Under Armour Marketing Mix
Under Armour Marketing Mix
Under Armour Marketing Mix
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purchasing this product, consumers make the decision to purchase this particular brand of sportswear
in a particular retailer, or through the online store.
Product Description
Under Armour Heat Gear is a specific type of Under Armour apparel that is designed to keep
athletes in their optimal state. Heat Gear is worn when the weather outside is hot. It breathes easier
than other Under Armour apparel and creates a comfortable temperature for the athlete by using
"super-lightweight micro-pique fabric" to keep you "cool, dry and comfortable" (Under Armour Official
Website, 2008). This product benefits the consumer because it allows the user to maintain peak
performance for a prolonged period of time. In addition, for those consumers who desire to enhance
their appearance, the compression technology of Heat Gear accentuates muscular visibility.
Product Differentiation from Competitors
Since 1996, Under Armour has been the most dominant athletic gear producer in the sporting world.
It has experienced great success due to the high demands of the product. Under Armour was the
first company that offered these this type of athletic gear. Heat Gear allows you to perform to your
maximum potential. Since then, many companies have tried to imitate Under Armour products such
as Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and even Wal-Mart . All of these stores create major competition for Under
Armour . The competitors have essentially the same product line but the Under Armour company
makes a unique product that cannot be beaten. Due to the micro-pique fabric technology, the
company has been able to deliver a consistently high quality product. A combination of Under
Armour's innovation and high quality products keep it at the top of the food chain for compression
gear.
USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
A unique selling proposition is what distinguishes a product from its competitors. It exhibits how the
product differentiates or is better than similar products( Trimble, C., January 2008). Under
Armour Heat Gear differentiates itself from the market by allowing athletes to compete at high levels
in the midst of stressful climates. This is done by maximizing breathability and moisture management.
Users will remain cool and dry, which will allow higher quality performance and longer muscle
usability. Under Armour also uses top of the line material such as its newly created PolyArmour and
elastane. This creation makes it difficult for copycat manufacturers to duplicate Under Armour
products.
Product Strengths
Under Armour Heatgears unique compression fit enhances moisture transport and bolsters muscle
support (Under Armour Official Website, 2008). For on the field use, the long sleeve provides total
upper body protection. This prevents abrasions to the skin, especially due to high friction which is very
common in athletic performance. The PolyAmour has a very distinct design that does an amazing
job in preventing chafing. In addition, Under Armour Heatgear protects the skin from harmful UV
sunrays, preventing premature aging. The Heatgear line keeps the body cool in a sizzling
environment. This enhances the comfort of the user in heated situations. It also prevents the body
from overheating. The compressed fit of Under Armour gives purchasers a greater range of motion
while maintaining the high quality protection less comfortable clothing.
Product Weaknesses
Under Armour Heat Gear does not sell very well during the winter season. Although Under
Armour has other products to make up for the drop off in sales, our product concern is that of Heat
Gear. Another weakness of Under Armour is that it is on the expensive side. There are many other
competitors that sell similar products at a much cheaper price. For example, in a bike forum someone
posted that he purchased CoolMax gear for $8.00 compared to Under Armour for $20.00 and
CoolMax was just as effective. (Bikeforums.net, 2008). To go along with being expensive, Under
Armour is losing its uniqueness because so many different brands offer very similar products.
PRODUCT GRAPH
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Core Product
The core benefit of Under Armour Heat Gear is that it keeps muscles warm, helps maintain optimal
body temperature, and enhances overall athletic appearance and performance in any situation. By
wearing Heat Gear apparel the consumer doesnt worry about being in the best possible position to
perform at his or her highest possible level. Furthermore, wearing this product may boost self-esteem
and can also lead to increased social status. All of these positive attributes of wearing the product will
lead to a more efficient athlete when his or her time comes.
Actual Product
Brand Name
Under Armour was developed in 1996 by Kevin Plank, and since then the company has spread all
over the world selling top of the line products. Under Armour is a name that is known around the
world for products that keep athletes cool, dry and light throughout the course of a game, practice or
workout.
Attributes & Features
The Under Armour Heatgear line was especially designed for comfort, temperature control, and an
athletic appearance. The longsleeve Heatgear line enhances moisture transport, which assist in
keeping the body cool and dry. It also provides support for the muscles with it compressed fit. The
PolyArmour protects the body from harmful UV sun rays. This is especially important to those who
spend long periods of time outside. Premature aging is thus inhibited (Under Armour Official
Website, 2008).
Quality Level
The quality of Under Armour Heat Gear is an extremely important reason why the company is
number one in the market. The shirts are made of 81% PolyArmour and 19% Elastine. The Under
Armour Heat Gear are quite expensive ranging from around $30.00 to $50.00 (Under Armour
Official Website, 2008), but the company thrives on the idea that you get what you pay for. The
company wants you to know that youre paying for a durable, efficient, quality product when you buy
Under Armour Heat Gear.
Design
Under Armour has a design that is most recognizable on game day. It has micro-pique fabrication that
is durable through any workout, practice, or game. Also, antimicrobial technology doesnt allow for
odors to be present during competition. Lastly, Under Armour has a heatseal logo and lockertag.
Packaging
The packaging differs depending where the merchandise is purchased. If the long sleeve is
purchased through a retailer, it may be found hanging on a rack. In this case, it will be packaged with
the retailers own bag. If the product is purchased through Under Armour online shopping center, it
will arrive individually-packaged in plastic flasks with a raised Under Armour logo (Under Armour
Infuses Energy Into Sporting Goods, 2008).
Augmented Product
Warranty
If a product is defective it will be replaced with an item of equal value. Exchanges or returns must be
accompanied by the original receipt received when product arrived. In addition, a summary note must
be included detailing the reason for the return. Items not purchased from www.underarmour.com are
not returnable.
After-sale Service
All products purchased through www.underarmour.com must be returned within 30 days of receipt and
must be in resalable condition if it is a non-defective item.
Delivery
Buyers have the option of purchasing the product through retailers. If the buyer prefers purchasing
directly from Under Armour, there is an online store on the companys official
website www.underarmour.com. Buyers should expect products to be delivered within 4-10 business
days for standard shipping, which is free. There is also an option to upgrade to 2 day or next day
shipping.
PRICE
General Pricing Strategy
A general pricing strategy is a pricing scheme used to maximize the profitability of a product. Usually
the strategy is based on the type of product being sold. The general pricing strategy provides a
starting point for companies when deciding how much they will charge for the product (Trimble, C.,
February, 2008). The general pricing strategy for Under Armour Heat Gear is value-based. There
are a lot more factors involved with this strategy than with cost-based or competitor-based pricing
strategies, one of which is reputation. Under Armour products have a reputation that is unchallenged
and will remain that way unless there is a dramatic change in the market. People have come to expect
great value out of Under Armour and their reputation is one reason why they do so well. The Under
Armour Heat Gear products thrive because no one can duplicate what they have done in the
sporting goods market. People automatically correlate great value with Under Armour products.
Basic Price Points
Price points are incremental steps in price. When the quantity or quality of price increases, the price
increases (Trimble, C., February, 2008). Under Armour makes use of this system in the pricing of the
Heat Gear that they offer. A consumer can purchase various types of Heat Gear such as short sleeve
and long sleeve products. The short sleeve products are priced around $35, while the long sleeve
products are around $45. The increase in price is due to the additional fabric being used in making the
long sleeve gear. The additional fabric also provides higher quality protection.
Team Opinion
It is our belief that Under Armour Heat Gear has a well-planned pricing strategy. Because their
product is considered high quality, it is obvious that they would use a value-based pricing strategy.
There are competitors in the market. However, when consumers think about purchasing compression
athletic apparel, Under Armour is the first company in mind. Under Armour has set their prices
based on what their product is worth to the consumer (Trimble, C., February, 2008). While consumers
may feel that $29.99-$39.99 is expensive for Heat Gear, they are willing to purchase the item because
they are expecting high quality. If the price was lower but the product maintained the same quality,
consumers might believe that similar products are equal to Under Armour products in quality. All of
the items purchased through Under Armour essentially serve the same purpose. This is why they
cannot make prices too much different from other products in the line. It is clear that they use a price
points system. By observing other products offered you see that the higher quality products are more
expensive. Just as our group is satisfied with the pricing, it seems as if consumers are satisfied also.
Based on our experiences, the Under Armour is worn by nearly every player on IWUs athletic
teams.
PLACEMENT
Distribution Strategy
Under Armour Corporation uses the selective distribution strategy as their method for getting their
product to consumers. This strategy is used for products that are not in every retail store, but they are
some within a geographical area. For Under Armour, the company chooses the retail stores that
would be the best fit for selling their product, such as sporting goods stores. Stores like Dicks, Sports
Authority, and Sportmart are just some of the stores that you can find the Under Armour product in.
Consumers know that the Under Armour products can be found in only a specific store which is
almost every sporting good store which makes it a shopping product.
Distribution Channel
A distribution channel is a set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a
product for use to the final consumer. There are many different distribution channels that can be used
to distribute a product including: indirect channel, direct channel, and hybrid channel. The nature of
the product determines whether the channel is direct, indirect or hybrid. Direct channels are used
when there are no intermediaries between the manufacturer and the consumer. Indirect channels are
used when there are intermediaries such as wholesalers and retailers between the manufacturer and
the ultimate consumer. A hybrid channel is a combination of both (Trimble, C., February, 2008). Under
Armour distributes their product in a couple different ways. They sell directly to the consumer
through their web site, but they also sell wholesale to sporting goods carriers who in turn sell to
consumers. Therefore, we would consider Under Armour's distribution channel as a hybrid channel.
Under Armours statement in 2005 said, Approximately 90.5% of our net revenues were derived
from wholesale distribution (Edgar-Online.com). Their principal customers are places like Dicks
Sporting Goods, Eastbay, and Sports Authority. Not all stores carry their products, but there are still a
good amount of places you can find their product. Also, because their strategy is selective, the
products are considered shopping products.
Team Opinion
Our team believes that Under Armours placement strategy works well for their product. The fact that
they use a hybrid system allows them to maximize sales. Under Armour expands the amount of
places that the products can be bought by distributing them to various sporting good retailers. Being
able to find Under Armour in your local mall is valuable to consumers. It is convenient to the
consumer to be able to obtain the product immediately. This eliminates the delivery time and satisfies
consumers desire to have the product instantly. Distributing to retailers also helps Under Armour
because their products may be purchased while a consumer is searching for other goods.
Disintermediation, eliminating some of the intermediaries (Trimble, C., February, 2008), also serves
both the consumer and the manufacturer well. The online store is beneficial in various ways. It
allows Under Armour to have a greater amount of control over distribution. Also, there is a greater
variety of apparel available online. Retailers may run out of a product, whereas the online store is less
likely to have a shortage.
PROMOTION
Marketing Communication Mix
The marketing communication mix is a specific blend of tools used to meet marketing communication
objectives. The tools include: advertising, personal sales, direct marketing, sales promotion, and
public relations (Trimble, C., March, 2008). Under Armour utilizes advertising, direct marketing, sales
promotions, and public relations to communicate its product to consumers. We did not find any
One of the main purposes of using public relations is for the public to develop a greater level of trust in
a company. Because Under Armour voluntarily and consistently releases information on the
happenings of the company, they are building on the trust that shareholders currently have.
Summary
Public relations and personal sales are not important parts of Under Armours marketing
communication mix. Public relations is defined as earned presentations used to create and maintain
positive relationships with an organization's publics and personal sales is paid, personal presentation
that is interpersonal (Trimble, C., March, 2008). Although we found evidence of some press
conferences from Under Armour representatives, they mostly announced the releases of future
television advertisements and didnt really announce anything about their products. Also, Under
Armour does not use one-on-one or face-to-face sales to attract customers to their products, so
personal sales is not an applicable tool for them to use.
The following graph will exemplify our groups estimate of Under Armours use of each marketing
communication tool:
mc tool usage.bmp
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Team's Opinion
Our team feels that the Under Armour has a solid marketing communication mix. They have made
good use of advertising through catchy phrases viewed on billboards, e-mail, and commercials. Being
that they have a pull promotion mix strategy, they have used the marketing communication tools that
are most effective to promote Heat Gear. It would be a waste of capital to hire a personal sales staff.
Public relations is a good addition to marketing communication mix that is present. Maintaining this
form of communication is essential to ensure the flow of capital from investors. Generally, it is athletes
who purchase Heat Gear. It is purchased for a variety of reasons, but the same type of people do the
purchasing. Therefore, it is most efficient and productive to use advertising direct marketing, and
public relations as ways to communicate to the target market. It is most beneficial to have a
differentiated market coverage strategy due to the various lines of apparel offered by Under Armour.
To be number one is a label that all athletes strive for in their sporting involvement. In a market where
being the best is very profitable, Under Armour has achieved what so many of its produt consumers
desire. This elite status is exactly what Under Armour intends to provide. This is evident when you
observe the numerous aspects of marketing that have gone into delivering their products.
Under Armours objective is to be the market share leader in sporting apparel. The goal is to achieve
this objective through a high-quality product. Although the company emphasizes product quality, they
are not so heavily focused on quality that they create a rare, high-priced product. This is why it is
classified as a shopping product. Consumers know the specific retailers who will distribute Heat
Gear. There is more than one retailer in a given geographic location. Under Armour uses a selective
distribution strategy. It chooses its retailers based on the characteristics of the retailer. Using a hybrid
channel, consumers can purchase Heat Gear from Under Armour or any retailer distributing the
product.
The pricing of Under Armour Heat Gear is right in line with buyer expectation. The company uses a
value-based pricing strategy. While it is true that Under Armour faces competition in the market, its
superior quality of product allows them to price products outside of competitor prices. Consumers
recognize the products excellence and are willing to pay the additional cost. Heat Gear is not priced
based on its competitors prices; it is priced based on consumer expectation. Therefore, Under
Armour must still remain within the boundary of what consumers deem acceptable pricing.
In addition to the quality of Under Armour products, the company has done an excellent job enticing
the public to purchase its products. It uses a pull marketing communication mix strategy. Consumers
are aware of the uses of the product and do not need any explanation or help purchasing it. The
demand is pulled from the bottom down. Under Armour has made use of advertising, sales promotion,
direct marketing, and public relations as marketing communication tools. The company has applied
these tools to a differentiated market coverage strategy. Under Armour tailors its marketing mix to
each individual product line. Because the company has so many different products, it is most
beneficial to have many different strategies aimed at a specific segment.
Under Armour has done a great job in most aspects of marketing. Unfortunately, their mission
statement is not as solid as it should be. Reading the mission statement without the knowledge of
what company it belonged to, a person might not have a clear understanding of what Under Armour
is all about. Under Armour could be a training program, sports drink, or any number of things based
on how the mission statement is written. Under Armours commitment to all athletes shows that they
strive for market share leadership. They do not mention anything about the quality of the products
they produce in their mission statement, which is a major factor in selling Under Armour.
After observing the many aspects of Under Armour, it is easier to understand the choices that they
have made in their marketing mix. These choices have led them to experience great success in their
industry. Although they need to tighten up the mission statement, they have done a great job
marketing the product, overall.
Brand equity
Innovation
Attractive Logo
Being financially strong helps under armour deal with any problems,
ride any dip in profits and out perform their rivals.
Weaknesses
Pricing
Narrow focus
Advertising
United States Marine Crops banned them for not being fire retardant
- lost large part of military market.
Very expensive
Online presence is vital for success these days, and lack of one is a
limitation for under armour.
Narrow focus
Opportunities
Lowered Prices
Pricing tiers
Other companies
The changes in the way consumers spend and what they buy
provides a big opportunity for under armour to explore.
Threats
Economic Recession
Changes in the way consumers shop and spend and other changing
consumer patterns could be a threat to under armour's
performance.