Category: Best Use of Branded Content & Sponsorship
Advertiser: UNDER ARMOUR
Product/Service: UNDER ARMOUR BASKETBALL / SPORTS WEAR/EQUIPMENT
Media Agency: OPTIMUM SPORTS, New York, USA
Director: Tom Mcgovern (Optimum Sports)
Account Director: Bryan Mcaleer (Optimum Sports)
Account Supervisor: Jared Banks (Optimum Sports)
Senior Director/Sports Management: Bruce Kalfus (ESPN)
Media placement: TV Camapign - 4 Spots - ESPN - 15 November 2011
Insights, Strategy & the Idea
Unlike its competitors Under Armour was born as an apparel performance brand for American Football. As a result, the evolution of the brand from American Football products to basketball gear would be winding and hard fought.
In a category dominated by Nike and Adidas who utilise iconography and basketball superstars in their advertising, Under Armour set out to reach the basketball masses through the voice of their core target, the 12-24 year old athlete, on a budget that was dwarfed by its competitors.
Our research showed that Under Armour’s core target believes it takes sacrifice to become great which is not about the glamorization, but the roots of the game and hard work.
With this in mind, our big idea was to position Under Armour authentically within the fabric of the game by aligning with the message that it is the hard work and sacrifice that breeds basketball greatness.
Creative Execution
To bring Under Armour’s messaging to life in a powerful and authentic way we created 4 “Are You From Here?” video vignettes to connect with the true passion of the target consumer, spotlighting dedication to greatness while eschewing the glitz and glamour favoured by competitors. The videos showcased the dramatic journeys of Under Armour’s Pro Basketball athletes showing their back stories together with the subtle use of Under Armour products.
In a media first we imbedded the videos in-program during ESPN’s SportsCenter within the fabric of the show and with the full perception of editorial content. Specifically, the “Are You From Here?” tag appeared in the “up-next” Sidebar and the host introduced the videos tying them to current stories and, on return, commented on them before moving on.
We retained all post-airing distribution rights and pushed it out to strategic partners and social channels Including target relevant online outlets.
Results and Effectiveness
The video vignettes represented the highest volume of Under Amour references within the digital/social space over the entire campaign. The phrase “Love the Vignettes” rose to 31% across social media following the initial airing and peaked again surrounding each subsequent airing date.
As of 12/20/11, the videos garnered 332,615 views via digital media. Facebook engagement generated 130K impressions in just one month. Within relevant conversations, 76% expressed positive sentiment with only 6% negative. 11% of relevant conversations included product raves or intent to purchase and 17% spread brand slogans. The videos were even positively tweeted about by competitor sponsored athletes.