Under Armour seeks to drive ‘brand heat’

Sports brand Under Armour is evolving its approach to marketing, with fewer “anthemic, top-of-funnel marketing campaigns” and more focus on “capitalizing on our assets to generate returns via product marketing”, says its CEO.

Context 

• Speaking on a Q2 earnings call, Stephanie Linnartz explained that the current fiscal year is one of “assessment, resetting, and simplifying our approach, to balance the short-term optimization and profitability of our business with long-term brand building and the ability to deliver more consistent top line growth”.
• “Within this construct, we are confident that driving global brand heat and delivering elevated products and design will combine holistically over the long run to drive sales growth in the US while maintaining momentum in our key international markets,” the CEO added. 

Brand heat and beyond 

• The successes of individual athletes and teams wearing Under Armour helps foster deeper collaborations and the creation of “brand heat moments” that can be activated via multiple channels. 
• With most consumers starting shopping journeys on social media, website or app, Under Armour is working to improve these experiences.
• A new approach to digital and social media strategy is “yielding improved performance metrics across our channels with strong double-digit growth in followers, shares, likes, and reach across our Instagram accounts”, Linnartz reported. 
• “On TikTok, which continues to be our fastest-growing platform, we’ve seen significant increases in followers, engagements, and views on the Under Armour channel,” she added.
• A recently launched US loyalty program gained more than 1 million members in the first few months; members are almost twice as likely to make a repeat purchase and to return to the brand within 90 days.
• Under Armour sees a big opportunity designing products specifically for women, but “it’s not just about the product”, said Linnartz, “it’s about the marketing and we need to have a different feel to the creative and how we market to women”. 
  

Sourced from Seeking Alpha