I have selected Under Armour as the sports brand to evaluate using the identity prism due to the affinity that I have with them at many levels. Firstly, I admire how the company as risen to prominence, developing over the years in to a major brand through a gradual strategy. In 1999 the brand featured in two American Football films, courtesy of Warner Brothers, with Under Armour launching their first TV add in 2003 (Under Armour, 2016). The advertisement featured three words “protect this house” which acted as a rallying cry to athletes (Under Armour, 2015). Furthermore, it was used for home teams to defend their turf from the opposition in the same way Under Armour protects from competitors. As a result, it attracted a lot more men as well as women to the brand. This kick-started something special as the brand then began acquiring major partnerships such as the Baltimore marathon and partners in Major League Baseball. This is illustrated through the sponsorship agreements that they have had with athletes of increasing prominence over the last decade. In 2006 they were associated with Bobby Zamora (an English footballer who was not that well known outside the UK), whereas Under Armour now has agreements with the likes of Tom Brady (NFL), Stephen Curry (NBA), Michael Phelps (swimmer) and Lindsey Vonn (Alpine ski racer), all of whom are well-established athletes in the US. These types of agreements have helped Under Armour overtake Adidas in the American market (Shah, 2016). The brand in its slogans and adverts mirror my determination to succeed as a person. For example, of their many powerful slogans one is “Our job is to make you better” (R204DESIGN,2013), which acts as a call to arms and suggests to the consumer the notion of Under Armour being on the consumer’s side. It also links to a product performance characteristic, it suggests that the product provides high comfort and better performance when exercising. I also have affinity with Under Armour as I admire their aspiration to be the market leaders in innovation as suggested with “the latest innovation isn’t available yet, but it’s being built at Under Armour” taken from a TV advertisement (R204DESIGN, 2013). Kevin Plank the CEO of Under Armour states that they are not worried about the current competition, “they’re worried about the competition that doesn’t exist yet” (National Retail Federation, 2016). These various statements from Under Armour outline what a forward-thinking organisation they are and how rapidly they are expanding. This is further outlined through their mission statement in which Under Armour expresses its main aim to create “game-changing products to give athletes an advantage” (Under Armour, 2016). When they first launched onto the sports market they solely focused on sporting under garments before expanding into other fields after creating a foothold in that specific field. Below is Kapferer’s brand identity prism and SWOT analysis focussing on Under Armour and how they have become a major sporting brand. Physique is of key importance as this is what the consumer associates with the brand first and foremost. Under Armour’s main physical appearances are the symbol and the logo, otherwise known as the brand mark. According to Brassington and Pettit (2006, p.305) the brand mark is the element (without words) which offers visual brand identity and makes it instantly recognisable. The colour which Under Armour uses for its brand mark according to the colour emotion guide is one to show balance within the brand as well as remaining neutral (Ciotti, 2016). This is shown with product ranges appealing to both sexes and not just being male or female driven. Furthermore, the physique of Under Armour shows a brand which is strong and athletic and being a both indoor and outdoor brand, thus reflecting the neutrality again. The personality of Under Armour is one that is athletic, strong, serious and fit as demonstrated with the sponsorships and the brand ambassadors the company has. They have endorsement contracts with the likes of Andy Murray and Stephen Curry as well as Lindsey Vonn, thus proving that the Under Armour brand does not belong to one specific sex and targets both men and women. The personality can also reflect Under Armour’s will to be the best sports brand as the athletes they have signed up all demonstrate a will to be the best in their specific field. Strong brands are built on strong culture which is what Under Armour portrays with Kapferer (2008, p.183) stating that “every brand should have its own culture to which every product derives”. The values that it relays to the audience are clear and concise, so the consumer knows exactly what Under Armour stands for and more importantly what the Under Armour brand is. Under Armour is firstly an American brand having launched in 1996 with its headquarters in Baltimore. The brand – also projects a modern culture due to its innovative products it producers along with a strong teamwork culture as seen in the brand’s advertisements (i.e. protect this house). The brand portrays its relationship to its consumers through a number of eye catching slogans which gets the audience hooked. On the brand identity prism, there are such slogans as “I will” which immediately fills the consumer with empowerment and a drive to succeed. The phrase also portrays that the brand is for winners and wants to strike a winning mentality amongst its consumers. Reflection is the view of the sender and how it is representative of them. The brand identity prism shows that Under Armour wishes to demonstrate that with the right application anyone can succeed through the underdog tagline. This would have a wide appeal as people do generally have an affinity with the underdog and the prospect of success against the odds along with being highly competitive. Under Armour also reflects an image which is successful and fitter suggesting that if you wear our brand you too can be seen as a more fit and successful person. This reflection shows that Under Armour wishes to work with the consumer through having a broad appeal and that if the consumer puts in the hard work it will pay off, thus becoming fitter. The self-image which Under Armour wishes to show is one of innovation with high quality within their products. This gives the impression to the consumer that when they purchase an Under Armour product it will be of leading quality in design and performance. The innovation part is important as they try to distinguish themselves from other sports brands by leading in innovation - most consumers love to try something new on the market. Furthermore, the brand wants to show everything that the company produces is of high calibre meaning that the price of the products is worth it as it aims to satisfy the consumer by giving them the ultimate comfort and enjoyment from it. References
Brassington, F. and Pettit, S (2006). Principles of Marketing. London: Pearson Education Limited. p305. Ciotti, G. (2016). The Psychology of Color in Marketing and Branding. Available: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233843. Last accessed 6th Dec 2016. Farhana, M. (2014 ). Implication of Brand Identity Facets on Marketing Communication of Lifestyle Magazine: Case Study of A Swedish Brand. Journal of Applied Economics and Business Research. 4 (1), p23-41. Gaines, C. (2016). Under Armour has a brilliantly simple strategy to do something Nike has been unable to do — conquer the golf world. Available: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-under-armour-plans-to-do-something-nike-failed-to-do-conquer-the-golf-world-2016-3?international=true&r=US&IR=T . Last accessed 7th Dec 2016. Kapferer, J.N (2008). The New Strategic Brand Management. 4th ed. London: Kogan Page Limited . p158-189. Kapferer, J.N (2012). The New Strategic Brand Management. 5th ed. London: Kogan Page Limited. p182-193 National Retail Federation. (2016). How Under Armour Is Changing The Way Athletes Live. [Online Video]. 5 February 2016. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOkzta6p8ME. [Accessed: 30 November 2016]. R204DESIGN . (2013). Under Armour retail concept . [Online Video]. 19 February 2013. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdTPqPzvK9g. [Accessed: 30 November 2016]. Shah, O (2016). ‘Are Nike and Adidas under pressure from Under Armour?’, The Times Style. 28 August 2016. p20-21. Smith, G. (2015). Putting an End to a Preventable Scourge. Available: https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/02/26/putting-end-preventable-scourge. Last accessed 5th Dec 2016. Under Armour. (2015). Our history. Available: http://www.underarmour.jobs/why-choose-us/our-history/. Last accessed 4th Dec 2016. Under Armour. (2016). The UA story: story. Available: http://www.uabiz.com/company/history.cfm. Last accessed 4th Dec 2016.
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