Source: Celebrating Black History Month
The spate of Black History Month sneaker collections has diminished considerably, but Under Armour has made an effort to consistently outdo itself every year over the last 5 celebrations. The brand has delivered collaborative efforts with this generation’s Gordon Parks, Devin Allen:
Under Armour’s Inspirational Collab with Devin Allen Could Ring Hollow
The brand has made partnerships with hometown HBCU Morgan State. This year the brand has delivered another collection filled with incredible color, design and functionality. In this year’s set are performance footwear options like the UA Clone Soccer Cleat, the Women’s hoops sneaker Flow Breakthrough 3 and the brand dug into the archives to redeliver the Curry 1 Black History Month sneaker which celebrates Lewis Latimer. There have been real honest efforts placed into the creation of the footwear by Under Armour.
Here is the issue, and it’s not bad design, Under Armour doesn’t educate its consumer enough to break the Black community’s familial bond with Nike; it is going to take an extensive amount of effort to explain why Black folks should care about Under Armour. This isn’t solely an Under Armour issue, every brand has to deal with the hold Nike has on the Black dollar. I was speaking with an analyst about something I labeled as the Nike moat. In my book on Nike’s Consumer Direct Offense, I explained that Nike has a hold on one segment of consumers. This segment allows Nike to take risks, no other brand can, without fear of losing too much ground. Nike has a lock on the minds and hearts of Black consumers. Wearing Nike is almost a birthright, and it has created a moat around Nike’s castle supported by an almost untraceable demographic in the cash customer. My goal isn’t to focus on Nike in a post about another incredible collection by Under Armour that will support the Black community this year via their HBCU Combine Program:
Our collection of Black History Month shirts, shoes, and clothing also lifts up our HBCU Career Combine program. The program supports HBCU student athletes on the field, in the classroom, and on the job with leadership development, career preparation, networking, and scholarship opportunities.
The program is being rolled out at Morgan State and at Jackson State University and it comes with a bevy of financial and educational opportunities. Most companies have given up on creating Black History Month collections because inevitably they are trashed by the demographic the brands assume are buying sneakers and open to supporting a variety of companies. This is where Under Armour misses the target. The gear and footwear looks great. The mission is on point and has been for years, but in the words of a never-ending list of rap songs, “Black folks don’t f–k with Under Armour.” I own pairs of UA sneakers, jackets and clothing. One of my favorite pair is my UA HOVR FT. My wife and I have matching pairs. My son took my HOVR Running shoes to college because while he rocks Jordan 1s, when he has to walk around the campus at the U, he wears what feels good.
When I documented C-Suite’s of major sneaker corporations I came down hard on Under Armour. At the time I had a lot of people in my ear about the lack of culture at the brand. Former employees said that the company pushes the Black voice to the back. Since that time the company has created BEAT (Black Employees Achieving Together). The company has developed one of the most transparent and informative pages on their diversity making itself accountable: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (underarmour.com)
The design of footwear and apparel along with the investment in community and youth sports has been elite, but Under Armour’s missed opportunities show that there is a component inside of the brand that isn’t being heard. Under Armour was one of the only brands that could have breached the moat around Nike in the last three years. The company had a trojan horse in Deion Sanders at Jackson State University. This offered the brand an opportunity to completely saturate the Tri-State area in one of the richest, historical areas of Black culture, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. The company did nothing and here we are at the start of a new year. 2023 has already been labeled by sneaker culture as the year of Jordan for obvious reasons. Coach Prime is now at a Nike sponsored school and the window has closed… but not really. This new collection from UA is good. It’s very good, but Nike has filled the moat with piranhas and sharks. Under Armour had access to a drawbridge, but it has been closed and reinforced.
Under Armour plants a flag each year as one of the few brands bold enough to take on the challenge of delivering a Black History Month collection with substance. The drop is one that is against the reality of their demographics. According to Start.io UA’s biggest segment is the 35+ category. Under Armour Target Market Segmentation & Brand Analysis – Audience Demographics, Marketing Strategy & Competitors – Start.io – A Mobile Marketing and Audience Platform. The company at one point captured the youth demographic due to Steph Curry’s play and presence. This has diminished as NBA players like Ja Morant and Jayson Tatum have become higher profile. The company has taken on a strategy of catering to the young athlete, but where does this place the beautiful 2023 collection for Black History Month? It leaves BHM23 to the rapidly shifting sands of sneaker drops and sports events in the month of February. The collection may be overlooked and overshadowed, but it shouldn’t be. It’s an attempt at doing the right thing, the right way. Unfortunately, the collection is aimed at UA’s smallest demographic without the reach to plant at least one seed.
Celebrating Black History Month | Under Armour – Being seen, heard and celebrated is critical to creating change, and Under Armour continues to transform how they engage their Teammates and build bigger purpose into their work.
When it comes to creating product collections that reflect and celebrate the moments that matter most, UA wants its Teammates at the center of bringing that collection to life. Approaching the 2023 Be Seen, Be Heard, Be Celebrated product collection, UA’s team resource group BEAT: Black Employees Achieving Together collaborated to ensure the Black History Month collection was a reflection of themselves and those before them.
DerRick Turner, Apparel Graphic Designer, Team Sports and Special Events and BEAT member, felt “It was important that the collection celebrate and honor the individuals who have paved the way for us, as well as those doing the work today to create a better place for Black people throughout the world.”
This year, the team collaborated to bring a fresh look rooted in training gear for greater range of wearability.
UA is working on programs and building partnerships that can help set Black student-athletes up for success not just on the court or field of play, but also in the classroom and on the job. This year as just one element of that commitment they are expanding the Career Combine to all 12 CIAA schools.
* The creative campaign, which was produced by 19th&Park, an all-Black female-led production company, features a few of JSU’s student-athletes.
* The campaign also highlights the District Running Collective, a community partner in Washington D.C., that uses running to bring people together for a common goal and does great work for the Black community via their District 19 run.