Background:
Within part one of my social media monitoring
project, I discussed the Under Armour I Will What I Want campaign—an attempt to
increase sales for women’s clothing—which was initially met with success.
Specifically the, “I Will What
I Want” campaign’s success surpassed what Under Armour had imagined. It
produced 5 billion media impressions worldwide and a staggering
$35 million in earned media, resulting in a 28 percent increase in
women’s sales and a 42 percent increase in traffic to UA.com” (Murray Washington
Post).
(3/18) (3/19) (3/20)
The most recent samplings of social mention featured above are overall worse than the February results in social media monitoring part one. Overall, the strength is 10-20 % lower than in the previous reporting period, the reach has gone from a high of 52% to a low of 36% as of Monday (3/20). The passion has dipped slightly as well and is at a steady 18% compare to ranging between 20-23% in the previous reporting period. None of the above statistics are strong and the momentum is declining, however, it is a good that social mention still reflects an overall positive sentiment.
Social Mention Competitor Comparison
As of Tuesday (3/21):
Under Armour I Will What I Want
Lululemon
In comparison to some of the main competitors to Under Armour's I Will What I Want campaign, Under Armour has a slightly higher strength (46) than Adidas (44), however they are significantly lower than Nike (83) and Lululemon (65). Based on the strength statistics for the four companies, Nike has the greatest likelihood that its brand is being discussed. Under Armour is fairing better in terms of reach with the second highest (37) trailing behind Nike (42) but ahead of Lululemon (32) and Adidas (26).
Addict-o-Matic
The news populating Addict-o-Matic has improved slightly since the previous monitoring period since it now includes information about Under Armours More Than a Pretty Face campaign and positive highlights from the I Will What I Want campaign. It still includes negative news such as the headline "Under Armour made some huge mistakes that are turning into a nightmare" but the majority of stories are positive compared to February in which the CEO's support of Trump was making all of the headlines.
Social Mention Competitor Comparison
As of Tuesday (3/21):
Under Armour I Will What I Want
Nike
Adidas
In comparison to some of the main competitors to Under Armour's I Will What I Want campaign, Under Armour has a slightly higher strength (46) than Adidas (44), however they are significantly lower than Nike (83) and Lululemon (65). Based on the strength statistics for the four companies, Nike has the greatest likelihood that its brand is being discussed. Under Armour is fairing better in terms of reach with the second highest (37) trailing behind Nike (42) but ahead of Lululemon (32) and Adidas (26).
Addict-o-Matic
The news populating Addict-o-Matic has improved slightly since the previous monitoring period since it now includes information about Under Armours More Than a Pretty Face campaign and positive highlights from the I Will What I Want campaign. It still includes negative news such as the headline "Under Armour made some huge mistakes that are turning into a nightmare" but the majority of stories are positive compared to February in which the CEO's support of Trump was making all of the headlines.
Google Trends
Social Baker Analytics
As the distribution of Fans map highlights, the majority of fans are in North America, with 758, 965 fans in the United States. The country with the highest number of fans outside of North America is Brazil with 4,402 fans. This may be in part due to the fact that Gisele Bundchen is a brand Ambassador and is from Brazil.
I Will What I Want is a powerful message---the ability to showcase female strength was a strength of the campaign. That message resonated with women, as was evidenced by the uptick in sales and the fact that Under Armour surpassed it's initial goals for the campaign. Majewski described that, "Adweek dubbed the inaugural commercial as this year’s "best campaign targeting women" (Source).
Following the campaign, Under Armour “surpassed Adidas and moved from the No. 3 spot in the U.S. sportswear market to No. 2 today, second to Nike (Murray Washington Post).
Weaknesses:
While the brand ambassadors were successful, opposition from the Ambassadors is a weakness. Another weakness of the I Will What I Want Campaign is that it has been limited to celebrities and could tap into ordinary consumers. Interestingly, Murray (2016) of the Washington Post noted that, “Of the 100 most-shared video advertisements of all time, only 13 percent had celebrities in them.”
Additionally, the celebrity brand Ambassadors could be more diverse since Gisele and Lindsay are both white women. Although "I Will What I Want" is a powerful message, the tone of the advertisement is not conversational. The adds are talking at rather than with the costumers.
While the brand ambassadors were successful, opposition from the Ambassadors is a weakness. Another weakness of the I Will What I Want Campaign is that it has been limited to celebrities and could tap into ordinary consumers. Interestingly, Murray (2016) of the Washington Post noted that, “Of the 100 most-shared video advertisements of all time, only 13 percent had celebrities in them.”
Additionally, the celebrity brand Ambassadors could be more diverse since Gisele and Lindsay are both white women. Although "I Will What I Want" is a powerful message, the tone of the advertisement is not conversational. The adds are talking at rather than with the costumers.
As mentioned in my social media monitoring
part 1 blog, a huge weakness of the I Will What I Want Campaign is CEO Kevin
Plank’s public support of Donald Trump.
This support caught the attention of the I Will What I Want brand
Ambassadors, such as Misty Copeland, which is horrible for their marketing.
With female empowerment at the core of the campaign, the support of Trump goes against these
values.
Following Plank's support of Trump, Copeland took to Instagram to reaffirm her values of inclusion and express her disappointment with Plank.
Opportunities:
Recently, Under Armour Women’s started the I’m Pretty campaign that discusses how much more women are than their appearances. Through this campaign, Under Armour asks women to fill in the blank, I’m pretty_________. Fierce? Focused? Intelligent?
As part of the "I’m Pretty Campaign", Under Armour has a meme generator through it’s website, so that people can post a word that describes them and share. Under Armour launched this new campaign just in time for International Women’s Day on March 8th, 2017 which was an excellent move given that their targeted audience is women.
The "I'm Pretty" meme generator is a fantastic way to listen to and engage the groundswell, something Under Armour was not previously doing well. The I'm Pretty campaign taps in to the ability for costumers to market for Under Armour and for Under Armour to learn how costumers define themselves rather than talking at them.
In addition to the meme generator, Under Armour has created customizable "I'm Pretty" shirts that allow costumers to fill in the blank. Not only are does this get costumers to do marketing for Under Armour but also Under Armour gains profit from each sale. It also diversifies the marketing as the memes spread the message online and the shirts spread the message in person. Wearing the shirts can help increase word of mouth, as friends may pay more attention to something someone is wearing than online. People may also take pictures of the shirt, further spreading awareness.
Compared to the comments on Facebook earlier in the month and prior to the "I'm Pretty" campaign, there is now a lot more dialogue among customers. As can be seen in the post above, women are commenting on whether or not pretty is an insult and explaining/unpacking the meaning behind the campaign. The focus is no longer as much about the Trump comments, although there is still some of that there.
While the I'm Pretty Campaign has great potential and demonstrates an increased effort to speak with, listen to and engage with the groundswell, they could take it a step further. Under Armour could build off of the powerful message of the I Will What I Want Campaign by having ordinary female costumers share videos that demonstrate “I Will What I Want. ” Under Armour could also make a contest out of the video sharing, where costumers could win Under Armour swag or other prizes---potentially tickets to games from some of their brand Ambassadors.
As the social baker analytic of post types reveals, only 25% of Under Armours posts are videos. Thus, there is an opportunity to increase the video content, potentially through video contests.
While only 25% of Under Armours content is videos, the Social Baker post types graphic reveals that videos are the most engaging post type. Videos are significantly more engaging than photos, yet 75% of Under Armours content is of photos. This is both a weakness and an opportunity for Under Armour to show more videos (ideally, videos that costumers contribute).
As Li & Bernoff (2011) recommend, "to be most effective, these videos must allow people to interact. They should direct people to a social network, blog, or a community where they can form further relationships with each other or with the company" (Li & Bernoff, 2011, 103).
Brand Ambassador, Misty Copeland is supporting the #ImPretty campaign as well, sharing "I'm pretty determined!"
In addition to the meme generator, Under Armour has created customizable "I'm Pretty" shirts that allow costumers to fill in the blank. Not only are does this get costumers to do marketing for Under Armour but also Under Armour gains profit from each sale. It also diversifies the marketing as the memes spread the message online and the shirts spread the message in person. Wearing the shirts can help increase word of mouth, as friends may pay more attention to something someone is wearing than online. People may also take pictures of the shirt, further spreading awareness.
While the I'm Pretty Campaign has great potential and demonstrates an increased effort to speak with, listen to and engage with the groundswell, they could take it a step further. Under Armour could build off of the powerful message of the I Will What I Want Campaign by having ordinary female costumers share videos that demonstrate “I Will What I Want. ” Under Armour could also make a contest out of the video sharing, where costumers could win Under Armour swag or other prizes---potentially tickets to games from some of their brand Ambassadors.
As the social baker analytic of post types reveals, only 25% of Under Armours posts are videos. Thus, there is an opportunity to increase the video content, potentially through video contests.
As Li & Bernoff (2011) recommend, "to be most effective, these videos must allow people to interact. They should direct people to a social network, blog, or a community where they can form further relationships with each other or with the company" (Li & Bernoff, 2011, 103).
Brand Ambassador, Misty Copeland is supporting the #ImPretty campaign as well, sharing "I'm pretty determined!"
Threats:
Nike and Addidas are the two biggest competitors
and therefore threats to the Under Armour Campaign. Further, the fact that Nike
is has released a new Equality campaign and Under Armour has supported Trump,
exacerbates the threat.
Trump Conflicts
Trump Conflicts
Despite Under Armour's creative marketing efforts, the CEO's support of Trump continues to be a threat to the company and in particular, a threat to increasing women's sales. The comments highlight the hypocrisy of saying women are more than pretty yet public supporting someone who ranks women by their attractiveness. Interestingly, one of the comments said that they shared the "I'm Pretty" video before learning about Plank's support of Trump. This supports the analytics (such as addict-o-matic) that show the story fading in the news. When the woman learned about the Trump endorsement, however, she was upset about sharing the video. This shows the strength and potential opportunity of the I'm Pretty campaign while underscoring the real threat of endorsing Trump.
Goals for Under Armour within the next Year:
- Increase Women's sales by 30% (sales increased by 28% after I Will What I Want was launched)
- Reach 950,000 fans (a little over 5k/month)
- Surpass Adidas in sales
- Increase consumer engagement (reach 18k interactions, up from 17.6k this month)
- Increase video distribution on Facebook page to 35% (10 percent increase)
Surpass Nike and become the number 1 athletic company
Final Reflections:
While the aforementioned goals are lofty, they are achievable if Under Armour capitalizes on its strengths and minimizes it's weaknesses. There is a clear market for women's athletics and the fact Under Armour increased sales by 28% when they first launched I Will What I Want, suggests a 30% increase in sales is a high but doable goal. The I'm Pretty campaign reflected a great step towards engaging the groundswell through having women generate content. Under Armour is under utilizing videos, despite the fact that when they do show videos they have high engagement. As part of their strategy to increase engagement (and ultimately sales) they should have video contests in which costumers submit "I Will What I Want" clips. Lastly, CEO Kevin Plank needs to be extremely cautious about his support of Trump and needs to apologize, redeem himself. His support is one of the biggest barriers to increase women's sales. If Under Armour takes the aforementioned suggestions, they should be in good shape.
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