Q&A: Under Armour Makes Long-Run Calculation

Under Armour, previously known for its racy ads for men’s skivvies, kicked off its entry into the shoe category in a big way last year with its first-ever Super Bowl spot. Though it’s sitting the big game out this year, the brand has been busy embarking on yet another series of firsts, with a new in-house campaign, airing this month, called “Athletes Run,” supporting the brand’s entry into a new category—running shoes. Under Armour svp-brand Steve Battista said the marketing effort is the biggest in the brand's history, and pits the performance apparel maker directly against the likes of rivals such as Nike and Adidas. Battista discusses how performance-based footwear is faring in a down economy, whether a bad economy is good for the sport of running and why the company is forking over even more advertising dollars to get into a segment with no shortage of competitors.Brandweek: What's Under Armour trying to achieve with its ‘Athletes Run’ campaign? How much is the company spending to market this campaign? Steve Battista: It's Under Armour's take on running. We're aggressive, yet authentic and inclusive. It's the biggest launch in our history. It's our launch for the year. We'll take something as introverted as running and scare the bejesus out of you in 30 seconds. If it makes you want to get up off the couch and work out, then we've done our job. We're going to spend between 12.5 and 13 percent of our revenue this year on marketing, which is bigger than the launch of our Cross Trainer last year [which included a Super Bowl spot].BW: How has the brand's positioning-’performance and authenticity’—fared in a down economy? Is the combination what consumers really want at the moment?SB: We have to be true to the brand and loyal to our consumers, who helped us get to where we are in 13 years. There is the hardcore runner out there who is looking for the newest technology in a running shoe and there are tens of thousands of team athletes you don't realize who are out there. They are indeed runners, and we will speak to that broad range. Past commercials and launches have gone either really deep or narrow into one sport. This is definitely a different take on the sport of running, a much broader group than we've ever had before. It's ‘Athletes Run,’ not ‘Athletes Jog,’ and it definitely has the Under Armour spunk to it.BW: Footwear rival Nike recently posted a 1.1 percent decline in U.S. sales. What impact has the recession had on Under Armour? Isn't performance one of the first attributes to go in a recessionary environment?SB: There is a lot of research out there that says the sport of running actually becomes more popular in hard economic times. I don't know if I'd subscribe to that theory, but it does seem to make sense. From our standpoint, it's about timing for our brand and timing for putting out the best product that we can. At the end of the day, an athlete is going to wear both apparel and footwear that's going to make him or her better on the field. If there is an advantage they can get from their footwear, they will spend the money and make sure they can get that advantage.BW: Where do you see the performance apparel and footwear industry headed? (adidas, for instance, is focusing on the trendy side of sports apparel, with a new global campaign for its “Originals” fashion brand, which launched this month.) SB: Under Armour has always been based in performances…And we stick to that platform, our universal guarantee of performance. [Of course,] the evolution of our designs, new color waves and styles is only going to broaden the product line we have. And you'll see that open up particularly in the women's apparel lines.BW: Under Armour saw sales in its women's business rise 27.5percent to $50.3 million last quarter, and the “Athletes Run” campaign includes a 30-second “women's only” spot. Why the big emphasis on marketing to women? SB: We serve more females than male teams. The female consumer-the team girl, high school and collegiate girl who's playing sports competitively- they are, by and large, fanatics of the Under Armour brand. We've been connecting with them and we will continue to connect with them through the year on all of our branding platforms. I think running in particular will be our best vehicle to reach the collegiate or post-collegiate women who is no longer playing competitively, but still working out very hard, still training for everything from half marathons to triathlons. BW: And this is Under Armour's first venture into the running space. Why now? SB: This is all built off of the strategy we've had in place for a decade or more. For one, we wanted to finish team sports first, get the college footwear down, and now running is the next logical step. We wanted to make sure the price is right and that the product delivers upon that universal guarantee of performance. We hit the calendar on both points and now seemed like the perfect time. BW: The new running shoe boasts a proprietary cartilage cushioning technology. But how are you getting this message out, especially to consumers who normally shop at big box retailers?SB: When you start talking about the big box sporting goods, we needed to make sure we told a very simple story about our technology, and it all starts with this test. The bold letters say, ‘There are two types of runners. Which one are you?' It's a two-step test to see which kind of runner you are…We have very complicated technology, but we tell a very simple story.BW: And so, what kind of a runner are you? And your favorite shoe?SB: The Apparition. I'm a neutral runner, once I took our test here in-store. Also, there's a foot sleeve, which makes it almost so you don't have to tie your laces. And the ventilation keeps your feet nice and cool in areas. The cushioning is the key to the whole shoe.

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Q&A: Under Armour Makes Long-Run Calculation

Elaine Wong

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