Shop Under Armour for Men’s UAS Forge 1 Mid in our Men’s Lifestyle Shoes department. Free shipping is available in US.
Source: Men’s UAS Forge 1 Mid | Under Armour US
I know that AHN (ARCH x Housakicks Network) doesn’t garner the type of contact from PR people at various footwear companies, but one look at our site vs the typical sneaker site and the difference is immediately noticeable. You can imagine the frustration involved with creating a more in-depth footwear site only to be overlooked in e-mail blasts.
Rant over…
It’s crazy that I have seen the Forge 1 Mid on major blogs like GQ and on sneaker sites, but none of them have really emphasized the small details. Under Armour introduced UAS (Under Armour Sports) last year. None of the sneaker sites actually covered it. AHN did:
Dope S–t I Like: UAS Modern American Sportswear | I May Be Wrong
I have to assume that UA is sending the message out to GQ and other “big” sites in an attempt to reach the consumer they are designing for and that makes sense. The problem is doing this without having the proper channels in place to create conversion limits the potential of the campaign. What am I saying? When you give your press release to these sites they don’t have any history or analysis of the brand beyond the color of the shoes released and what they are for. These stories don’t create branding or story telling. UA is basically asking GQ to sell their shoe without any details about why this shoe is unlike anything else on the market.
The Forge 1 is on trend and features a style unlike any other shoe created under the UAS banner. Why is this important? The fact that Under Armour has begun integrating UAS into UA as opposed to keeping it separate is akin to adidas utilizing different branding for its products. With adidas there is the “Three Stripes logo”, “the Trefoil” and the Originals banner as well as NMD.
Under Armour has long had an issue with the UA logo and it’s presentation on footwear. With UAS the brand introduced a triangle logo that is more attractive and has been utilized successfully in my opinion; although many people don’t even know the shoes exist. The first thing to be discussed on the Forge 1 is the UAS logo being utilized vs the traditional UA logo.
The outsole of the shoe features the UAS triangle logo and discussing the use of the logo and a traction system utilizing the logo allows for details about the brand’s focus on sportswear as performance.
The use of the UAS logo is a smooth transition by the brand that began last year with the Club and other shoes under UAS. I think the decision to bring UAS under the umbrella as opposed to building outside of the company was very smart. The only thing I hate is that when I go to the homepage of the site the shoe isn’t easily discoverable. I get relying on the blogs like GQ because it builds awareness, but UA is going to have to begin creating its content platform and driving engagement.
At 170.00 the the Forge is one of the more expensive shoes from Under Armour. Is this outside of what UA has become known for? Yes it is. This shoe is not what UA is known for and that’s a good thing. You have a style model that also functions just as well on wet surfaces as a Timberland boot with its gum outsole. The midfoot strap creates a lockdown fit and the padding around the collar of the heel maximizes comfort. The decision to use premium leather makes this a sneaker boot option that rivals the Nike Duckboot and in my opinion looks better than the popular Timberland alternative. I stated earlier this year that the UA Delta 2 Mid was one of the best sneaker options on the market.
The Forge 1 Mid is definitely the best premium mid sneakerboot available. The question is at what point does Under Armour begin utilizing its athletes to introduce the footwear and create campaigns to maximize exposure? Just giving the sneaker blogs and GQ’s of the world a picture and hoping for interaction isn’t enough and UA needs to be going above and beyond right now. Creating a story is important because I discovered the shoes via a GQ post and a share from an Under Armour person on LinkedIn. I had to discover on my own that the Forge also was dropped in a low and that is a problem. The articles should be presenting both shoes… then again, maybe it shouldn’t because the low removes the lacing system and strap which doesn’t work quite as well at all. Use the source link to pick up a pair and let me know what you think.