Under Armour's Marketing Strategies and Brand Analysis

This report provides a detailed analysis of Under Armour's marketing communication strategies. It begins with an introduction to marketing communication and then examines the company's marketing mix, including product, price, place, and promotion. The report then explores Under Armour's brand association, covering brand identity, brand image, and brand personality. It delves into the company's current strategies, focusing on brand positioning. Finally, the report examines various marketing communication strategies employed by Under Armour, such as branding, advertising, positioning, and corporate social responsibility, offering insights into how the company communicates with its target audience and builds its brand.

MARKETING
COMMUNICATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
1) Four P's of marketing mix.......................................................................................................3
2.) Brand Association of Under Armour.....................................................................................4
3.) Current strategy used by Under Armour ...............................................................................6
4) Marketing Communication Strategies....................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
The different medium of communication which organisation adopts for exchange of
information about their goods and services to the customers is known as marketing
communication. Experts of marketing communication plan different types of impressive
communication strategy and deliver it to the targeted audience. Under Armour is an American
company manufacturer of sports clothing. Company's global headquarters are located in
Baltimore and Maryland. In this study a brief overview of need of marketing mix of under
Armour and their brand association in respect brand identity, brand image, brand
personality(Alserhan., 2017.). The current strategy adopted by Under Armour for their brand
positioning and which marketing communication strategy require to be adopted by under armour
for better exposure of their company's product.
1) Four P's of marketing mix
Marketing mix of under Armour explains the marketing strategy of Under Armour. This
strategy tells about the promotion strategy, pricing strategy, advertisement strategy which can
help the firm to elaborate the customer base and increase sales of the products(Armstrong and
et.al., 2018).
Product:
Product designed by Under Armour is for all age groups which designs sportswear for all
age groups they have three main categories on the basis of fabrics they are heat gears, cold gear,
all season gears which are used as coolers and for comforts in different seasons for better
performance of the athletes this makes them unique as compared to other product in the market,
product design is made such that it is comfortable for the athletes and sports personality(Baker.,
2016). Various other categories are turf wears and street wears for all age groups. They use high
quality of technology for the fabrication of their product which give them a regular customer
base. They focus on the technology which gives a different customer base(Chernev., 2018).
Technological update with fabrication is so much strong, products like athlete recovery
sleepwear, sunblock, cool switch makes Under Armour different from other brands due to this
unique product they make. They use micro fiber technology to keep body as per the requirement
this makes the products unique.
Price:

Pricing strategy of Under Armour is very different as the products made are unique their
price are high as compared to other brands. This is because of superior innovation in the quality
and fabrication(Gillespie., 2015). Under Armour targets mostly athletes and players and their
recovery, they are focused on fabrication technology rather than pricing as once the customer
trust is built pricing wont affect the production. Under Armour targets the segment of customers
rather than price. They have a unique pricing strategy which highlight it out of all other brands.
Their aim is to focus on quality rather than price. Customers willing to pay higher price for the
innovation in technology with the products.
Place:
Under Armour is widely spread across all borders of the world by its various distribution
channels. Under Armour has two main strategy of namely direct and indirect channels. Direct
channels is company owned under this brand and the second one is through the online channel
which is widespread across the globe(Hartley and et.al., 2015). Online channel has various sites
like Amazon and it's own online portal. company operates around 188 factory houses. Its base is
in North America with 150 factory houses. They sell product through online official websites
and deliver the product worldwide. Company is trying to improve its global footprints across the
globe with potential growth of customers.
Promotions:
Under Armour does not outsource its agencies to others they keep their strategy intact
they use simple ways of promotions like television advertisements, hoardings, banners,
advertisement on social media like YouTube and sponsorship. They have used campaign process
like 'I Will' campaign which focuses on athletes of different background like basketball, football,
golf, running, hiking etc(Solomon and et.al., 2017). they introduced many other campaigns like
“basketball matters, community matters more” which introduced many basketball courts in
America to promote diversity. They also offer free shipping for the customers.
2.) Brand Association of Under Armour
a.) Brand Identity
Brand Identity refers to those brand elements which are visible and differentiates a brand from
other brands manufacturing same kind of products, reinforces message that brand wants to
convey and strengthen reputation of the brand. Brand identity elements could be colors, patterns,

design, logos, packaging, typography etc. which helps consumers to identify and distinguish
brand from other brands(Kannan and et.al., 2016).
Under Armour's brand identities are:
 Neutral in color, not many colors are used in products and logo.
 Specifically products are Unisex. Although there are different products for different
genders but identity is unisex.
 Logo can be identified by customers easily and differentiates itself from other brands. It
is simple yet effective logo. Emphasis was laid on symmetry, is easy on eyes, and easily
recognizable because of brand awareness.
 Intended for indoor as well as outdoor activities.
 Packaging does not consists of too many colors but uses a straight black background and
product related specifications and statistics are mentioned
b.) Brand Image
Brand Image refers to how customers think about a particular brand or it can be considered as
how the customer perceives a brand significantly unique association related with the brand which
creates a perception in the minds of the customer(Hult and et.al.,2016). Brand image is not an
overnight process it develops over time. Brand image formation in minds of the customer are
based on their interconnection, interaction, involvement and experience with the particular brand.
These experiences could be in many forms not particularly related to buying or using the
products of a brand.
Under Armour's Brand Image consists of:
 Athletic image which means it is for everyone who wants to stay fit and indulged in
athletic activity.
 Brands image is high-tech and strong, products are of great quality and modern.
 Comfortable, innovative, American and designed for fitness oriented customers.
 Comfortable to wear and long lasting.
c.)Brand Personality
Brand personality refers to the different set of human attributes, traits or characteristics which are
related or portrayed by a brand(Swayne and et.al.,2016). Through brand personality customer
can relate himself/herself with the brand. Effective brand personality increases brand value by
having constant set of characteristics that specific segment of customers are delighted with. This

personality is of qualitative value and provides an added advantage to the brand(Zhang., and
et.al., 2016).
Under Armour's brand personality consists:
 Uses strong brand ambassadors to create optimal fitness personality of the brand. Brand
ambassadors includes Dwayne Johnson, Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, Jordan Spieth, Cam
Newton, Michael Phelps, Lindsey Vonn, Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, and Misty
Copeland.
 Using strong athletes as brand ambassadors and designing products has provides Under
Armour brand personality of fitness orientation, strong , powerful, rugged, serious and for
both male and female.
 Sponsorship given by Under Armour to different sports personalities performing in
NBA-National Basketball Association, NFL- National Football League and different golf
events also demonstrates strong brand personality of athleticism to Under Armour.
3.) Current strategy used by Under Armour
Brand positioning
Brand positioning strategy is used by Under Armour company for marketing its products.
In positioning strategy marketer try to create an image or brand identity in the minds of their
target market for the product, brand or organization(Saren and et.al., 2016). Good brand strategy
helps the Under Armour company in guiding marketing strategy by clarifying what a brand is
about and how unique. Brand positioning refers to the positioning or image which a brand enjoys
in the minds of present and potential customers.
Positioning by Product attributes and benefits- In this strategy a product is shown by the
Under Armour company to the market. All the details of product is shown by the company which
includes the quality, feature of products materials used in making it and how the product can full
fill the needs of consumers(Van der Lans and et.al., 2017). As Under Armour is a clothing brand
so it will market new collection of clothes according to latest market trend. Which includes
trouser, caps and T shirts as it is a sport clothing brand.
Positioning by Price/Quality- Under Armour used price/quality strategy to position the brand.
In this strategy the brand shows that how the products are valuable according to its price and
quality. Another reason to use price quality characteristics for positioning is to focus on value or
quality offered by the Under Armour brand at very competitive price(Vanhuele and et.al., 2016).

The price is an important consideration but the product quality must be comparable to, or even
better than competitive brands. Under Armour charge high price for their products but the quality
of products justifies the price charged.
Positioning by competitor- Competitors may be as important to positioning strategy as a firms
own product or services. For Under Armour to make their positioning strategy effective it is
necessary to focus on specific competitors as what product they are offering and at what price,
what strategy other brands are using for brand positioning, it is necessary to considered
that(Ryan., 2016.). The position strategy must be made in the view that how it will be able to
face the competition in the market.
Positioning by use- It is a way to communicate a specific image or position for a brand to
associate it with the specific use of the products(Pike., 2015). As Under Armour is a clothing
brand so it will details that how their clothes are useful for sport persons. And the brand also
make other accessories which are used in various sports and details out that how each product is
useful and valuable.
4) Marketing Communication Strategies
Marketing communication strategies are used by a Brand to achieve the objective or target
goals. Brands try to convey customers about their product and advertise through the marketing
communication strategies. This strategies attract customers to purchase products offered by a
particular Brand.
Below are some marketing communication strategies used by Under Armour:
 Brand and logo – Brand is identification of that company or product . It shows the
quality of the product and depends upon the reputation of the company because many
customers demand branded products and Under Armour benefited from brand name and
has became a recognized brand by it's customers(Wedel and et.al.,2017). It has affected
positively on the sales of the products offered by Under Armour. Under Armour's visible
feature of the brand is logo. People can forget the brand but they cannot forget the logo.
Under Armour logo is different, attractive and easily recognizable.
 Advertising – Advertising is the important to create demand among people. Advertising
of the product helps to show new product in the market(Sajid., 2016). It can be
expensive but important for marketing . Under Armour advertise it's product through

news paper , television , websites and social media . Social media along with brand
ambassadors has proven to be best platform for Under Armour to introduce new products.
 Positioning: Under Armour while positioning their brand or product adopt a strategic
process which involves marketing of their brand and product in a certain way to create
and establish an identity within the minds of the customers in the target market(Hulland
and et.al., 2018). Market positioning of Under Armour's product must be maintained over
the life of the product. Positioning requires ongoing initiatives of marketing to
emphasize the target market's perception their product.
 Sponsoring corporate events and corporate social responsibility: Through consumer
and trade fairs across the world which makes perfect sense in ensuring Under Armour's
product's presence by putting up exhibition stalls and reaching out directly to consumers.
They sent the message that they care for society(Kotler and et.al., 2017). The objective
behind adoption of CSR activities is to create a long term association in the minds of
consumers and decision makers for creation of expression in minds of government and
other industry that they cares for the citizens and giving back to society a share of what
they earned as revenue and profits.
 Blogging: They feels that content marketing provides a steady, measurable growth on
monthly basis. They invite top influencer for writing their blogs which makes a
difference in their search engine rankings of the website and blog(Haider, Zafar and
et.al., 2019). They analysing and using big data when building a link on their sites and
doing search engine optimization so that the content become visible and placed on top
when visitors using search engines for getting key information.
CONCLUSION
The above study enumerate that Under Armour by adopting marketing 4 P's better
explain their marketing strategy for explanation of their product in effective way which create a
better marketing image among the consumers. For better brand positioning current strategy
create a good market image of their product which helps in attracting consumers. In future by
the adoption of more effective marketing communication strategy which continues to attract
more customer for marketing image. Brand positioning strategy helps in attracting huge
customers across the globe but by adopting more effective communication strategy Under

Armour become able to improve their positioning in comparison to competitors for better image
of their product by reviewing some assumptions about future marketing conditions.

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