Let’s do something a little different this week. Instead of focusing on a brand that either may struggle or is currently struggling let’s turn our attention to a rising star. Founded in 1996 you would be forgiven for thinking Under Armour was well established long before the 90’s. As a relative small part of the American Football clothing market initially the brand has quickly grown into a major player across the world. What was originally Kevin Plank’s idea for a shirt that would stay light when saturated with sweat has quickly grown into the brand that is Under Armour today. It is now responsible for making some of the most established and most familiar sporting brands across the world sweat under their very own dri-fit collars.
One look at Under Armour’s stock market value growth will tell you all you need to know about the companies’ prospects for the future. Value share has more than doubled, which has fuelled the brands aggressive expansion strategy across the US and the rest of the World.
Put simply Under Armour has quickly become the sporting brand of choice for the in crowd in the US market, with numerous celebrities ready and willing to wear the apparel for the millions to see. Hoping to expand on this popularity Under Armour has looked to acquire increased brand recognition and reach in the UK market through initiatives such as sponsoring Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. The partnership seems to tie in perfectly for growth strategies for both the US sporting brand and the UK football institution. Take for example Spur’s long term ambition of leveraging presence in the US market creating more than its already reported 6 million American followers.
Under Armour have certainly put a considerable amount of investment into the partnership with Spurs- a reported £50 million over 5 years! Of course not only will this benefit Under Armour in terms of increased recognition but if Spurs stand to gain out of this as well then it becomes clear why this was a very smart move for at least one of the parties. What will turn it into a smart investment for Under Armour will be determined by how their brand presence continues to grow in the face of key competitors. The sports apparel market is already fragmented as it is and brands can quickly find themselves losing valuable share in the minds of consumers.
Under Armour will not allow itself to think small when it comes to positioning. They have quickly looked to pitch their tent in unbelievably close proximity to the Nike camp. Their motivations can be clearly demonstrated in their marketing strategy. As a $5 billion business they are of course small fry compared to Nike’s powerhouse brand, however momentum can be everything in the marketing game and it is clear they do not struggle for this.
Well you consider the very mention of Nike is banned in head office you begin to realize how powerful the spirit of competition is within the company. You could call their plan ambitious yet the power of advocacy and cmart PR product placement continues to allow the brand to gain the aforementioned momentum which is so important. Taking all of this into consideration it would appear the future is bright for Under Armour and there is plenty to be optimistic about. In case we have not covered them all already the following article neatly sums up some of the main factors the brand have going for it.
With such an aggressive expansion strategy on the cards you could argue that under Armour may struggle to keep its eye on the prize especially within the market where it originally made an impact. However, holding onto brand traditions appears to be an especially important factor for Under Armour and recent marketing campaigns highlighting not only a strong link to American Football but also building off the brands Baltimore heritage demonstrate they aren’t about to forget where they came from.
So concluding thoughts on Under Armour? Well you may very well say ‘Brand Avenger has gone soft but I have a good feeling about Under Armour. They are relatively young, have invested in a long term strategic mission with a clear goal of stealing share from Nike. However, the real difference for Under Armour will come with a strong focus on advocacy which makes me happy to read articles like the one below.
No matter who you are and whatever markets you operate in or how big or small your sales value figures are you can never underestimate the power of looking after your brand loyal customers. Under Armour are right to research ways into ensuring advocacy isn’t lost especially if its biggest competitors are doing this also. Pacino once said a game is won or lost depending on inches in Any Given Sunday. If Under Armour continue to focus on advocacy, thus protecting its customers with the greatest sales value they should end up miles in front.
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