Under Armour- I Will What I Want !

Introduction

Have you ever thought about launching a new product where there is no previous audience?   Let’s talk about a true story-UnderArmour.  KevinPlank, who founded Under Armour in 1996,  was a 23 year old special teams captain of the University of Maryland football team. Plank got the idea for the Under Armour brand after noticing how much dryer his compression shorts were compared to regular shorts.  Plank set out to design a shirt made of synthetic fabric that would wick away moisture and began selling the apparel out of the trunk of his car and his grandmother’s basement.

We don’t see commercials for Under Armour on television.  The company's marketing is based upon word-of-mouth that creates demand.  Due to the increasing number of sports players, Under Armour has seen demand for its products grow.  With a stable and growing reach across the country it is important for Under Armour to implement the available social media tools in order to extend that reach, creating excitement and harnessing the groundswell.

The company we are going to look at today, Under Armour, created online communities related to their brand to energize their customers..

Under Armour has emerged as a global sports brand from a small, unnamed company twenty years ago. In 2014, Under Armour defeated Adidas to become the second largest sports brand in the US, second only to Nike, which has been in the market for a long time.

Under Armour markets their products across a variety of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and youtube.  However, we believe that simply posting to these platforms is not enough.  Brands must use these platforms to build relationships with their customers and engage the groundswell.  

Suppliers leverage all the posts, submissions and comments by users on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram , whether positive or negative.  Under Armour collects them to use in connection with marketing, advertising, promotion, sales, and distribution of its products and services.  Also, the customers consent to Under Armour's use of their names, likenesses, images, portraits, voices, and biographical information as embodied in their posts and submissions on the Under Armour Facebook page.

 

The key to succeeding in social networks is to help people spread your message and to measure the result.   By understanding how these efforts work, you can own your business via groundswell.