B R A N D A U D I T B Y:

NICOLETTE ERKMAN
DECEMBER 6, 2016
COMPANY
Headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland
Incorporated in 1996
They are engaged in the development, marketing and
distribution of apparel, footwear and accessories for men,
women and youth
Under Armour is the originator of performance apparel- gear
engineered to keep athletes cool, dry and light throughout
the course of a game, practice or workout
SUBSIDIARIES
Under Armour Europe B.V.- Netherlands
Under Armour Retail, Inc.- United States
Global Sourcing Ltd.- Hong Kong
UA International Holding C.V.- Netherlands
MyFitnessPal, Inc.- United States
BRAND HISTORY
Under Armour was founded by Kevin Plank, a then 23-year-old
former special teams captain of the University of Maryland
football team
Plank initially began the business from his grandmothers
basement in Washington, D.C. and traveled up and down the
East Coast with nothing but apparel in the trunk of his car
First team sale came near end of 1996 with a $17,000 sale
From his grandmothers basement, Plank moved to Baltimore
Landed his current headquarters in Tide Point
BRAND HISTORY
Plank was tired of having to change out of the sweat soaked T-
shirts worn under his football jersey; however, he noticed
that his compression shorts worn during practice stayed dry
This inspired him to make a T-shirt using moisture-wicking
synthetic fabric
After graduating from the University of Maryland, Plank
developed his first prototype of the shirt, which he gave to
his Maryland teammates and friends who had gone on to
play in the NFL
Plank soon perfected the design creating a new t-shirt built
from microfibers that wicked moisture and kept athletes
cool, dry, and light
Major competing brands including Nike, Adidas and Reebok
would soon follow in Planks footsteps with their own
moisture-wicking apparel
BRAND HISTORY
Plank opted to use the British spelling armour in the
company name because the toll-free vanity number was still
available for that version
People began to take notice of the brand when a front page
photo of USA Today featured Oakland Raiders quarterback
Jeff George wearing an Under Armour mock turtleneck
Following that front page, Under Armours first major sale
came when an equipment manager from Georgia Tech
requested 10 shirts from Plank
This deal opened the door to a contract with Arizona State
University, North Carolina State and other Division I football
teams
This then led to a word of mouth strategy to grow the business
and proceeded to introduce other product lines
KEY FINANCIALS
KEY EXECUTIVES
RECENT NEWS
Under Armour is reportedly replacing Lehigh Valleys Majestic
as MLB uniform provider, making majority of its products in
Asia
Latest tech release of futuristic heart rate tracking headphones
show how Under Armour is doing what Fitbit and Nike arent
Analysts have upgraded Under Armour in the past week, and
the stock price still looks to be well within buying range for
long-term gains
Under Armour plans to expand its footwear line further. Its set
as target of $1.7 billion in annual sales by 2018, compared
to $678 million it achieved in 2015
Investors are waiting to see how Under Armours massive
investment in digital is going to pay off. This partnership
could provide additional revenue, but the importance of
digital is bigger than that
HISTORY OF CATEGORY
Sector: Athletic Apparel, Footwear & Accessories
Although sports clothing was available from European haute
couture houses and sporty garments were increasingly
worn as everyday or informal wear, the early American
sportswear designers were associated with ready-to-wear
manufacturers.
American sportswear clothes were intended to be washable
and easy to care for, with accessible practical fastening to
enable the modern, increasingly emancipated woman to
dress herself without a maids assistance.
While most fashions in America in the early 20th century were
directly copied from, or influenced heavily by Paris,
American sportswear became a homegrown exception to the
rule.
METHODS OF DISTRIBUTION
Under Armour distributes the majority of its products sold to
their North American wholesale customers and their brand
and factory house stores from distribution facilities they
lease and operate in California and Maryland.
In addition, they distribute their products in North America
through third-party logistics providers with primary
locations in Canada, New Jersey and Florida.
In some instances, they arrange to have products shipped from
the independent factories that manufacture their products
directly to customer-designated facilities.
 MAJOR COMPETITORS
Sears Holdings Corp Levi Strauss & Co Ripley Corp SA
Hennes & Mauritz AB Debenhams Plc Aoyama Trading Co Ltd
Kohls Corp Abercrombie & Fitch Co Lululemon Athletica Inc
Fast Retailing Co Tailored Brands Inc Xebio Co Ltd
PVH Corp Genesco Inc
Ralph Lauren Corp Bon-Ton Stores Inc
Next Group Corp Esprit Holdings Ltd
Burlington Stores Inc Express Inc
Shimamura Co G-III Apparel Group Ltd
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd Columbia Sportswear Co
SEASONAL FACTORS
Under Armour markets its apparel for consumers to choose
HEATGEAR when it is hot, COLDGEAR when it is cold and
ALLSEASONGEAR between the extremes.

REGIONAL FACTORS
Under Armours footwear offerings include football, baseball,
lacrosse, softball and soccer cleats, slides and performance
training, running, basketball and outdoor footwear.
Depending upon which sports are popular in which regions and
what is needed product wise there.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS
Legal Counsel is Cleary Gottileb Steen Transfer & Trust
Company in New York, NY
Auditor is PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
PRODUCT-FORM DESCRIPTION
Specific sweat-wicking shirts for when its hot in order to stay cool.
Specific material made shirts to keep you warm when its cold.
Specifically made sports shoes for the purpose of bringing more
value to customers game.

BENEFITS AND APPEALS OF NEW

PRODUCT
Customers are searching for products that havent been made
before and will take their workout or practices/games to the
next level and leave them feeling more relaxed and just all
around better while working out.
These benefits or appeals could be the different styles of shirts to
keep you warm, cool, water resistant, etc..
NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS
The new wireless heart rate tracking headphones are anew
product introduction for Under Armour.
New Storm Swacket is a jacket made to repel water, be wind
resistant, and hold in warmth for stormy or cold weather.

Many new arrivals of products out for men and women.

Packages also made specifically for sports teams such as
colleges, high schools and club teams.
INNOVATIONS
New technologies and product wear are always being
researched and developed as well as new product lines
coming out

The new technology being acquired and bought for fitness apps
by Under Armour to give themselves and edge against Nike,
such as the wireless heart rate tracking headphones.
 BRAND ANALYSIS
One of Under Armours most successful brands is the Curry basketball shoes.
The shoes themselves have been top sellers in San Francisco, California.
Pricing trends for Under Armour stock have been on the rise lately specifically due
to this shoe line being so successful during the NBA finals time range.
Under Armour has become the second most successful sports brand in the
industry, only being bested by Nike.
Recent News About Competitors:
Adidas just lost their place and is now third in the running for the most popular
sporting brands.
They recently partnered with multiple celebrities to release limited edition and
limited supply sneakers to the consumer market.
Nike, Under Armours main competitor, recently unveiled the potential shoes of
the future, the Hyper Lace.
These shoes have technology built into them that gives them the ability to tie
themselves, similar to the ones seen in the movie series Back To The Future.
CONSUMER PROFILE
Under Armours main target market are people who live active
lifestyles.
Primary customers are men, women, children of usually
higher socio economic status.
With regards to brand awareness, Under Armour has been
slowly becoming much more prominent and well known in
the athletic apparel field with regards to popular
professional athletes wearing their attire.
Colleges as well as high schools are some of Under Armours
top consumers since they buy out enough gear for an entire
team to wear, including items ranging from their shoes to
their helmets.
Under Armour branded products tend to provide users with
feelings of being self confident as well as the feeling of self
enlightenment.
CONSUMER PROFILE
Under Armours busiest time of the year, like most companies,
is during the winter season. They tend to stock retail stores
with an excessive amount of merchandise during this time
of year since the majority of their sales come from the final
few months of a year and beginning months of a new year.

Under Armour has a very unique strategy for creating brand

loyalty.
Company does not solely focus on the pricing of its items, or
limited quantities that will create a resell market.
They focus on creating a connection with their consumers by
providing them with high-quality, durable and long lasting
clothing apparel that are specifically made for working out
effectively.
ADVERTISING/ MARKETING
COMMUNICATIONS
One of Under Armours most successful campaigns was
targeted towards helping not only just the United States
veterans, but also Policemen, EMTs and all first responders.
Through the Wounded Warrior Freedom Project, Under Armour
was able to create apparel for this particular campaign.
Selling it to consumers on the promise that a portion of the
revenue will go towards funding projects that Under Armour
created to help these warriors continue to live an active life
style.
MEDIA FOR UNDER ARMOUR
In 2015, Under Armours marketing budget was increased by 11%, or to
$330 million.
This year, in order to create more brand awareness during the Olympic
Games, Under Armour increased their budget again.
This increase was strategic in order to boost brand awareness in foreign
nations that they are yet to expand to.
The trend in their spending pieces back to boosting the brand popularity,
instead of focusing more on their current customer base.
Under Armours market share has grown exponentially.
Their spending has not caused any sort of deficit in the market share
price and has only boosted the value of their stock.
Compared to its top competitors, such as Nike, Under Armour has
experienced a larger percentage increase to their stock price compare
to other rivals.
PROMOTIONS
The biggest strategy Under Armour is using is the underdog approach.
Instead of trying to endorse star athletes that have proven their worth,
Under Armour likes to target the underdogs.
They create contracts with athletes that havent had their moment to
shine because they are still new to a team, not a first draft pick, or
have no yet played a season.
By doing so, they have been able to lockdown major partners like Steph
Curry, basketball player for the NBA Golden State Warriors.
The partnership with Curry has been so successful, the shoe he released
has become the fourth most popular shoe on the market right now.
Another major promotion that was touched on earlier was the Wounded
Warrior Project.
This promotion has allowed Under Armour to almost become the
American brand of sports clothing.
DIGITAL STRATEGIES
Under Armours website was created to serve numerous
purposes.
Allows for consumers to become informed on Under
Armours mission and culture.
Consumers are able to browse the selection of products
offered and order these products directly to their home.
Information about different projects that are going on within
Under Armour such as The Wounded Warrior Project and I
WILL WHAT I WANT.

Under Armour also uses Confuctor Searchlight, a search engine

optimizing software.
They have been able to boost the amount of time spent
browsing products, as well as key AdWords that lead to
Under Armour.
SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
Under Armours social media presence is mainly aimed towards
customer satisfaction.
Their twitter is made to answer customer questions and their
Facebook is made to promote events, newly released products,
and certain collaborations with athletes.
They have an official social media page dedicated to their company
as a whole, as well as many official individual pages dedicated to
the many specific sports that they design product and apparel for.
When Under Armour follows users on social media, it cause the user
to feel empowered since such a large corporation is interested in
them and wants to see and hear what they have to say or post.
Their social media properly supports their brand by showing many
pictures of men and women living an active lifestyle and working
out which is what the brand message is all about.
OFFICIAL TWITTER
OFFICIAL INSTAGRAM
OFFICIAL WOMENS INSTAGRAM
OFFICIAL BASKETBALL INSTAGRAM
OFFICIAL CHILDREN INSTRAGRAM
OFFICIAL FACEBOOK
HOOTSUITE DASHBOARD
OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION
Rule 40 of the Olympic Games in Rio of this year was amended
which opened a huge window for unofficial sponsors of the
Games to be able to profit off of the Games almost as much
as official sponsors.

Under Armour was quick to nab a few key sponsors, such as the
American idol Michael Phelps as well as Kelly OHara.
Doing so allowed them to be able to increase popularity
throughout foreign nations that they have yet to expand to
as well as ones that they already have their foot in the door
with.
BRAND VALUE
The first quarter of 2016 showed great improvement for brand
value for Under Armour.
With the release of the shoes that were made in their
partnership with Steph Curry, Under Armour was able to
increase revenue by over 200 million dollars.
Their stock rose about 7% according to the Baltimore Sun.
The Under Armour brand is steady rising and analysts believe it
will eventually overcome Nike as the leader in sports
fashion.
PERCEPTUAL MAP
BRAND EXPLORATORY
Based on the survey I conducted with a total of 16
respondents, here are some results that show Under
Armours brand awareness and favorability through
qualitative and quantitative research.

Q: When you think about choosing athletic attire, what brands

come to mind?

This helps shows that Under Armour is one of the top brand
names that come to mind when thinking about athletic
brands.
BRAND EXPLORATORY
Q: Have you heard of the athletic brand Under Armour?

This shows clearly that Under Armour is an extremely

well-known brand.
BRAND EXPLORATORY
Q: Name any celebrities, sports or entertainment, that you
know have Under Armour sponsorships?

This helps visualize that Under Armour is tied in the minds of

people to many professional athletes, most commonly Steph
Curry.
 BRAND EXPLORATORY
Q: When you think of Under Armour, what words do you
associate?

This shows that most people relate the Under Armour brand
image as something that is expensive, yet also high-quality
and performance driven. These are good indicators of a strong
brand message.
BRAND EXPLORATORY
Q: Do you own Under Armour products?

This shows that most people do own at least one

product of Under Armours.
 BRAND EXPLORATORY
Q: Please select the Under Armour products you currently own:

This helps to show that the strongest product line for Under
Armour in the eyes of consumers is the Clothing Apparel, followed
closely behind by Undergarments and then shoes.
 BRAND EXPLORATORY
Q: Please specify the reason you do not own any Under Armour
products:

This shows that the most common reason as to why consumers do

not have Under Armour products is that they are portrayed in the
minds of buyers as too expensive of a product.
 BRAND EXPLORATORY
Q: When purchasing sports apparel, which attributes do you
consider the most important?

This helps to visualize that most consumers believe for comfort to

be the most important attribute to sports apparel, followed closely
behind by the price and then quality.

On the opposite side, many find performance and brand name to

be not important at all.
 BRAND EXPLORATORY
Q: How would you describe your overall opinion of Under
Armour?

This shows that the overall opinion for the Under Armour brand is
either very favorable or somewhat favorable. This is
extremely beneficial to Under Armour to be seen in this light.
BRAND EXPLORATORY
Q: How likely is it that you would recommend Under Armour to
a friend?

This shows that the majority of consumers would be somewhat

likely to recommend Under Armour to another. This is great in
terms of word-of-mouth marketing to build their brand image.
BRAND EXPLORATORY
From the qualitative and quantitative research conducted
through this survey, I am able to analyze Under Armours
brand strength, favorability, and uniqueness.

Strength: HIGH
Average
Favorability:

HIGH
Uniqueness:
 RECOMMENDATIONS
Overall, Under Armours brand elements and current marketing strategies have helped
them grow and attain the spot as the second largest brand in athletic apparel
industry. However, if Under Armour would like to continue to gain more market share,
they should focus their marketing efforts on the following brand recommendations.
#1: Increase the brand awareness of Under Armours womens apparel line with the
female demographic by educating more women on what the brand offers for women.
This can be done by creating a series of TV commercials that showcase women
athletes enduring workout while wearing Under Armour. Even possibly women
celebrities wearing Under Armour apparel.
#2: Increase market share by educating consumers of Under Armours unique point-of-
difference with temperature control and performance gear by showing them the
benefits.
This can be done by designing TV commercials dedicated to unique temperature
control, and performance enhancing attributes by focusing on college athletes and
showing them on the field or court.
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