Strategic Communication Plan for Under Armour Fashion Line Launch

This document presents a strategic communication plan for Under Armour Inc., focusing on initiating a celebrity endorsement activity for its fashion collection line to increase market share and brand awareness. The plan identifies the challenge as convincing a celebrity to endorse Under Armour amidst competition from other fashion brands. The primary goal is to create a platform for launching the fashion line, targeting corporate stakeholders initially and then expanding to fashion wear consumers. The communication style is 'tell/sell,' utilizing PowerPoint presentations to convey market trends and survey data. The key message emphasizes that celebrity endorsement will lead to greater market share acquisition, supported by evidence of improved equity figures in other fashion brands after celebrity endorsements. The document also reflects on the importance of this project to the author's professional development, drawing from the success of previous endorsements such as 'Project Rock' with Dwayne Johnson. The final action request is for the board of directors to approve the plan, acknowledging the challenge in convincing them despite their trust in the author's expertise.

Running head: STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PLAN
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PLAN
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author notes:

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Description
What is your challenge opportunity?
To initiate celebrity endorsement activity with the line of fashion collection of Under Armour
Inc. With the introduction of a popular celebrity, the brand aims to acquire increased
percentages of the market share. This will result in increased brand awareness among fashion
enthusiasts. However it will be a tough task convince the celebrity to endorse the product
other fashion brands are also looking to convince the same celebrity.
Why is this professionally important to you?
The last policy decision that I took was regarding celebrity endorsement as well. It involve
Under Armour’s ‘Project Rock’ initiative which got huge success with the endorsement of
Dwayne Johnson. This project is of great importance to me since the expectations regarding
this is higher than ever.
Goal
What goal or outcome do you want to achieve with this communication?
The main goal behind this endorsement program is to create a platform for the launch of the
fashion line of Under Armour Inc. The company aims to gain increased visibility in the
respective market (Escalas & Bettman, 2015).
Who is your target audience?
The current targets involve the CEO of the company, the director of operations and the vice-
president of the company. However the target of the large scale endorsement will be the
consumers of fashion wear and accessories.
What is the professional position of the audience?
 Corporates

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 Directors
 Owners
 Chairperson
What demographic characteristics will the audience comprise of?
The demographic to which the pitch is being directed at is young adults to middle aged
personnel. The pitch will be made taking in consideration arguments from both sides. They
can be further categorized into the same bracket by classifying them as corporates.
What is your relationship to the audience?
The audience who are involved in the project pitch are my colleagues and company superiors.
Impressing them would also give me an opportunity for promotion.
What background knowledge and expertise does the audience have?
The audience who are subject to the pitch are seasoned corporates who have seen tough as
well as favorable times of the company. All of the members of the audience possess MBAs
and other master degrees. They have perfect knowledge about what policy to take and which
to avoid.
What does the audience know, feel about, and expect concerning this communication?
The project manager of other Fitness gear believes that this plan is necessary in order to carry
out effective positioning. He helped me bring this process under the notice of the board of
directors.
What information is available about your audience?
a) The preferable celebrity
b) The cost associated with hiring the celebrity
c) Proposed contract span
d) Media through which the endorsement will be carried out

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e) Approaching strategy
What research/sources will you use to obtain information about the audience?
Personal interactions resulting from the working in the same company gives me a concise
idea about the audience who are subject to the marketing plan pitch.
What conclusions have you been able to draw about the audience?
Since the audience involved in the marketing pitch are board of directors, I am aware that
they know what is best for the company. I am sure that even if they do not agree with the
plan, they will provide necessary insight regarding the best way to approach the problem.
What tone will you use to convey your message?
Is the setting casual or formal?
The nature of the setting will be strictly formal as this will be a pitch to the board of directors.
Is the communication personal or impersonal?
The communication that will take place will be direct and personal. Being able to convince
the board of directors in a personal level will make the possibility of acceptance of the
pitch,high.
Key message
What is the primary message you must convey to your audience?
Endorsing a celebrity in introduction of a new line of fashion will reciprocate well and lead to
acquisition of further market share.
Is the message compelling and memorable?
Yes. This message is compelling to the audience as it is important for all the members of the
audience that the company performs well with a new product launch.

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Is the message clear and concise?
The message will be clear as it would be discussed in a conference room and explained by
using a presentation.
Is the message aligned with your audience’s goals and needs?
The message is perfectly aligned with the goals of the audience members. All of the members
of the audience value corporate governance and same will be achieved through a favorable
reception boosted by the endorsement.
Supporting Points
What three to four points, reasons, or justifications support your message?
 The company’s performance directly correlates with the level of satisfaction of the
stakeholders. This strategy will help the company perform better than they would
without the endorsement (Benavides, Quintana & Marchante, 2014).
 The pitching will help me project the nature of my ideas and thus will act as platform
for stepping up to a higher designation.
 After Equity figures of some globally renowned fashion brands show improvement
after celebrity endorsements and thus the plan is justified.
 This pitch will also acts as a platform for feedback through which member of the
panel will be able to share their expertise regarding the same.
What research/sources will you use to obtain facts/data about your message?
The data of the research regarding the market trends after celebrity endorsement will be
sourced from annual reports of the companies and journals released by the government.

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Channel Selection
What communication style will you employ (Tell/Sell or Consult/Join), and why?
The style of communication that will be adopted is tell/sell, since the information that will be
pitched, is readily available and no further inputs are required to arrive at the final decision of
arriving at the final decision regarding whether to carry out the plan or not.
What channel(s) will you use to deliver your message, and why will they be the most
effective?
The message will be communicated through Power Point presentations. This will be the best
way to communicate since I will be able to use it to demonstrate market trend, information
form the survey and information relating to positioning.
Action Request
Is your call to action you are making to your audience clear, concise, and easily
actionable?
The audience who are subject to the pitch are clear and concise about their requirements.
Although they are not that easily actionable since they are the ones who make the final policy
decisions. It will be challenging to convince them, even though they trust in my expertise.

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References
Benavides-Velasco, C. A., Quintana-García, C., & Marchante-Lara, M. (2014). Total quality
management, corporate social responsibility and performance in the hotel
industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 41, 77-87.
Escalas, J. E., & Bettman, J. R. (2015). Managing brand meaning through celebrity
endorsement. In Brand meaning management (pp. 29-52). Emerald Group Publishing
Limited.