Integrated Marketing Campaign | Report

Running head: INTEGRATED MARKETING CAMPAIGN
INTEGRATED MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Context and Analysis.......................................................................................................................2
The use of Semiotics in the campaign.........................................................................................3
The use of Non-verbal Message Codes.......................................................................................4
Evaluation of Campaign..................................................................................................................5
Linear Model of Communications...............................................................................................5
Three component attitude model.................................................................................................7
Meaning and Effectiveness..............................................................................................................9
Communication Mix....................................................................................................................9
YouTube..................................................................................................................................9
Facebook................................................................................................................................10
Official website......................................................................................................................11
Storytelling................................................................................................................................11
The manner in which the meaning is created among audiences................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Critical Reflection..........................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................15

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#I WILL WHAT I WANT
Introduction
The campaign ‘I Will What I Want’ by Under Armour specifically focused on identifying
the difficulties that might be faced by a female athlete. In this relation, the campaign aimed at
empowering and celebrating the success of the athletic females while featuring Copeland as a
role story teller. The campaign’s motif was to introduce a new line of propositions by UA for
female athletes and help them dream of their position through the story telling capability of an
influential athlete, Copeland (Murray 2016). The campaign was created in form of a video and
was released in July 2014 after the failure of Adidas in attracting the attention of the female
athletes through their digital campaign (Murray 2016). Therefore, the research would analyze the
campaign through the linear model of communication and three component attitude model for
interpreting the success factors.
Context and Analysis
The campaign I Will What I Want specifically aimed at drawing the attention of the
female athletes while empowering their activities. The campaign made use of a video of 31
seconds where the media opened with a voiceover in the context of a rejection letter -“You have
the wrong body for ballet.” (Murray 2016). The message was meant to stimulate the sportswear
based needs of a female athlete while performing. The focus of the lens changed towards
ballerina Misty Copeland and her performance which was full of grace and muscular métier. The
campaign acted as a message of empowerment for the female athletes while showing that they
would be able to do what they desire to do. It has been noted that UA has expanded the scope of
their propositions in male accessories till 2013 (Pourazad, Stocchi and Pare 2019).

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However, the organization felt the need of maximizing their market potential through the
introduction of new range of propositions for the female athlete customers who have an urge
towards perfecting their performance. In this relation, the rejection letter played an influential
role in inducing the need for an improved accessory through – “You have the wrong body for
ballet” (Murray 2016). The failure of Adidas in attracting the attention of the female athletes in
the year 2013, again backed the intention of the concerned organization in widening its market
prospects (Murray 2016).
The advertisement went viral in YouTube and achieved 4 million views in the first week.
It has been noted that the audience spent an average of four minutes in the website of the
concerned business during the peak of the campaign (Murray 2016). The success factors of the
campaign was reflected a 28% increase in sales volume of women’s sportswear and a 42%
increase in traffic to their official website (Murray 2016).
The use of Semiotics in the campaign
The Semiotics is a study of symbolic communication which included signs, logos and
gestures (Pourazad, Stocchi and Pare 2019). In this relation, the application of Semiotics while
analyzing the campaign “I Will What I Want” would help in identifying the critical success
factors. The tag line of the campaign itself reflected empowerment of the female athletes (Bruhn
and Schnebelen 2017). The tag line critically administered the capability of every female athlete
in improving their performance through perseverance while overcoming the barriers. I Will What
I Want induced the sense that female would be empowered to exercise in accordance to their
desire. On the other hand, the portrayal of Misty Copeland in the advertisement created a sense
of anti-discrimination in the field of performances.

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Misty Copeland is the first African-American who was casted for the scene of the
campaign which reflected the anti- discrimination related intentions of the organization. On the
other hand, the line of rejection stating that Copeland does not have the desired body for a ballet
and portrayal of the victorious story helped the concerned organization in drawing the attention
of the female athletes (Shen et al. 2016). The use of symbols in the campaign through the voice
over and the tag line assisted the organization in drawing the attention of the targeted female
athlete consumers towards the sportswear that was introduced by UA.
The use of Non-verbal Message Codes
The use of non- verbal message codes in the campaign’s video was specifically reliant on
the short performance that was made by soloist ballerina Misty Copeland. The well-toned muscle
of the ballerina and the gracious performance was enough to draw the attention of the female
athletes that would be empowered through the sportswear developed by the organization. The
performance of Copeland acted as a simile to the performance of the propositions. The code in
the campaign was the free form activities, performance, vitality and endurance. The use of the
codes in the campaign was reflected through the short performance that was played by the
ballerina. The use of codes are made in the advertisement campaigns with the objective of
influencing and instigating the buying preferences of the consumers (Kellaris and Machleit
2016). In this relation, the use of codes like perseverance, endurance and performance helped the
organization in making their target audience aware of the utility that is being promised by the
organization UA in improving their performances as athletes.

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Evaluation of Campaign
Linear Model of Communications
The linear model of communication aims at improving the rate of communication
between the receiver and the sender of the message while passing through noise while improving
the cognition (McCann 2016). In this connection, the campaign that was devised by the
organization UA aimed at attracting the attention of the female athletes who are passionate
towards their performances. The organization sourced the huge scope of marketing their
sportswear to the female after the failure of Adidas in drawing the attention of the female
customers through the digital platforms (Finne and Grönroos 2017). UA took the initiative of
developing a content and featured Misty Copeland in their advertisement with the purpose of
reaching out to the female athlete enthusiasts.
Figure 1: Linear model of communication
(Source: KAL and ABED ALGHANI 2019)

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The noise, as per the model, was the other organizations that provided similar
propositions to the female athletes as per the changing needs. The organization took the initiative
of choosing the most widely used social media platform, YouTube, for promoting their
propositions in accordance to the demand of the customers. Quinton and Simkin (2017) opined
that the efficient communication of utility that is promised by a proposition permits an
organization in improving its market scope. Therefore, the message of the premium experience
that the organization proposed through the female sportswear were encoded in the form of a
visual advertisement through the use of non- verbal codes relating to perseverance, performance
and endurance.
The advertisement went viral in YouTube and helped the organization in empowering the
rate of awareness among their target audience. The message of the campaign was indicative of
the factor in which the sportswear of the concerned organization would assist and empower the
female athletes in perfecting their performances (Palos-Sanchez, Saura and Debasa 2018). The
decode phase critically enumerated the outcome of the message through the growing interest of
the target group of customers and the rising sales figures. The receiver or the potential customers
of the organization, the female athlete enthusiasts looked at the campaign with a positive gesture.
The overall message influenced their buying behavior. The organization primarily focused on the
development of sportswear for male athletes. However, the diversification of the propositions
enabled the venture in gaining a competitive edge over the existing market players like Adidas.
Dunlop, Freeman and Jones (2016) opined that the completeness of the marketing
communication permits an organization in making the target customers ware of the propositions
that are made by the same and the competitive edge while expanding in diverse global locations.
In this connection, the concerned venture, UA, took the initiative of maximizing the market

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scope through a detailed video campaign stating their competitive advantage over the existing
players. The perfection of the advertisement campaign also enabled the organization in avoiding
the ‘noise’ element of the model, relating to the similar propositions that are made by the other
competitors in the market.
Three component attitude model
The attitude model specifically identifies the different emotional and attitude related
aspects that influence the buying behavior of the customers (Wilkinson 2016). Gausebeck et al.
(2018) opined that the efficient understanding of the buying preferences and attitude of the
customers. In this relation, the application of the attitude model while evaluating the campaign
would support in developing cognition on the success factors. The concerned organization, UA,
created the content to reflect the manner in which the sportswear of the business would empower
the performance of the female athletes while providing them with the liberty of making easy
moves rather than the propositions that are made by the similar market players (Blair 2017). The
women empowerment related concept that was highlighted in the advertisement assisted the
organization in negating the social belief that female athletes are restricted on the basis of their
gender.

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Figure 2: The attitude model
(Source: Keegan and Rowley 2017)
The tagline- “I Will What I Want”, itself created a scenario that the women would be
able to do whatever they desire through the utilization of the designed sportswear. The campaign
mostly inflicted a blow on the beliefs that women are not meant for being athletes. During the
video, the rejection line “You have the wrong body for ballet” instigated the emotions of the
female athletes to negate the societal beliefs. In this relation, the campaign, designed by the
organization, made use of instigation for backing the purchase intent of the female athlete
enthusiasts. Kline et al. (2019) stated that the success of the digital campaigns that are developed
by the organizations rests on the influential role of the same in backing the purchase intent of the
buyers. Moreover, Harmeling et al. (2017) reflected that the utilization of the three component
attitude model supports an organization in identifying the different aspects of the purchase
intents that influences the buying behavior of the customers.

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The use of the tagline and the appropriate use of the content supported the organization in
influencing the buying behavior of the female customers. It has been noted that being a female
athlete is not an easy job specifically due to the design of the sportswear. The use of certain
coding mechanisms in the campaign and the feasibility of design of the sportswear are reflected
through the performance of Misty Copeland. Again, the story telling element in the campaign
helped the organization in conveying the convenience of using the sportswear that was
specifically designed for the female athletes. The behavioral aspects of the female athletes
depended on oppression that are faced by the same while performing (Patti et al. 2017).
Therefore, the campaign made use of the aspect of inconvenience faced by the women and the
empowerment that the new design of sportswear would provide to its customers. The concept of
empowerment, through the campaign, assisted the organization in maximizing the sales activity
while influencing the feelings and negating the social beliefs of oppression and suppression.
Meaning and Effectiveness
Communication Mix
A communication mix is utilized by an organization with the purpose of improving the
scope of marketing the propositions while improving awareness among the potential customers
(Saura, Palos-Sánchez and Cerdá Suárez 2017). The major aspects of change in the marketing
operations are reliant on the efficient communication of the organization with the customers in
accordance to the market demand. In this connection, the section will focus on identifying the
different media vehicles that were used by the organization, UA, for their marketing campaign
and the manner in which it contributed to the critical success factors.

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YouTube
The campaign that was designed by the concerned organization gain grounds in YouTube
as it streamed and attracted around 4 million views in the first week (Youtube.com 2014). The
utilization of YouTube helped the organization in maximizing the sales volume while improving
customer engagement in the different operations.
Figure 4: YouTube video for I Will What I Want campaign
(Source: Youtube.com 2014)
Facebook
The organization took the initiative of introducing the I Will What I Want campaign in
Facebook through posts shared by Gisele Bündchen and the concerned venture (Facebook 2014).
It helped the organization in improving awareness among the customers and enhancing their
marketing scope.

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Figure 4: Facebook post for I Will What I Want campaign
(Source: Facebook 2014)
Official website
The official website of the organization acted as an efficient media vehicle for addressing
the queries of the customers while making the same aware of the different benefits and utilities
of the proposition that is being made by the venture. It has been noted that during the YouTube
Campaigning the visitors to the company’s website increased, spending at an average of 4
minutes to explore the new propositions (Murray 2016). It helped the venture in maximizing
customer knowledge on the propositions that are being provided by the same.
Storytelling
Every marketing campaign is associated with a story frame that helps an organization in
improving the engagement of the same with the key stakeholders or the customers. Zayer et al.
(2018) stated that the story telling aspect of the marketing communication is reliant on the needs
of the customers of correlating themselves with the projected scenario. In this connection, the

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story of the soloist ballerina Misty Copeland was used with the purpose of drawing the attention
of the female athlete enthusiasts. The story line of her being rejected as a women having
imperfect ‘body for ballet’ and her gracious and overwhelming performance created sensation
among the female athletes, who aimed at perfecting their performance. The feeling of female
athlete empowerment is conveyed through the story telling experience while influencing the
buying behavior of the target customers.
The manner in which the meaning is created among audiences
The evaluation of the campaign portrayed that the organization aimed at empowering the
female athlete enthusiasts while providing a storyline of soloist ballerina Misty Copeland. The
tag line of the campaign aimed at drawing the attention of the female customers who have an
urge for perfecting their activities and are facing barriers due to the their design of their
sportswear. The organization created a content for the marketing communication which focused
on portraying the unique design of the sportswear and the added utility to the customers. I Will
What I Want campaign created a sense of liberation for the female athletes, without bothering for
the shape of their dress while pursuing their dreams.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above assessment it might be stated that the marketing
communication related activities are specifically empowered through the effectiveness of the
content and the positioning of the same towards the target audience. The design of the marketing
campaigning signifies the success factors for a business while acting on the objective of
maximizing awareness among the customers and sales volume. In this connection, the I Will
What I Want campaign of UA proved to be a success backed strategy of the organization while
introducing sportswear for women while empowering their performances with value added

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propositions. The research critically examined the Semiotics and non- verbal codes that were
used by the organization for drawing the attention of the target group of customers. On the other
hand, the extensive use of storyline while featuring Misty Copeland assisted the venture in
empowering the buying behavior of the customers. The research made use of the attitude model
and the linear model of marketing communication for identifying and evaluating the success of
the campaign while suiting with the corporate objectives of the venture.
Critical Reflection
During the beginning of the analysis, I initially thought the main concern of the brand in
discussion was to focus on targeting the female audience to increase in revenue. However, after
close examination this has helped to gain further perspective of the module. I have studied the
various theories that will help me in the future to create a campaign which will be as successful
as I will what I want. The campaign has successfully incorporated the theory of linear model of
communication, attitude and semiotic and others. These framework and theories has enabled me
to understand how the brand wants to be received and draw in the target consumer which is the
women in this case. This campaign uses digital and traditional media such as social media,
magazine and billboard for their advertisement ensuring the maximum dissemination of
information. The campaign on YouTube went viral and garnered 4 million views in a week
which shows the success of the advertisement.
Drawing upon the knowledge gathered from the Principle of Marketing Communication I
was able to identify the various communication objectives that Under Amour has used. They
have used various tactics to stimulate the interest of the target audience and to enhance their
marketing approach towards the target audience. In my report I have used various theories and
framework to analyse the ad campaign and the intent of it through the video. The first thing that I

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noticed about the video is the focus on the ballet dancer’s leg which was strong and muscular.
The voice in the background is of a child who reads a rejection letter from a ballet school stating
how the applicant is a not a right fit for the dance academy as simply lack the required body type
for it. The model chosen for this advertisement is Misty Copeland a ballet dancer who had faced
rejection for her features. This discourse is essential for the campaign as it allows the discourse
from a female perspective who have always asked to conform to a certain perspective this
immediately resonated with the target audience.
The campaign involved other famous faces who are not associated with sport such as model
Giselle Bunchen. This was a risk to the campaign as the competitors had failed to attract the
female audience using this tactic. However, in this regard too, the advertisement focused on how
women are assigned certain roles and constantly criticised for their choices and never find
validation. This message is also relatable for the target audience. The focus on creating a brand
image that encourages their consumers to be who they want has helped Under Armour to
increase company sales. These shows that the company has been able to gather deep
understanding of consumer insight. Under Armour has researched the issue pertaining to the lack
of female perspective and have been able to deliver correctly to the rising trend of positive body
image. Using their through research and using the correct communication mix to attract their
target audience. I have analysed, examined and interpreted the various aspect of the campaign
which has enabled me achieve knowledge and understanding about the subject.

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Contributions of an Emerging Community of Research on Communication for Happiness and
Social Change.