Mike Green, February 10, 2013, MKT 312
Under Armour Case Study Ch.3
1. What is Under Armour doing to make its brand personally relevant, surprising, and easy
to process?
Under Armour is making its brand personally relevant by using “the next generation”
athlete to showcase their product. By using new and upcoming athletes to show off their
product, Under Armour gains mass recognition, which results in attracting young and
serious athletes. Under Armour continues to make their products relevant by continuously
upgrading and using technology to provide its customers with the best sports gear. They
also take advantage of social media to stay connected with and provide the public with
fast and important information about their products. Under Armour is surprising because
they started out as a small company entering an industry dominated by corporate giants
like Nike and were able to grow and expand and become a serious industry competitor.
One way they were able to grow other than having a good strategy and product ideas was
by having a strong brand vision. Under Armour designs sports gear for college sports
teams that are colorful and bold, demanding attention and thus making Under Armour a
vision of sports for a young, athletic generation. Their product is easy to process because
they make their statement clear, that they want to better all athletes by providing the best
sports gear.
2. What role do objective and subjective comprehension play in Under Armour’s ability to
market its products by sponsoring up-and-coming athletes?
Customers that view Under Armour’s advertising as objective understand that the
clothing and gear will allow athletes to perform better and play at their highest level.
Also, by sponsoring up-and-coming athletes objective consumers see the message as
saying Under Armour supports young athletes and wants them to succeed and perform
their best. On the other hand, consumers who view Under Armour subjectively may
interpret the message as seeing Under Armour’s gear on talented professional athletes
and therefore they feel that if they too wear that gear then they will be professional
athletes. In other words consumers could misinterpret the message and think that if they
wear Under Armour they are top athletes.
3. Why would Under Armour want to be sure that consumers can clearly see different
models as well as its mission and guarantee on the brands website?
Diversity of models and athletes are used to connect with the consumers’ culture and help
create a personal bond between the buyer and the brand. Making a brand diverse will
result in a larger customer base. The mission statement is clearly seen on the website to
tell its customers what the purpose of the product is and how it will help you. Under
Armours’ mission statement says, --“Make all athletes better”-- which speaks to the
consumers’ physical resources ability. Consumers will buy a product to support their
physical needs, weather it is weight lifting, football, baseball, or hiking and Under
Armour gives consumers, with the resources to act, the ability to purchase a top of the
line product. The guarantee of the product is also clearly seen on the website because
Under Armour wants its customers to feel like they matter and if they are not satisfied
with the product then they will be fully refunded. This also shows that Under Armour is
very confident in their product and truly cares about their customers. Under Armour
wants potential customers to read their guarantee because a customer that is having a hard
time making a decision of whether or not to purchase a product will see that they can
have a full refund if they are dissatisfied. This provides the customer with a low risk, high
reward situation and may influence their decision. Products that are continuously updated
through technological advancements, has a strong brand name, and a strong mission
statement and guarantee creates trust and loyalty with customers.