CASE STUDY
„MuseumPlusRIA has given us a sense of organization
and consistency that we didn’t have before.“
Danielle Hammer Geffel, Archives Administrator
Under Armour is an American sports clothing and accessories company. In 1996, Kevin Plank, a
23-year-old former University of Maryland special teams captain, turned an idea born on the football
field into a new industry that changed the way athletes dress forever. After extensive research on
the athletic benefits of synthetic fabrics, he designed the first Under Armour HeatGear® T-shirt. The
company received its first big break in 1999 when Warner Brothers contacted Under Armour to outfit
its two upcoming films. The following year, they became the outfitter of the new XFL football league.
Today Under Armour makes the world’s most innovative performance footwear, apparel, and
accessories and is a mainstay on athletic fields, courts, pitches, gyms, and rinks everywhere.
Business Challenge
Under Armour faced the problem of coordinating and managing a rapidly growing
collection in a fast paced environment with only a small team. The company‘s
operating segments include North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
For this reason it was necessary to find a solution that enables all users to access
corporate data at the office, at home or on the go. Under Armour also needed a
system to protect their legacy and to document all their different objects and materials
in a complete and sophisticated way. In addition time should no longer be wasted in
locating photographs, past designs, catalogs or other items.
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COMPANY FACTS
Founded: 1996
Founder: Kevin Plank
Headquarter: Baltimore
Area served: worldwide
Products: Clothing, Footware
Employees: 8.000
Website: underarmour.com
info@zetcom.com
CASE STUDY
Typical Day
Under Armour primarily use MuseumPlusRIA to catalog apparel,
footwear, athletic equipment, accessories, artwork and print
materials. They also come across miscellaneous objects such as
trophies, gifts to the Under Armour brand and even Super Bowl
rings that fit well in the collections management system.
Each day presents them with a different set of challenges and
rewards in their corporate archive, known to them as „The Vault“.
As the structure of their campus changes, they regularly find
themselves sorting through the endless boxes that are donated by
their teammates. Some days are spent accessioning these objects
while others are dedicated to locating photographs or catalogs that
may be needed for an upcoming sports marketing presentation.
Often times you can find a product developer sorting through their
„In working with
MuseumPlusRIA over the
past year, it’s proven to be
a flexible and easy to use
application that satisfies
our needs as a corporate
archive.
garment racks gaining inspiration from past designs.
„On this particular day, I’m spending my morning supervising a
carpentry crew as they build custom crates for (CEO and Founder) Kevin Plank’s dry erase boards. Some of the brand’s earliest
concepts and future business plans are laid out in the language of
Under Armour on eight dry erase boards—in order to protect the
legacy and tell our story we must ensure that these boards are
properly preserved“ says Danielle Hammer Geffel.
Because it is web-based,
we can easily access our
information whether we’re
at our global headquarters
in Baltimore or traveling to
Copenhagen.“
Danielle Hammer Geffel, Archives Administrator
Biggest Impact
Time management, hands down. In a fast paced environment
like Under Armour you must be able to react quickly to incoming
requests. According to Danielle Hammer Geffel, „Working with
MuseumPlusRIA has given us a sense of organization and consistency that we didn’t have before. As our small team of two manages a rapidly growing collection, we are now able to quickly locate
objects and materials that otherwise may have taken days to find.“
Future Goals
„In the upcoming year we would like to host tours during our team-
mate onboarding sessions. This will educate new employees and
introduce them to the archives department so that they can begin
to understand how to help protect the legacy of Under Armour. The
CUSTOMER BENEFITS
Significant time savings by having all
information in one system
Real-time access to data across
locations
Data consistency
Secure, modern managed documentation
Vault will service the business by acting as a reputable resource
to all departments (legal, brand, marketing, product development,
retail, etc.) and in order to do that we must properly accession all
objects with the help of MuseumPlusRIA“, explains Danielle
Hammer Geffel.
www.zetcom.com
zetcom, a leader in collections and foundation management software, helps museums, galleries, foundations and
cultural heritage institutions to meet their multifaceted tasks with quality products and services based on innovative technology, and best practices. As an owner-managed company, zetcom serves over 950 clients including
The Louvre, The Museo Picasso and The Berlin State Museums and leverages the global reach of its offices.