Savage vs. Pressure (underarmour.com)
Under Armour always appears to be at the foot of an escalator moving towards disrupting the powerhouses of Nike and adidas, but they are like the kid afraid to take the step needed to go up because everything looks so scary when it’s moving and larger than life. It may be that the company has an internal structure with too many layers, but I think it may be that the company works overpays executives leaving skeleton crews in the areas needed to attack the market quickly and with an ear to every culture in the country. I once wrote a post about a BIPOC at the company. The person asked me to remove it because it singled them out and placed a target on their back. The white employees began complaining that what I had written ignored their white counterparts. The crazy thing is that was the point. The goal was to share a story about a Black person to inspire Black kids to look at other avenues in the sneaker industry instead of just design. I write this story to explain the missed opportunities which could have elevated Under Armour to the next level pushing the sneaker industry to do more for the people who love sneakers and the culture around kicks. From the failed launch of Under Armour Sports to the lack of developing more signature athletes while endorsing the MVPs of every major sport Under Armour just seems to miss the target too much which leaves them as the brand of soccer kids and inexpensive tees purchased off retail. The complete absence of energy around Deion Sanders the last three years is emblematic of stunted growth. UA is the only 5-billion-dollar brand that doesn’t appear to be moving forward. As many incredible campaigns that are initiated for minorities, it takes special moments for a brand to ascend to the heart of the consumer. Deion at Jackson State offered that moment.
Under Armour had three years to expand from hunters, camouflage and good old boys in Mississippi and the South, to HBCUs and Black culture and they did nothing. No football camps in the Mid-South Area, nothing in Memphis where a majority of the student body at Jackson State University comes from. Not one activation taking advantage of the interest in what Coach Prime was accomplishing at J State. Think about this, the heart of distribution in the U.S. is in Memphis and the city connects Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, to the rest of the world. This area also connects the rest of the world through the creation of soul music, blues and rock and roll. There is a reason the highway I-55 is tree with branches throughout the Blues Corridor. The music, the history, the fraternities, band traditions of the South and Black culture were readily available to highlight and Under Armour had three years of the Southern Heritage Classic, sponsored by Nike, to do a guerilla marketing tactic every year. The only time the Liberty Bowl Stadium is filled to capacity is when J State takes on TSU… or took on. The event will no longer feature J State, but it might since Coach Prime is gone. Under Armour could have and still should take advantage of connecting to a consumer they have yet to learn or reach and they didn’t do ONE EVENT.
Now Deion Sanders, one of the most vocal endorsers of Under Armour, a former Nike pitch man with one of the most successful models under Nike Football in the Diamond Turf sneakers from the 90s, a sneaker often retro released by Nike with no connection to Prime Time and it still sells out because of nostalgia, is at the University of Colorado; a school with a rich history of partnership with the Swoosh. Under Armour wants to be a growth company, but the lack of engagement and action in the last three years is evidence of an internal disconnect between product and people in the company and while most of the country is discussing Coach Prime’s exit, no one has picked up on the animosity between Deion and Nike. The only comparison to a moment like this is with Patrick Ewing leading Jordan Brand sponsored Georgetown. Ewing can’t talk about or endorse his namesake product Ewing Athletics because of his contract with Jordan Brand. While there aren’t written rules around coaches and who they endorse and where they coach, Nike has a lot of input on where a coach lands. Under Armour sponsors some high-powered college football programs including Colorado State University. Colorado State has committed more than $6M to former coaches since 2018 (coloradoan.com)
Under Armour should have had some input on Coach Prime’s decision. They should have committed monies to Jackson State in order to land a demographic they’ve missed on for years. Coach Prime should have stayed put and waited to land the program at Colorado State because it would have aligned with his enthusiasm about Under Armour. The team is 3-9 and just hired a new coach. They are in Mountain West, which isn’t the Pac-12, but it is an upgrade to a conference that is a lot like the SWAC, but with better facilities and funding. That program will turn over again in two years. Instead, Nike gets Coach Prime back, by default and Under Armour has another missed opportunity in reaching an important demographic for the brand to be a growth company.