Under Armour logo and type directions

Competitive

Real

Dedication

Relatable

Driven

Athletic

Innovative

The original Under Armour logo felt too aggressive for what I was trying to accomplish with my branding statement. Through sketching, I realized that I wanted to create a sense of movement in the logo. The original just seems so stable and heavy and mean. That is not how I would like the brand to be perceived.

Zune thoughts

http://gen-ygroup.blogspot.com/2008/09/generation-y-and-resource-sharing.html
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_gen_y_is_going_to_change_the_web.php

Throughout recent discussions in the class room as well as suggestions by Fiona, I got to wondering about the sharing aspect of the Zune. It really is what the Zune has against the ipod. With more research and existing knowledge, I realized that Gen Y is the sharing kind. Everyone seems to feel comfortable posting videos on youtube or uploading embarrassing photos on Facebook. As it read in one of the above articles, "Gen Y tends to rely on their network of friends and their recommendations, not traditional ads. "Ads that push a slogan, an image, and a feeling, the younger consumer is not going to go for,'' says James R. Palczynski, retail analyst for Ladenburg Thalmann & Co."

The younger generations don't care about what they are told or asked to do, they care about what their friends are doing. I remember falling victim to it when I was young and looking for a friend. If they listened to a certain radio station or watched a certain show, so did I. It was about having something in common. It seems nowadays having something in common doesn't fall far from having the latest in technology.

Under Armour

Innovative, Dry-Fit, Performance Enhancing sports apparel

Brand Positioning Statement

Under Armour is the sports apparel for any athlete. Under Armour believes in the strength of sport and the clothing that goes with it. The focus should be on the game, the outcome, and not the discomforts a suffocating uniform. As a company, Under Armour has risen to the top through perseverance and dedication. Under Armour understands athletes and their desire to win. Win or loose, you need to show who you are along the way to be able to look back and say you gave it your all.

Brand-Driven Tag line

Teamwork, Perseverance, Reliability

"Sports don't build character, they reveal it." John Wooden

Reveal the athlete in you. Reveal the drive. Reveal the heart of it all. Reveal you.

Under Armour Moodboard revised

Zune Moodboard

Gen Y

Generation Y Article

http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_07/b3616001.htm

Tough Customers: How to Reach Gen Y

http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/market-research/tough-customers-how-to-reach-gen-y.aspx#ToughcustomershowtoreachGenY

Zune branding Statement

• Individual
• Independent
• Friendly
• Confident
• True
• Environmentally conscious
• World conscious
• Authentic
• Respectful, tolerant
• Celebrates differences
• Welcoming
• Community
• Fun
• Vibrant
• Creative

Zune is about you. Zune is about the world. It celebrates your individuality, your unique and fantastic personality. It embraces the differences in this world, and invites us in. Zune is conscious of the fact that we are all connected.

Zune knows that an experience is not a 30 second sound-bite first impression, it is a whole package with a beginning, a middle and an end.

Moodboards

Playing around with new logo ideas. I have since decided that going away from U and A would be the best thing for the re-design. It is still in the works.
Colour scheme and mood board for the new direction of Under Armour. Still keeping with reds but throwing in more blues and cool colours to make the palette less intense.

Previous Under Armour Touch Points

Redux

Under Armour has proven itself as the frontrunner in performance athletic apparel and has based their brand around innovation. However, as a consumer, I find Under Armour to be a little too agressive when it comes to their advertising and the way they are perceived as a brand.

I feel that Under Armour has the opportunity to stay loyal to their existing consumers while branching out to less 'extreme' atheletes. The company itself is an underdog story, so why not play with that idea a little further. I think losing the chains and battle-focused ads could help a different market relate to the brand better. Becoming more emotional and thoughtful could increase Under Armours sales once they've tapped in to a different target market.

Zune SWOT

Strengths

Allows users to share music with other Zune users

Simple controls and navigation

Built in FM radio and podcast support

You can personalize your background

Users can become part of a community with the Zune Marketplace

Colorful Advertising, Intriguing

Weaknesses

Mediocre sound and no EQ

Lack of sources of legal/popular video content

Wireless sync can be tricky to set up

Song sharing suffers with the lack of widespread adoption

Only compatible with Microsoft PCs, Mac seems to be viewed as the future

Up against the infamous ipod

Opportunities

I feel that since the ipod has become such a commodity, Zune could be a breath of fresh air. Many consumers seem to purchase ipods just to say 'I have an ipod'. For those who choose to stray from the crowd, this could be the MP3 player for them. Not to mention for all the PC users who just refuse to move on and become Mac users.

Threats

No surprise here, the Zune's biggest threat is Apple's ipod

Ridicule from celebs and tech experts comparing the Zune to the ipod will definitely hurt the Zune and it's opportunities to take off.

Zune Touch Points

CNN Ridicules the Zune

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buKaqRG2SFA

Zune Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5QiqbHp5Q8

Zune Commercial_2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0ZWXIf1Jq8&feature=related
Craig Ferguson - His thoughts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5ENLm0JsQw&feature=related

ZUNE

Zune is a digital media manager for your PC, a wireless media player, and a rich social network of music lovers. Zune players come in a variety of colours and sizes. They have built-in FM radios, and sync wirelessly with your computer. They play music, videos, and podcasts, display pictures and come with free games.

Features

120GB hard drive Up to 30,000 songs, 25,000 pictures, or 375 hours of video

120GB capacity. Holds up to 30,000 songs, 25,000 pictures or 375 hours of video

Beautiful, big screen. Featuring a 3.2-inch colour screen, Zune 120GB is perfect for portable video viewing.

Touch controls. Kiss slow scrolling goodbye. The innovative new Zune pad makes browsing your device a blast. Fly effortlessly through your music, picture, and video collections.

Wireless sync. Cut the cord to your PC. Refresh your Zune with new content anytime you charge your device, through your home wireless network.

Wireless Zune-to-Zune sharing. Share full-length tracks of your favorite songs, albums, playlists, pictures and even audio podcasts. Listen to the full track of any song you receive up to three times, and even pass along songs you receive to other friends nearby who have a Zune.

TV and movies to go. Zune will import unprotected .WMV, .MPG4 and H.264 files into your video library. Also, if you're recording TV shows or movies with Windows Media Center in Windows Vista, you can import and sync them to your device. Load up your favorite videos and hit the road.

Built-in FM radio. Tune in to one of your favorite local stations while on the go or working out. Advanced tuning capabilities let you see the name of the song currently playing on select frequencies.

Your games. Your music. Your way. Plug your Zune into your Xbox 360 and customize the soundtrack in your favorite games. You can also stream content in Zune software to your Xbox 360 using a wireless connection.

Under Armour SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Strong Brand Name
Recognizable, Memorable logo
The company continues to grow and innovate
Supporting college athletic departments
Customers believe in the product, as do the employees of Under Armour
Stand strong against big competitors like NIKE and Reebok
They don’t pay athletes millions of dollars to wear the brand; the athletes choose to wear it, because it works.
Under Armour connects with their consumers better than most brands
Frontrunner in performance athletic apparel
Product is valuable to both consumer and Under Armour


Weaknesses

The product is expensive to buy
Lack of awareness
Forceful advertising can come off as too intense
Narrow focus, only work out wear
Viewed as a male-targeted brand
Can be hard to relate too in advertising if you’re not a serious athlete
Narrow target market
Isn’t always perceived as attainable with the high prices and big athletes as spokesmen
Still a rather new company (eight years)


Opportunities

Have popular athletes wear the product
Emphasize a variety of sports
Lower prices
Encourage a workout lifestyle
Focus on a younger target market
Attract consumers looking for a high-quality product
Transform advertising focus, make it more relatable and attainable
Supply more college athletic programs with Under Armour apparel
Introduce a more graphic line of apparel to attract a younger crowd
Become more relatable with a broader audience rather than just the hard core athletes


Threats

Economic recession
Long-standing Competitors
Male-dominated focus
If Under Armour wishes to expand into a more fashionable line, they run the risk of losing their hard-core athletes
Because they are still a young company, they could outlast the ‘buzz’ and become a long-standing sports apparel company. They still have phases to go through including a recession in purchasing and a lack of demand.
Competitors offer similar products at a lower retail value



Under Armour has coined the tagline, “We Must Protect This House!” They used it in all their print and television media. More recently, Under Armour has changed their slogan to, “The Advantage Is Undeniable.” This new slogan better fits the image that they are trying to convey to their market. Pointing out the idea that Under Armour’s products have advantage over all other products is a great way for the company to reinforce brand recognition to the consumer.

Target Market

Collegiate Athletes ages 17-23
Football, Baseball, Hockey players etc.
Adults practicing a Healthy Lifestyle

Nike as a Competitor

Nike, what first started off as merely footwear, is now the worlds leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel. It has been around since 1980 and sponsors many high-profile athletes and sports teams around the world. Their goal is to carry on a legacy of innovative thinking, to help athletes reach their potential, to set themselves apart from their competition and provide value for their shareholders. As a company, they have established a strong brand portfolio with wholly owned subsidences like Converse Inc, Hurley Int., Nike Golf and Umbro Ltd. Currently, Nike operates in over 160 countries and has collected many awards over the years including one of the most sustainable corporations in the world. Nike sees corporate responsibility as an integral part of how they can use the power of their brand. They as a company invest a minimum of $315 million in grants and product donations.

The Nike "swoosh" logo came to symbolize not just sports culture, but street culture, as the appeal of the star players who endorsed the brand was carried onto city streets. The approach of the new century set Nike new problems. Trainers went (briefly) out of fashion; economic slowdown and labor problems hit Asian performance. But the group has bounced back, retaining its iron grip on the sporting apparel sector and still undisputed leader in sports-oriented street wear. Advertising Age estimated global measured advertising expenditure of $308m in 2006, making Nike the world's #89 advertiser. Over the years, Nike has had its share of backlash with working conditions and certain ad campaigns. However, with the power of their slogan ‘Just Do It’ has come inspirational advertising as well, focusing on the strength of an athlete and the determination that gets them to their destinations.

A Quick Look at Under Armour

Kevin Plank, a former college football player at the University of Maryland, set out to capitalize on the perspiration that goes hand-in-hand with sports by creating a clothing that wouldn’t become saturated with sweat.

For those that are unfamiliar with the product, you can find it at any sporting goods store. Under Armour is thinly layered, tight fitting clothing that doesn’t hold moisture. For athletes, not only does it not weigh you down with sweat, but it also helps cool them. The science behind it is similar to that of perspiration. The clothing doesn’t hold moisture so it forces it to the top layer. It sits on the top of the top layer and when you catch a breeze, your body can cool by up to 35%.

From this simple concept a multi-million dollar a year business was born. It was all started with a twenty thousand dollar budget, and a lot of legwork. The company never spent a dime on print or media advertising until much later on. Instead, the success of the company relied on word of mouth. They passed out samples of their clothing to football players, who fell in love with the product almost instantly. Under Armour then received it’s first order for $15000.00 for Georgia Tech’s football team.

The equipment manager for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons was a close friend with the Georgia Tech head coach. Kevin Plank received a phone call asking if he could make the shirts in long-sleeved as well. Without a advertising budget, nor a well-recognized brand, Kevin made his first sale to a professional sports team. Before he knew it, Plank was receiving orders of hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise from professional sports teams and apparel shops all over the world.

It didn’t take long for bigger companies such as Nike, Adidas and Reebok to start developing entire product lines that they called ‘Dry Fit’ clothing. However, by the time those companies released their products, Under Armour already had established a firm grasp on the industry by signing contracts to provide athletic apparel to all major pro sports and most college sporting programs as well.