Under Armour's Willful Digital Moves

Abstract

In 2013, Under Armour had $2.3 billion in sales yet only $500 million came from its women's apparel, and the company was ready to expand into the female market segment. The “I Will What I Want” global women's marketing campaign was the largest Under Armour had ever run. Founder Keven Plank and his team launched the campaign on a multichannel platform, with social media at its core. The campaign's success surpassed what Plank had imagined, and he is left wondering where to take Under Armour's advertising and marketing next. This case has been used successfully in a marketing course and would be suited for any class with a focus on interactive media, technology, and multichannel marketing. Excerpt UVA-M-0910 Rev. Jul. 27, 2016 Under Armour's Willful Digital Moves Created in 1996, Under Armour, which first created breathable, wicking materials to replace sweaty cotton found in the shirts worn under football pads, was a brand built on a tough-guy and football image. In less than two decades, founder Kevin Plank took Under Armour from a business run out of his grandmother's basement in Washington, DC, to a global business with just less than $ 4billion in sales. By 2013, Under Armour had expanded to shorts, shoes, and even hats, and was already a success within the men's athletic-wear market, competing with powerhouses such as Nike and Adidas. Its marketing and advertisement had focused on targeting men by delivering technical apparel positioned as innovative and modern. In 2013, Under Armour had $ 2.3billion in sales yet only $ 500million came from its women's apparel. Plank was ready to expand into the female market segment. “I Will What I Want” Campaign In March 2013, Under Armour's rival, Adidas, ranked number two in the U.S. sportswear market, one spot in front of Under Armour, launched the “Unite All Originals” campaign targeting women using original artists popular on social media. The ad campaign garnered only 400,000 views on YouTube, did not help boost Adidas's sales, and was considered a failure. Despite Adidas's lack of success in targeting female athletes, in 2014 Plank and his team believed they could do better and decided to take the risk of targeting women with a campaign titled “I Will What I Want.” . . .