Under Armour apparel and accessories in key scenes. (Under Armour, n.d.). Capitalizing off his 15 minutes of fame, Plank made a large gamble and bought his first print ad in ESPN the Magazine. While risky, Plank’s decision paid off. The ESPN magazine ad, coupled with the success of the movie, generated brand awareness and a $750,000 increase in sales. (Under Armour, n.d.).

Over the next two years, Under Armour formed relationships with key retail partners and professional sports leagues including Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, and the Baltimore Marathon. (Under Armour, n.d.). In 2003, the brand launched its first TV campaign, Protect this House®. Protect this House® quickly became a rallying cry for athletes everywhere as it established the brand as a household name.

Today, Under Armour provides men, women, and youth with a wide variety of athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories. Innovation and performance remain the heart of the Under Armour brand as it strives to make all athletes better through passion, design, and the relentless pursuit of innovation. (Under Armour, n.d.).

Brand Inventory

Figure 1: Under Armour CEO, Kevin Plank


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Brand Positioning

Under Armour Brand Position

Under Armour provides men, women, and youth with a wide variety of athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories. Examples of these products include hoodies, sweat shirts, polo’s, graphic T’s, sleeveless shirts, tanks, long sleeve shirts, short sleeve shirts, sports bras, outwear, pants, leggings, tights, capris, crops, shorts, underwear, shots, boots, and sandals.

Under Armour’s athletic apparel comes in a variety of fits and styles that are intended to enhance comfort and mobility, regulate body temperature, and improve the athlete’s performance regardless of weather conditions. (Under Armour, 2015). Under Amour’s apparel is engineered to replace the traditional non-performance fabric retailors by strategically positioning it’s three gear lines which include HeatGear®, ColdGear®, and AllSeasonGear®.

HeatGear® is designed to be worn in warm to hot temperatures under equipment or as a single layer. While sweat-soaked traditional, non-performance gear can weigh up to two or three pounds, HeatGear® is engineered with a unique microfiber blend that is designed to wick moisture from the body. This helps the body stay cool, dry, and light. HeatGear® is offered in a variety of tops and bottoms in a broad vast choice of colors and styles.

ColdGear® is designed to wick moisture away from the body while circulating body heat from hot spots to help maintain core body temperature. (Under Armour, 2015). Under Armour Cold Gear® keeps athletes both dry and warm. ColdGear® was developed to be worn beneath a jersey, uniform, protective gear, or ski-vest. ColdGear® outerwear protects the athlete from the outside in. Because of its unique composition, ColdGear® usually sells at a higher price than Under Armour’s other product lines as well as its competitors. (Under Armour, 2015).

AllSeasonGear® is designed to be worn in between extreme temperatures and was developed to keep the athlete cool and dry in warmer temperatures and warm in cooler temperatures. (Under Armour, 2015).

All of Under Armour’s gear lines come in three primary fits. These fit includes compression fit, fitted, and loose.


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Brand Hierarchy

Under Armour sells products to both the individual consumer and athletic organizations. Consumers have the ability to purchase Under Armour products in retail locations or online. Whether it’s the physical store or online, Under Armour offers products for men, women, and youth. Under Armour also provides customized apparel for both college and professional level sporting needs.

Market Share

As Under Armour enters the 2015 fiscal year, which also happens to be its 10 year anniversary as a public company, it has much to celebrate.

In 2014, Under Armour’s stock rose over 150%. The brand’s 2014 Q4 earnings increased 35% on a year-over year basis. (Trefis Team, 2014). Moreover, Under Armour was able to increase net sales from $2,277.1 million in 2013 to $2,997.9 million in 2014. In other words, Under Armour increased net sales by $720.8 million or 31.7% in 2014. (Under Armour, 2015).

Under Armour’s sports apparel sales now account for 14 percent of the U.S. market, allowing it to surpass Adidas and claim the title as the second largest athletic apparel brand today.

Under Armour

Consumer products

Retail

Mens product lines

Womens product lines

Youth product lines

Online

Mens product lines

Womens product lines

Youth product lines

Athletic Sponsorships

College

Professional


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(Mirabella, 2014). However, it is important to note that Under Armour’s woman’s apparel only contributes to 30 percent of Under Armour’s overall company sales. (Tamariz, 2014).

Brand Elements

Under Armour Brand Elements

Brand elements are trademarkable devices that serve to identify and differentiate the brand from its competitors. (Keller, 2013). Keller suggest suggests marketers chose brand elements that build brand equity. The criteria for doing so is that a brand element should be memorable, meaningful, likable, transferable, adaptable, and protectable. (Keller, 2013). Memorability, meaningfulness, and likability are the marketer’s offensive strategy to build brand equity. A brand element that is transferable, adaptable, and protectable play a defensive role for leveraging and maintaining brand equity.

Below is an examination of Under Armour’s brand elements and how they fit Keller’s six criteria for selecting brand elements.

Brand name

Very few people know how Under Armour got its brand name. Founder Kevin Plank was originally going to call the company Heart, thinking that athletes wear their heart on their sleeves. However, when it came to the patent and trademark process, Heart was rejected. Plank then planned on calling the company Body Armour when his older brother jokingly called the company Under Armour. Plank quickly rushed to the trademark office to patent the name, Under Amour. The reasons Plank added a “U” in Armour was because he was skeptical if the internet would still exist in the future. Therefore, he added the U because he thought the phone number 888-4Armour was more compelling than 888-44Armor. (Harrison, 2014).

Despite the fact that Under Armour Kevin Plank’s third name choice, it was the best choice for it fulfills all six of Keller’s brand criteria. Under Armour’s unique name and spelling makes the brand name easily to recognize and to recall. The brand name is also very fun and interesting, transferable across all geographic boundaries, transferable across all product categories, and legally protected. In addition, consumer’s often associate the brand name with Under Armour’s original and most popular product line, compression gear. This brand association was developed because compression gear is often worn underneath the athlete’s main clothing


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pieces, hence the name Under Armour. While the brand did not consider this brand association during the naming process, it has inserted meaning into the Under Armour brand name.

URL

Under Armour’s website URL is www.underarmour.com. The URL is a direct translation of the brand name. This makes this particular brand element easy to recall and memorable. Competitors Adidas and Nike also use a direct translations of their brand names for the company URL.

Logo

Under Armour’s logo features a simple, overlying U and A with the company’s brand name written under the logo. The graphical representation of the U and A give the logo meaning and make it memorable.

The Under Armour is logo is very clean, minimalistic, and easily transferred across geographic boundries and product lines, causing the logo to be likeable, adaptable, and transferable. The logo is also legally registered, making the logo protected.

Adidas and Nike also have very simplistic, clean logos that are transferrered across geographic boundries and product lines, making the logo likeable, adaptable, and transferable. Both competitors logos are legally registered, making them legally

Spokespeople

Under Armour utilizes a large variety of athletic spokespersons for its marketing campaigns. Under Armour looks for high-profile athletes that will increase brand awareness and generate buzz marketing across various consumer marketing channels. Under Armour’s current portfolio of celebrity spokespersons include Gisele Bundchen, Misty Copeland, Manteo Mitchell, Tom Brady, Cam Newton, Jermaine Jones, and Andy Murray. (Under Armour, 2015)

By tying these athletes to the Under Armour brand name, Under Armour’s marketing efforts become more easily recalled, persuasive, likable, transferable, and adaptable. Celebrity endorsers such as Tom Brady and Misty Copeland create market credibility for the Under Armour brand in their specific sport markets.

Figure 2: Under Armour Logo


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.

Figure 3: Under Armour Spokespersons

Under Armour’s competitors Adidas and Nike also regularly utilize celebrity athletes to help make their ads more memorable, likeable, meaningful, transferable, and adaptable.

Since 1997, Adidas has been utilizing a long list of celebrity endorsers where the brand captures them with their “Adidas game face expression on.” This raw, authentic moment of passion shows itself in every Adidas moment. (Athlete Promotions, n.d.). Celebrities who showed their Adidas game face include, David Beckham, Josh Smith, Chauncey Billups, Tim Duncan, Tracy McGrady, Michael Beasley, Candace Parker, Tony Allen, Kendrick Perkins, Antwan Jamison, Deshawn Stevenson, Nene, Rodney Stuckey, Corey Maggette, Anthony Randolf, Jordan Farmar, Adam Morrison, Mario Chalmers and Luc Mbah A Moute. (Athlete Promotions, n.d.).

Nike also owns a large, ever growing list of celebrity endorsers including, Carmelo Anthony, Derek Jeter, Chris Paul, Ray Allen, DJ Augustin, Mike Bibby, Dre Bly, Michael Finley, Richard Hamilton, April Holmes, Juwan Howard, Joe Johnson, Andruw Jones, Kevin Martin, Quentin Richardson, CC Sabathia, Bobby Simmons, Jason Taylor, Gerald Wallace, Josh Howard, Michael Crabtree, Dwight Freeney, LaMarr Woodley, Try Polamalu, Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Andrew McCutchen, and Didier Drogba. (Athlete Promotions, n.d.). All of Nike’s celebrity endorsement ads include a picture of the athlete, a motivational quote, a URL, and the Nike logo.


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Figure 4: Nike Ad featuring celebrity spokesperson Lebron James

Slogans

Under Armour, who positions itself as the unique, humble, and hungry underdog, has adapted and trademarked the motivational tagline, “I Will.” (Diaz, 2014). This simple, yet motivational slogan is easy to recall and recognize, making it memorable. The slogan emotionally connects with the consumer, making it meaningful and likeable. The slogan is also transferable across product lines and geographical boundaries. Under Armour has trademarked the logo, making it highly protectable. Moreover, Under Armour has updated the slogan to “I will protect this house” and “I will what I want” in some of its marketing campaigns, making it very adaptable.

Figure 5: Under Armour "I Will What I Want" Slogan Figure 6: Under Armour "I Will" Slogan


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Adidas and Nike also both utilize motivational taglines to help make their respective brands more memorable, meaningful, likeable, transferable, adaptable, and protectable.

It wasn’t until 1974 that Adidas began associating the brand with its “Impossible is nothing” tagline. Despite the fact that the “Impossible is nothing” tagline is slightly less recognizable from its competitors, it was voted as one of the 40 Best Advertising Slogans of Modern Brands by Advergize. (Waltz, 2013). Adidas’ tagline was taken from a quote by one of the most legendry boxers and former Adidas endorser, Muhammad Ali. This helped make the Adidas slogan even more memorable, meaningful, likable, and adaptable. The slogan is trademarked making it protectable and it has been used across all of Adidas’ product lines making it transferable.

Figure 7: Adidas slogan, "Impossible is nothing"

Nike’s “Just Do It” tagline is one of the most recognizable and iconic taglines today. This tagline is easily recognizable and easy to recall, making it memorable. The tagline was adapted in 1988 after serial killer Gary Gilmore’s famous last words “Let’s do it.” Gilmore was executed by a firing squad in 1977. 11 years later, Nike modified those last words to “Just Do it.” Associate Professor and Director at George Washington University’s School of Business believes the tagline caught on because it was short, simple, easily understood and remembered. The slogan was to the point, a little bold, and confident just like many of Nike’s athletes at the time. (Martin, 2013). Even though those athletes have since changed, the tagline is still meaningful, likable, transferable, adaptable, and protected by trademarks today.


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Figure 8: Nike's iconic tagline, "Just Do It."

Marketing Support Programs

Product

Under Armour’s product line provides men, women, and youth with a wide variety of athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories. Under Armour’s athletic apparel comes in a variety of fits and styles that are intended to enhance comfort and mobility, regulate body temperature, and improve the athlete’s performance regardless of weather conditions. (Under Armour, 2015). Under Amour’s apparel is engineered to replace the traditional non-performance fabric retailors by strategically positioning it’s three gear lines which include HeatGear®, ColdGear®, and AllSeasonGear®.

Below is a full, comprehensive list of Under Armour’s product lines for each of these target markets.

Under Armour’s Men’s Product Offerings

Under Armour’s Women’s Product Offerings

Under Armour’s Youth Product Offerings

Hoodies and Sweatshirts Hoodies and Sweatshirts Hoodies and SweatshirtsLong sleeve shirts Long sleeve shirts TopsShort Sleeve Shirts Short Sleeve Shirts BottomsGraphic T’s and Tanks Graphic T’s and Tanks UnderwearSleeveless and Tanks Sleeveless and Tanks OutwearUnder Shirts Sports Bras and Bras Athletic ShoesOutwear Outwear OutwearPants Pants AccessoriesLeggings and Tights Leggings and TightsShorts Capris and Crops


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Underwear ShortsAthletic Shoes UnderwearCleats Athletic shoesBoots CleatsSlides and Sandals BootsAccessories Slides and Sandals

Accessories

All of Under Armour’s products are manufactured with technical fabrications produced by third parties and is developed in collaboration with product development teams. (Under Armour, 2015). This approach enables Under Armour to select and create superior, technically advanced fabrics, produced to Under Armour’s specifications while focusing its product development efforts on design, fit, climate, and product end use. Under Armour seeks to regularly update and improve products with the latest in innovative technology while producing

its product offerings. (Under Armour, 2015).

74.3 percent of Under Armour’s product sales are contributed to its athletic apparel line. Footwear makes up 14 percent of sales, 8.9 percent of sales are tied to the accessories lines, and 2.8 percent to licensing and other revenues. (Under Armour, 2015).

Place

A majority of Under Armour’s sales are generated through wholesale channels, which include national and regional sporting goods chains, independent and specialty retailers, department store chains, institutional athletic departments, leagues, and teams. Under Armour also sales products directly to consumers through its own network of brand and factory house stores in the North America, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific operating segments and through global websites. (Under Armour, 2015).

Figure 9: Under Armour Net Revenues


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Factory house stores allow Under Armour to sell a large portion of excess, discontinued, and out-of-season products while maintain the pricing integrity of the Under Armour brand and other distribution channels.

When taking a closer look at the net revenues by distribution, Under Armour’s wholesale network contributes to 66.8 percent of revenues, direct to consumer networks equal out to 30.4 percent of net revenues, and licensing and other are responsible for only 2.8 percent. (Under Armour, 2015).

Price

Under Armour’s has a reputation for manufacturing high-quality, dependable products that enhance the athlete’s performance. This reputation allows Under Armour to charge a slightly higher price than the competition. The table below shows a price comparison for a basic men’s T-shirt from Adidas, Nike, and Under Armour. The basic men’s T selected across the various brands is comparable in fabric, style, and fit.

Brand Price for basic men’s T

Adidas $22.00

Nike $22.00

Under Amour $22.99

Promotion

Under Armour promotes it’s product through a wide variety of traditional and digital marketing channels. Under Armour also employs numerous sponsorship and endorsement marketing efforts.

Digital Marketing Channels

Figure 10: Under Armour's Net Revenues by Distribution


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Under Armour utilizes a large variety of digital marketing channels to promote its brand. In 2014, Under Armour developed a five episode digital video series that followed Under Armour endorser, Cam Newton, as he prepared for the next NFL season. Under Armour’s video focused on keeping a positive mindset through tough times, such as just missing the NFC championship game in the prior year’s playoffs and undergoing ankle surgery. The video underscores Under Armour’s brand mission to empower all athletes and make them better through passion. (O'Brien, 2014). The Under Armour logo was predominately displayed throughout the entire video. In less than a week, the six minute video was viewed more than 150,000 times and featured on Under Armour’s website. (O'Brien, 2014).

In 2011, Under Armour launched a new website expressing the boldness and innovation of the Under Armour brand, allowing its products and athletes to shine. With its streamlined, inspirational design and innovative features such as a dynamic temperature tool to help users shop for hot or cold weather gear and a fit guide to ensure customers would feel confident in purchasing online, the site redefined the Under Armour shopping experience. Additional personalization elements were also added to the site to create a customizable shopping experience that would drive customer satisfaction and repeat site visits. The overhaul of the Under Armour website was proven successful for ecommerce sales increased 59 percent year-over-year. (Huge, 2012).

Under Armour also utilizes several social media so users can continue the conversation between purchases. Users are encouraged to share product ratings and reviews as well as build a sense of community with other Under Armour customers. (Huge, 2012). Under Armour’s Facebook page now boasts 21,000 followers.

Traditional Marketing Channels

Under Armour utilizes print magazine advertisements and television spots to market its products to a wide variety of audiences. Television spots focus on the athletes’ ability to overcome obstacles and finding the will from within to set your own path. Print ads are very simplistic in nature and often are an image that was taken from the television commercial. Ads feature the Under Armour logo and motivational tagline.


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Figure 11: Under Armour Print Ad

Under Armour also aligns itself with several socially responsible campaigns. These campaigns include Under Armour’s Power in Pink campaign where Under Armour contributes $2 million annually to John Hopkins to develop the Live Well Center and support research and innovation in the field of breast health. (Under Armour, n.d.). The second campaign, Win, is focused on empowering athletes of the next generation. This campaign provides kids in underserved communities access to sports by enhancing the places where the kids play, investing in programs that use sports to teach life kills, outfitting kids with the latest products, and supporting people who dedicate their time to coaching. (Under Armour, n.d.). The last campaign, Protect This House, supports the United States’ armed forces. Annually, Under Armour donates $250,000 to support First Responders, Military Support Organizations, Law Enforcement Officers, and Veterans who have committed to keeping us safe. (Under Armour, n.d.).

Sponsorships and Endorsements

Under Armour’s marketing and promotional strategy starts with selling its products to high-performing athletes and teams on the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. Under Armour executes this strategy through outfitting agreements, professional and collegiate sponsorships, individual athlete agreements, and by providing and selling products directly to team equipment managers and individual athletes. (Under Armour, 2015). As a result, Under Armour’s products are seen on the field, giving them exposure to various consumer audiences through the internet, television, magazines, and live sporting events.


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In addition to the list of celebrity endorsers listed in the brand element section, Under Armour currently sponsors 13 athletic departments on the college level. These schools include Auburn, Hawaii, Maryland, Texas Tech, Boston College, Utah, Notre Dame, Northwestern, St. John's, Navy, Colorado State, South Florida and South Carolina. (Rovell, 2014).

Analysis of Under Armour’s Marketing Efforts

Strengths

The Under Armour brand has a very strong marketing presence. Under Armour strategically utilizes various digital and traditional marketing channels to more effectively leverage a tactful integrated marketing approach to a largely diverse audience. Under Armour has also redesigned its ecommerce website to make shopping an easier, more enjoyable experience. In addition Under Armour builds a sense of community through its social media presence and ability to allow users to rate and review products on its website. Millennials trust user generated content 50 percent more than other forms of media, making it a great addition to Under Armour’s digital platforms. (Knoblauch, 2014). Celebrity endorsers bring more credibility and higher brand awareness to Under Armour’s product lines. By sponsoring college athletics, Under Armour is positioning itself to gain additional media coverage and build brand loyalty from consumers at a younger age.

Weaknesses

Until 2014, Under Armour’s approached its woman’s line by the “shrink it and pink it” approach. This concept did not appeal to the female audience, causing Under Armour to destroy $600,000 in clothing. (Schultz, 2014). In 2014, Under Armour targeted the $410 million American women’s apparel business with a series of digital and traditional media ads. While these advertisements created a positive response from women (as seen in the chart below), women’s apparel still only makes up 30 percent of Under Armour’s total sales. (Lutz, 2012).


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Figure 12: Women's positive sentiment to the Under Armour women's campaign

Under Armour will can’t rely on a single marketing campaign to leverage its women’s fitness lines. Under Armour will need to continuously focus its marketing efforts and spend in this area to increase sales and capture a larger portion of this ever growing market.


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Under Armour’s competitors

Competitive Environment

While there are many competitors in the athletic apparel industry, Under Armour should focus on two particular brands, Adidas and Nike.

Adidas

Adidas was founded in Germany in 1949 by Adolf Dassler. (Adidas Group, n.d.). Adidas has a clear mission to be the globally leading and most popular sporting good brand. Adidas offers men, women, and youth a vast variety of products, which are aimed at supporting athletes in their lifestyle.

Market Share

Adidas, who was once the second largest athletic apparel brand has recently fallen to third behind Under Armour. (Mirabella, 2014). This recent drop was monumental for the Adidas brand for that it was the first time Adidas has ever been in the number three spot. In 2014, Adidas’ combined sales of athletic footwear and apparel fell 23% to $1.1 billion. During the same time, Under Armour’s sales were up over the same period to $1.2 billion. (Germano, Adidas Slips Behind Under Armour in U.S., 2014).

Adidas associates this loss in revenue to the company’s lack of focus. Adidas plans to rebound in the market by entering into several sponsorships including supplying NBA and NHL jerseys. The company also endorses NBA point guards Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and John Wall of the Washington Wizards. Adidas also hopes to release a popular signature sneaker line for Mr. Wall that will retail for $115. (Adidas Group, n.d.).

However, climbing back to the number 2 spot will be a difficult feat for Adidas for customers, especially in the youth apparel market, strongly prefer Nike and Under Armour products. Moreover, Nike is gaining ground in Adidas’ core European market as Adidas struggles for traction in the United States. (Adidas Group, n.d.).

Adidas currently owns 6 percent of the athletic apparel market. (Mirabella, 2014).

Figure 13: Adidas logo


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Nike

Founded in 1972, Nike is the world’s largest and most iconic athletic apparel brand today. Nike offers men, women, and youth a large and diverse selection of athletic apparel, equipment, footwear, and accessories.

While much has changed in the athletic apparel industry, Nike attributes its success to staying true to its mission and by bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete. Nike believes the recipe for success is to develop sustainable, quality products for its consumers while connecting with them on a deeper, more meaningful level. (Nike, 2014).

Nike connects with its target audience through a diverse set of marketing communications including TV commercials, print ads, digital retargeting efforts, social media communities, professional and colligate sponsorships, and more.

Market Share

Current market leader Nike, far outpaces its competitors with a combined total of $8.9 billion in sales. Nike also owns 46% of the athletic footwear market and a third of all sports apparel sales. (Mirabella, 2014). In fiscal year 2014 alone, Nike’s revenue grew 10% and its gross margin increased 120 basis points, despite the rising cost environment. Moreover, Nike’s profitability in North America hit a record high. (Nike, 2014).

Despite Under Armour’s impressive market share gains, Nike tops Under Armour in revenue performance by $24.8 billion. (Peterson, 2014).

Figure 14: Nike Logo


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Figure 15: Revenue comparison between Nike and Under Armour


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44%

14%6%

36%

Market Share (in percentages)

NikeUnder ArmourAdidasOther Brands

Figure 16: Under Armour vs Competitors Market share

Competitive Analysis

Points-of-parity

Under Armour shares many brand attributes with its competitors, Adidas and Nike. All 3 brands offer high-quality, easily obtainable athletic apparel for men, women, and youth. Under Armour, Adidas, and Nike also spend a large portion of their marketing budget sponsoring professional and collegiate athletics. In addition, all 3 athletic brands maintain an active social media presence filled with images of sponsored athletes and motivational quotes.

Points-of-difference

Despite the similarities listed above, Under Armour’s synthetic apparel provides one core point-of-difference than its competitors. This point-of-difference is that Under Armour’s athletic apparel is designed with the latest technology to enhance an athlete’s comfort and mobility, regulate body temperature, and enhance an athlete’s performance. Under Armour’s compression gear improves the body’s coordination of muscle patterns, spatial awareness, and reduces muscle movement, which helps prevent injury. Compression gear also enhances the athlete’s power, endurance, and ability to jump repeatedly, more effectively.


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Brand Exploratory

Brand Positioning

Under Armour Brand Position

As mentioned in the Brand Inventory section of the Brand Audit, Under Armour provides men, women, and youth with a wide variety of athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories. Under Armour’s athletic apparel comes in a variety of fits and styles that are intended to enhance comfort and mobility, regulate body temperature, and improve the athlete’s performance regardless of weather conditions. (Under Armour, 2015).

A large majority of consumers associate Under Armour as a high-end, high-quality, premier athletic brand. (Campbell, 2013). When the marketing research company iModerate asked consumers describe the Under Armour brand, they were quick to point out all of the technical aspects that make Under Armour functional in the most challenging of conditions. Aside from minimal mentions of price and overall quality, consumers used descriptive language such as “wicking,” “skin-tight,” “insulating,” and “breathable” to describe the brand. (iModerate Research Technologies, n.d.).

Moreover, athletes found that Under Armour’s most motivating quality is the performance of the gear. Athletes report that the Under Armour brand protects them from outside weather elements, giving them no excuses to miss a work out. (iModerate Research Technologies, n.d.). In fact, iModerate survey respondents were quoted saying, “Having equipment to withstand unfavorable weather motivates you to stay active even when Mother Nature doesn’t” and “Just having the Under Armour symbol on my shirt motivates me. I don’t want to be seen eating a burger and fries. I want to be seen going through a grueling workout or Tough Mudder event.”

However, it’s important to note that while Under Armour’s focus on performance may appeal to consumers who live a largely athletic lifestyle, it also alienates a large sector of the population that doesn’t associate themselves to this degree of athleticism. (iModerate Research Technologies, n.d.). Therefore, Under Armour, which also happens to have started out as a male-centric niche football brand, tends to particularly alienate those less who are uninspired by the perceived unattainable fitness level and women.

A small group of students and a professor from West Virginia University’s (WVU) Integrated Marketing Communications graduate program was surveyed to give their perceptions of the Under Armour brand. The small WVU research group was comprised of 8 members, 6 females and 2 males from various age groups. All 8 of the surveyed group members agreed that Under Armour provides high-quality athletic gear. However, only 2 out of the 6 female respondents believed that the Under Armour brand provides athletic apparel that appeals to them.


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Competitors

Brand Perceptions

Adidas

Even though Adidas has recently fallen to third in the athletic apparel industry, the Adidas brand still has a reputation for quality. (Lefton, 2014). However, Adidas’s brand image is still greatly linked to soccer, tear-a-way pants, and Run DMC, which has caused the Adidas brand to be perceived more as “an oldie but a goodie” or more of a retro brand rather than consumer’s brand of choice.

Figure 17: RUN DMC in their iconic Adidas track suit

Nike

It’s no surprise that Nike, who owns 44% of the athletic apparel’s market share has found a way to fit into everyone’s lifestyle. According to iModerate’s brand survey, consumers turn to the Nike brand for practicality, performance, and fashion. (iModerate Research Technologies, n.d.). From the recreational park-walker to the true elite athlete, Nike has you covered. Moreover, Nike’s advertisements feature compelling stories that inspire and motivate consumers, regardless of age or athletic ability. Consumers have been quoted saying that “Nike ads show that no matter what you look like, you can succeed at your goals.” (iModerate Research Technologies, n.d.).


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Despite gender, age, and geographical differences, all 8 members of the WVU study group identified Nike as one of their top 3 brands for athletic apparel, further supporting this testament.

Perceptual Map of Under Armour and its Competitor’s Brand Perceptions

Below is a perceptual map that depicts Adidas, Nike, and Under Armour’s brand perceptions in the market place.

Adidas, who is now the third largest brand in the athletic apparel industry is appropriately situated below Nike and Under Armour when it comes to product quality. However, thanks to Adidas’ brand associations with Run DMC and tear-a-way pants, Adidas is perceived more as a lifestyle brand rather than an overall performance brand.

Nike, the athletic apparel industry leader is strategically placed at the highest point of the perceptual map in relation to its perceived quality. Nike is seen as a high-quality brand that fits every lifestyle, whether it’s a first time runner or an avid racer. Therefore Nike is place largely

High Quality

Lifestyle Performance

Low Quality


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in the lifestyle portion of the graph but is very close to being positioned as a performance brand as well.

Under Armour is perceived as the brand of athletes, which strategically positions the brand to the far right of the perceptual graph. Like Adidas and Nike, Under Armour is perceived as a high-quality athletic brand.

Brand Elements

Under Armour Brand Elements

As previously discussed in the Brand Inventory section, brand elements are trademarkable devices that serve to identify and differentiate the brand from its competitors. (Keller, 2013). Brand elements should be memorable, meaningful, likable, transferable, adaptable, and protectable. (Keller, 2013).

Below is an examination of Under Armour’s brand elements from the consumer’s perspective and how they fit Keller’s six criteria for selecting brand elements.

Brand name

Under Armour owns 75% of the compression market. (Salter, 2005). This has caused the Under Armour brand name to become synonymous to the compression gear market, just as Kleenex and Band-Aid have in the past. While compression gear is only a portion of Under Armour’s product offerings, this brand association has helped leverage the Under Armour brand name, making it more memorable, meaningful, adaptable, and transferable in the consumer’s eyes.

Nike and Adidas have not reached a synonymous brand and product association in the market the way Under Armour has.

URL

Under Armour’s website URL is www.underarmour.com. The URL is a direct translation of the brand name. This makes this particular brand element easy for consumers to recall and memorize. Competitors Adidas and Nike also use a direct translations of their brand names for the company URL.

http://www.underarmour.com/


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Logo

Under Armour’s logo features a simple, overlying U and A with the company’s brand name written under the logo. The graphical representation of the U and A give the logo meaning and allow consumers to easily regonize and memorize the Under Armour logo.

In addition, the logo is very clean, minimalistic, visually appealing and easily transferred across geographic boundries and product lines, causing the logo to be likeable, adaptable, and transferable.

The logo is also legally registered, making the logo protected.

Adidas and Nike also have very simplistic, clean logos that are transferrered across geographic boundries and product lines, making the logo likeable, adaptable, and transferable. Both competitors logos are legally registered, making them legally protected as well. Consumer’s are able to easily recognie and identify Adidas’, Nike’s, and Under Armour’s logo’s by only the image.

Spokespeople

Every year, Under Armour hires a long list of celebrity spokespersons to help leverage the Under Armour brand to its various target markets. Each celebrity spokesperson is chosen based on their high-profile status and ability to reach and relate to a wide variety of demographics.

The use of celebrity spokespersons make the Under Armour brand more memorable, meaningful, and likeable to the consumer. This is because celebrity spokespeople who appeal to consumers are more likely to grab and hold the consumer’s attention while Under Armour delivers its brand message. Also, by using celebrity endorsers such as Tom Brady, it gives additional credibility to Under Armour’s products in that particular sporting line.

Under Armour often chooses celebrity endorsers who are popular across different product lines and geographical regions, making the brand transferable. Under Armour’s portfolio of spokespersons is constantly being updated to reflect consumer preferences. This makes Under Armour’s spokespersons adaptable as well.

Figure 18: Under Armour Logo

Figure 19: Tom Brady, Popular NFL Quarterback and Under Armour Spokesperson


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Under Armour’s competitors Adidas and Nike also regularly utilize the industry’s most popular celebrity athletes to help make their ads more memorable, likeable, meaningful, transferable, and adaptable.

Slogans

Under Armour positions itself as the unique, humble, and hungry underdog. Under Armour has adapted and trademarked the motivational tagline, “I Will.” (Diaz, 2014). This simple, yet motivational slogan is easy to recall and recognize, making it memorable to the consumer. The slogan also emotionally connects with the consumer, making it meaningful and likeable. The slogan is also transferable across product lines and geographical boundaries. Under Armour has trademarked the logo, making it highly protectable. Moreover, Under Armour has updated the slogan to “I will protect this house” and “I will what I want” in some of its marketing campaigns, making it very adaptable. Under Armour’s tagline resonates with consumers as it motivates them to unapologetically go after what they want, despite the negativity they may receive from others. (Bohannon, 2014).

Adidas and Nike also both utilize motivational taglines to help make their respective brands more memorable, meaningful, likeable, transferable, adaptable, and protectable. However, Adidas’ “Impossible is nothing” tagline is less recognizable and from its competitors. Adidas’ “Impossible is nothing” tagline is also written in a way that it is less motivational and internalized than Nike and Under Armour. For example, a consumer may set their alarm for a 5 a.m. workout to quickly realize 5:00 a.m. comes faster than expected and he/she is still extremely tired. The athlete can say to him/herself “I will…make it to the gym this morning” or think to him/herself “Just do it.” However, Adidas’ “Impossible is nothing” tagline falls short in these situations, which prevents the consumer from connecting with the brand on levels he/she could with Nike and Under Armour.


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Figure 20: Under Armour's tag line motivates consumers to go after their goals

Marketing Support Programs

Product

Under Armour’s product line provides men, women, and youth with a wide variety of athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories. Under Armour’s athletic apparel comes in a variety of fits and styles that are intended to enhance comfort and mobility, regulate body temperature, and improve the athlete’s performance regardless of weather conditions. (Under Armour, 2015). As mentioned in previous sections, consumers widely associate the Under Armour brand with its compression line and/or as athletic gear for high performance male athletes. Therefore, in effort to appeal to the everyday woman athlete, Under Armour developed a product line for women called Studio. Studio is comprised of a wide selection of tight fitting athletic apparel, mainly used for running or yoga. (Clifton, 2014).

However, many consumer reports indicate that women still are not familiar with the Under Armour brand and if they’ve seen previous Under Armour ads or borrowed a boyfriend’s shirt, they more than likely assume the brand line is for men. (Salter, 2005).

Fortunately for the Under Armour brand, the small surveyed group of individuals from WVU contradict this statement. All 8 respondents, which was comprised of 6 females and 2 males, were aware that Under Armour provides athletic gear for both men and women. However, only 2 out of the 6 female respondents felt that the Under Armour brand appealed to them.


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Place

A majority of Under Armour’s sales are generated through wholesale channels, which include national and regional sporting goods chains, independent and specialty retailers, and department store chains such as Dicks Sporting Goods and Sports Authority. (Under Armour, 2015). Under Armour also owns 100 outlet locations and 5 full-priced stores. (Townsend, 2013).

In addition, Under Armour is opening a test store in its hometown of Baltimore that will ditch the company’s prevailing locker-room vibe for natural light, cheery colors, and 10 times as many mannequins. (Townsend, 2013). The outreach to women is part of Under Armour’s efforts to broaden out beyond performance apparel and become the next athletic apparel brand for everyone.

The various Under Armour store locations combined with the Under Armour website makes the brand very assessable for the consumer. All 8 WVU survey respondents agreed that the Under Armour brand was easily obtainable for consumers.

Price

Under Armour’s has a strong brand reputation for manufacturing high-quality, dependable products that enhance the athlete’s performance. This strong brand reputation translates into more loyal customers and the ability to charge a higher price per unit than competitors. (Campbell, 2013). As demonstrated in the Brand Inventory, consumers are willing to pay a $1 more for the Under Armour brand name than comparable merchandise from other strong competing brands such as Adidas and Nike.

Despite being willing to pay more for the Under Armour brand, 5 out of the 8 WVU surveyed disagreed to the statement that “Under Armour is a cost-efficient brand.” In addition, 3 out of the 8 surveyed respondents stated that the thing they liked least about the Under Armour brand was the price tag associated to the products.

Figure 21: Newly revamped section in an Under Armour store


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Promotion

As mentioned in the Brand Inventory section of the Brand Audit, Under Armour promotes it’s product through a wide variety of traditional and digital marketing channels as well as various sponsorships and endorsements. These campaigns have been largely successful because Under Armour not only utilizes a large mix of integrated marketing channels to reach the consumer at various stages in the buying cycle, but also because Under Armour develops marketing promotions that emotionally connect with the consumer.

For example, in the Brand Inventory section we examined Under Armour’s digital video series that followed Under Armour endorser, Cam Newton, as he prepared for the next NFL season after undergoing a devastating ankle surgery. This particular video series was so successful because the narrative depicted Cam Newton as a real man, a real leader, and a real athlete, rather than a super hero athlete that nails his objectives and goals every time he steps on the field. (Oster, 2014). During the video series, consumers got to see Cam Newton working towards his college degree, his struggles as he recovered from survey, and him helping kids at his charitable program. Consumers were able to relate to Cam Newton’s struggles and time management responsibilities, in turn allowing them to further relate to the Under Armour brand.

Another example of this is Under Armour’s 2014 ad featuring soccer star Heather Mitts. The television ads features Heather Mitts speaking about her torn ACL, how devastating it was for her to know the injury would keep her from her first World Cup, and her fear of the injury would ultimately remove her from the sport entirely. Mitts speaks about how tired she was when she could finally work out again and how she didn’t think she could have made it back into the sport without her teammates support. This particular ad was very relatable to women everywhere because it spoke to many women’s insecurities of not being able to complete your goals. It spoke to overcoming the fatigue many women face when they start back at the gym; and most of all, the ad was relatable because it featured a woman in a very unintimidating format.

In addition, Under Armour also aligns itself with several socially responsible campaigns such as Under Armour’s Power in Pink campaign, Win, and Protect This House. (UnderArmour, n.d.). This wide variety of socially responsible charitable programs create a positive sentiment between consumers and the Under Armour brand and can even influence a consumer into purchasing the brand. (Nielson, 2014). Moreover, 57 percent of global online consumers across 60

Figure 22: Under Armour spokesperson Heather Mitts


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countries have said they are willing to pay more for products and services provided by companies that are committed to positive social and environmental impact. (Nielson, 2014). Therefore, the decision to align itself with several charitable programs further drives positive consumer sentiment towards to the Under Armour brand.

Under Armour also launched a new website in 2011. When developing the website, Under Armour developed the website with consumer’s usage in mind. Under Armour streamlined the design and added innovative features such as a dynamic temperature tool that helps consumers shop for hot or cold weather gear. Under Armour also added a fit guide and additional personalization elements to the site to create a customizable shipping experience that would increase consumer’s confidence when it came to shopping on the Under Armour website as well as drive customer satisfaction and repeat site visits. (Huge, 2012).

Analysis of Under Armour’s Marketing Efforts

Strengths

The Under Armour brand has a very strong marketing presence from both a brand and consumer perspective. Under Armour strategically utilizes various digital and traditional marketing channels to more effectively leverage a tactful integrated marketing approach to a largely diverse audience and builds positive consumer sentiment in the process. Whether you are a hard core performance athlete, an athlete recovering from a devastating injury, or lacing up the running shoes for the first time, Under Armour has a spokesperson and campaign that relates to you. This helps consumers internalize and incorporate the Under Armour brand into their everyday lives. Moreover, by redesigning the company website with the consumer in mind, Under Armour is presenting consumers with a more positive, enjoyable shopping experience that is sure to keep shoppers coming back time and time again. Under Armour’s support of a wide variety of charities let Under Armour consumers feel good about purchasing the Under Armour brand, letting Under Armour to in turn charge more for its premium products.

Weaknesses

As stated in the Brand Inventory section of the Brand Audit, it wasn’t until 2014 that Under Armour graduated from the “shrink it and pink it” approach. Therefore, Under Armour still has a lot of marketing to do to fully penetrate the female demographic. Under Armour needs to continuously work on developing products and marketing promotions that appeal to this new


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target audience. According to Gerard J. Tellis, the director of the Center for Global Innovation, the Neely Chair of American Enterprise, and a professor of marketing, management, and organization at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, it typically takes a brand 6.2 years to achieve more than 2 percent penetration of a new market. Therefore, while Under Armour is off to a great start, it needs to keep restlessly pushing through to achieve its goal of being coming the largest athletic apparel brand for both the men and women markets.

Surveyed Responses

Several times throughout the course of the Brand Explanatory there were mentions of findings from a small group of surveyed respondents. The survey respondents consisted of 6 females and 2 males from WVU’s Integrated Marketing Communications program. Survey respondents come from a wide variety of age and geographical demographics. Below is a summary of the 3 brief survey questions as well as the responses received.

Question 1: When shopping for athletic apparel, do you tend to shop for a particular brand over others? If so, what are the top 3 brands you seek out? Please list the brand names in order from most frequently shopped to least.

Adidas Nike Under Armour Other0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Prefered Athletic Apparel Brand of WVU Community

Men Women


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The chart above was placed in context to the brands examined throughout this particular brand audit. As you can see, 0 of the surveyed respondents claimed Adidas to be one of their top 3 brands of choice. All of the surveyed women and men indicated that Nike is one of their top 3 brands of choice. Only 1 male and 1 female revealed that they actively sought the Under Armour brand when making an athletic apparel purchase. Many respondents also disclosed that they sought other brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Sketchers, LuLuLemon, Champion, Columbia, Fabletics, and New Balance when making an athletic apparel purchase.

Question 2: What do you like the most about Under Armour? Least?

There were a large variety of answers to this question. Some of the surveyed respondents refrained from answering this question for they have never purchased the Under Armour brand.

What consumers liked the most about Under Armour:

Under Armour is starting to reach out to women It’s a high-quality product Great quality brand. I like the fabric and texture Moisture control fabric

What consumers liked the least about Under Armour:

Viewed as a brand for men only Viewed as a brand exclusively for men Dislike how Under Armour does not carry a line for women who are under 5’5’ The brand can be expensive Price Viewed as a men’s brand only

Based off the responses above, it should be noted that while Under Armour is striving to appeal to the women, 3 out of 6 female respondents still view Under Armour as an athletic brand for males only.


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Question 3: Please indicated your agreement with the following statements.

Under Armour…

Provides high-quality athletic gear

Agree Disagree Neutral0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Under Armour Provides High-Quality Athletic Gear

Consumer Responses

6 out of the 8 respondents agree with the statement that Under Armour provides high-quality athletic gear. Nobody disagreed with this statement. 2 people did not feel they’ve had enough experience with the Under Armour brand to comment on this particular brand attribute.

Provides athletic gear in styles that appeal to me


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Agree Disagree Not Sure0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Under Armour provides athletic gear in styles that appeal to the consumer

Men Women

As you can see from the chart above, both of the surveyed males agree that Under Armour manufactured athletic gear that appeals to them. However, only 1 female responded that Under Armour gear appeals to them. 2 women disagreed with this statement and an equal amount of women were unsure.

Is cost-efficient


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1

35

Under Armour is cost-efficient

Agreed Disagreed Unsure

While a majority (5 percent of the respondents) were unsure if the Under Armour brand was cost-efficient, 3 respondents stated that they do not believe that Under Armour is cost-efficient. Only 1 person agreed that Under Armour is a cost-efficient brand.


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Meets the needs of men, women, and youth athletes

Agree Disagree Unsure0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Under Armour meets the needs of men, women, and youth athletes

Men Respondents Women Respondents

Half of the surveyed women believe that Under Armour fits the needs of men, women, and youth, while the other half is unsure of this statement. Men respondents were also equally split on this particular statement. 1 male respondent agreed to this statement while the other indicated he was unsure.


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Is easily assessable for purchase

Under Armour is easily accessible for purchase

Agree Disagree

All 8 of the respondents agreed to the statement that Under Armour is easily assessable for purchase.

Provides quick, courteous customer service


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Under Armour provides quick, courtious customer service

Agree Disagree Not Sure

A large majority of the respondents have no experience with Under Armour’s customer service and could not answer the question. However, the one student who did have experience with Under Armour’s customer service agreed to the statement that, “Under Armour provides quick, courteous customer service.”

Provides unique brand attributes that I cannot find anywhere else


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Under Armour provides unique brand attributes that I can't find anywhere else

Agree Disagree Not Sure

The Under Armour brand prides itself on its innovative, technology enhanced athletic gear. Out of the 8 surveyed respondents, 2 people agreed that they couldn’t find this type of athletic apparel anywhere else. 2 people disagreed with this statement, while 4 people said they were unsure.

Develops quality marketing promotions that I find engaging and relevant


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Agree Disagree Not Sure0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Under Armour develops quality marketing promotions that I find engaging and relevant

Men Women

Under Armour puts a large portion of its resources towards its marketing promotions. However, only 50% (1 respondent) of the surveyed men found the marketing promotions to be engaging and relevant to them. Interestingly, 4 women found the marketing programs to be relevant and engaging, while 1 respondent disagreed and another was not sure.


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Brand Recommendations

Overall, Under Armour’s brand elements and current marketing strategies have helped Under Armour grow to the second largest brand in the athletic apparel industry. However, if Under Armour wants to continue to gain additional market share, Under Armour should focus its marketing efforts on the following brand recommendations.

Brand Recommendation 1

Goal

To increase brand awareness of Under Armour’s women’s apparel line with the female demographic.

Objective

Increase brand awareness of Under Armour’s women’s apparel line with the female demographic by 15% in 12 months.

Strategies

Educate women on Under Armour’s brand offerings for women.

Tactics

Develop a series of television commercials, featuring women athletes and celebrities wearing Under Armour women’s athletic apparel.

Develop a series of Facebook and Twitter ads that promote Under Armour’s women’s athletic apparel line to women between the ages of 17 and 34 across the United States.

Send brand ambassadors to Under Armour outlet locations. Have brand ambassadors stand outside the Under Armour outlet and hand out 20% discount coupons on women’s athletic apparel line to women shoppers.

Work with large universities to become the official athletic apparel brand sponsor for its various women’s teams.


Goal


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Increase market share by educating consumers of Under Armour’s unique point-of-difference - temperature control, performance gear.

Objective

Increase market share by 2% in 12 months by educating consumers of Under Armour’s unique point-of-difference temperature control, performance gear.

Strategies

Educate consumers on the benefits of Under Armour’s temperature control, performance enhancing athletic gear.

Tactics

Develop a series or television commercials and YouTube videos that educates consumers on Under Armour’s unique temperature control, performance enhancing benefits.

Develop eye-catching signage that educates consumers on the benefits of each of Under Armour’s performance gear lines. Signage should be placed near the respective gear lines at Under Armour brand and factory stores, national and regional sporting good chains, independent and specialty retailers, and department store chains that carry the Under Armour brand.

Update the Under Armour website so it features the various temperature controlled athletic apparel lines. Insert a button that will allow consumers to filter and search for the respective Under Armour temperature controlled gear lines.


Goal

Leverage current collegiate athletic apparel sponsorships to help secure new, additional sponsorships in the future.

Objective

Leverage current collegiate athletic apparel sponsorships to help secure 3 new, additional sponsorships in 12 months.

Strategies


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Market Under Armour’s current athletic apparel sponsorships to help build credibility to the Under Armour brand as well as increase brand awareness in those respective fan based markets.

Tactics

Secure testimonials from University officials and players about Under Armour’s athletic sponsorship and products and market these testimonials on the Under Armour website, social media channels, and informational marketing flyers.

Anytime a new collegiate athletic sponsorship is secured, announce the partnership on Under Armour’s social media channels, the Under Armour website, and by releasing a press release.

Develop an engaging television commercial that will air during the respective sponsorship season during game commercial breaks. Messaging should convey that Under Armour is the official brand of the respective university and close with its logo and website URL.


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