SPT 608: Under Armour Marketing Strategies and Promotional Plan

This report delves into the marketing strategies employed by Under Armour, specifically focusing on the Grade School UA Jet 2018 Basketball Shoes. It begins with an introduction outlining the paper's objectives, which is to analyze the company's marketing plan to create global brand awareness. The report examines the product's features, highlighting its unique selling points such as the use of leather and textile, cushioned ankles, ventilated mesh, molded heel, EVA sock liner, and rubber outsole. It then moves on to the pricing strategy, discussing the product's price point and how Under Armour can leverage it to target specific customer segments. The place strategy is explored, including the distribution channels and Under Armour's expansion plans. The report then details the promotional strategies, including emotional branding, word-of-mouth marketing, partnerships with Google, and social media campaigns. The report also includes a timeline and Gantt chart for the marketing project. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, emphasizing Under Armour's competitive advantage and the importance of effective marketing strategies.

Running head: MARKETING STRATEGIES OF UNDER ARMOUR
Marketing strategies of Under Armour
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MARKETING STRATEGIES OF UNDER ARMOUR
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Product...................................................................................................................................2
Price........................................................................................................................................3
Place.......................................................................................................................................3
Promotion...............................................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

2MARKETING STRATEGIES OF UNDER ARMOUR
Introduction
This paper will talk about the marketing plan and strategies of Under Armour Grade
School UA Jet 2018 Basketball Shoes which will include the market segmentation, pricing,
product and promotional strategies in order to create brand awareness of the company around
the globe.
Product
The new basketball shoes introduced by Under Armour have unique features. These
are as follows-
1. The Under Armour Grade School UA Jet 2018 Basketball Shoes is made up of
pure leather and textile, especially cushioned around the ankle for extra
comfort. This superior quality gives it a competitive edge in the market.
2. The Basketball Shoes have ventilated mesh in the mid foot panel which makes
it unique (Under Armour, 2019)
3. Under Armour have introduced a new feature of molded heel for a better fit
and lock-in support.
4. The shoes also have die-cut EVA sock liner that provides cushioning under the
foot (Under Armour, 2019).
5. Compressed molded EVA is also introduced in the product to deliver a
responsive ride.
6. It is an imported product.
7. The outsole is made of rubber with uncommon traction panel in order to
deliver the maximum grip and lateral movements.

3MARKETING STRATEGIES OF UNDER ARMOUR
The key attributes of the product Under Armour Grade School UA Jet 2018 Basketball Shoes
make it attractive to the customers. The unique selling point of this product is its features.
Thus, the Basketball Shoes have a competitive advantage in the market. A sportsperson or an
athlete is likely to choose designed shoes which are marketed by the organization itself.
Under Armour can market this product making an agreement between Under Armour and the
football teams (Under Armour, 2019).They can also approach the college athletes for
sponsorship and product support. Eventual endorsement of the product by the team members
can also create a brand image in the market. These strategies will help Under Armour to
market its product and increase the customer base (Aghdaie & Alimardani, 2015).
Price
The price of the product is $55 which is slightly higher than its competitors. The
higher range is due to the special features provided by Under Armour. The company should
focus on the users who have knowledge and close understanding of the product. This allows
Under Armour to set higher prices than its competitors in the market. This marketing strategy
having superior pricing will push the value of this product. Various functions of the channel
level should be utilized in order to control prices. Pricing technique involving vertical
combinations will include participant’s ownerships in different levels of channels. The
strategy of skimming price at the time of the introduction of the product will attract upper
middle class customers to buy the product (Boone & Kurtz, 2013). Lowering of the price
after the launch will attract more customers from all groups of people which in turn will
increase the market share of the company.
Place
The marketing ideas of Under Armour embraced by various organizations can protect
them from the market frontrunner or provide them a frame of the market. The distribution of

4MARKETING STRATEGIES OF UNDER ARMOUR
product if reliable will improve the number of sales and in turn will affect the profitability of
the organization. The delivery of the product at the correct time will help to attract loyal
customers and will result into high customer satisfaction. They execute their business through
a business chain or intermediaries. These channels include the wholesalers, distributors and
retailers. These channels include selling of the product to the wholesalers in U.S and other
parts of the world by direct-to-customer (Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy & Pervan, 2015). This
includes the factory and line retail outlets, sales in e-commerce and sales in the global
market. Under Armour is focusing on selling directly to the customers along with the DTC
initiative as the company gets higher margin for this. The company is expanding aggressively
by increasing the number of stores and number of wholesale doors around the globe. The
company has a target market in North America. The expensive products are distributed to
particular distributors and the low priced items are distributed in their different retail stores.
The company has developed its e-commerce business in order to increase its customer base.
Under Armour is concentrating on its listing of products, its images, videos and reviews from
its customers.
Promotion
Under Armour is building its loyal customer base. Under Armour can use the strategy
of not showing its products directly in its advertisements. In their advertisements they can
induce emotion through branding emotionally. Each advertisement can evoke specific needs
and feelings of the customer that the company can provide. Traditional narration by a hero
whose hard work overcomes adversity and emerges as a winner against a foe will be relatable
to the customers. Word-of-mouth can also be a marketing strategy of Under Armour for its
new product launch (Mahdi et al., 2015). It will keep the company in the minds of its
customers. Under Armour can also be partners with Google during the time of FIFA World

5MARKETING STRATEGIES OF UNDER ARMOUR
Cup in order to create brand awareness. If an athlete scores a goal, advertisements of the shoe
can be displayed to the fans on the ground.
Under Armour can create Youtube series to market its products. Environmental
concerns are becoming very essential. Thus, the activity and actions of Under Armour shoes
can immensely affect the consumer behaviour of the brand. Earth day can prove a chance to
market the company and its products to build a better and sustainable future. Under Armour
can collaborate with Face book, WhatsApp, Twitter and other social media platforms in oder
to create advertisement campaigns (Tuten & Solomon, 2017). Messenger enables
communication which will enable the customers to connect with the brand. In order to
promote the new launch of the company, Under Armour can develop rich marketing
campaigns through mobile, social media, videos and websites. Various pages for its different
product category to target the different potential customers will play a major role in its sales.
Under Armour can provide special offers and coupons to its target customers. The
features of the products and their benefits can be provided as discounted coupons. This will
allow the customer to save by using the offers. These promotional events will motivate
people to buy from this brand. Under Armour can launch equality, green and other social
awareness campaigns in order to relate to its customers.
Sportsmen should a majority of Under Armour’s customers. A sportsperson or an
athlete can endorse the product of the brand. The fans of the player automatically get
attracted to the brand. Under Armour can focus on making agreements between the different
teams, athletes of the college teams and the company.

6MARKETING STRATEGIES OF UNDER ARMOUR
Timeline
Task Name Duration Start Finish
Project Marketing
Campaigning
90 days Mon 4/29/19 Fri 8/30/19
Decision to Implement the
campaign
1 day Mon 4/29/19 Mon 4/29/19
Meeting with the
stakeholders
4 days Tue 4/30/19 Fri 5/3/19
Choice of the marketing
campaign
3 days Mon 5/6/19 Wed 5/8/19
Approval of the
stakeholders
4 days Thu 5/9/19 Tue 5/14/19
Start of 1st phase
Campaign
1 day Wed 5/15/19 Wed 5/15/19
Targeting the consumers 10 days Thu 5/16/19 Wed 5/29/19
Providing Coupons and
Offers
10 days Thu 5/30/19 Wed 6/12/19
Obtaining feedback on the
campaign
10 days Thu 6/13/19 Wed 6/26/19
Start of 2nd Phase
Campaign
1 day Thu 6/27/19 Thu 6/27/19
Equality Campaign 11 days Fri 6/28/19 Fri 7/12/19
Green Campaign 10 days Mon 7/15/19 Fri 7/26/19
Feedback of 2nd phase
campaign
12 days Mon 7/29/19 Tue 8/13/19
Implementing the
necessary changes
12 days Wed 8/14/19 Thu 8/29/19
End of 2nd Phase
Campaign
1 day Fri 8/30/19 Fri 8/30/19
Table No 1: Timeline Table
Source: (As Created by the Author)

7MARKETING STRATEGIES OF UNDER ARMOUR
Figure No 1: Gantt chart
Source: (As created by the author)
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that Under Armour is a superior brand launching new
products outstand its competitors. The marketing strategies if executed will create a brand
image in the minds of the customers.

8MARKETING STRATEGIES OF UNDER ARMOUR
References
Aghdaie, M. H., & Alimardani, M. (2015). Target market selection based on market segment
evaluation: a multiple attribute decision making approach. International Journal of
Operational Research, 24(3), 262-278.
Boone, L. E., & Kurtz, D. L. (2013). Contemporary marketing. Cengage learning.
Mahdi, A., Abbas, M., Mazar, T. I., & George, S. A. (2015). A Comparative Analysis of
Strategies and Business Models of Nike, Inc. and Adidas Group with special reference
to Competitive Advantage in the context of a Dynamic and Competitive
Environment. International Journal of Business Management and Economic
Research, 6(3), 167-177.
Rosenbaum-Elliott, R., Percy, L., & Pervan, S. (2015). Strategic brand management. Oxford
University Press, USA.
Tuten, T. L., & Solomon, M. R. (2017). Social media marketing. Sage.
Under Armour. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/