2. Description
Under Armour is continuing to grow in the forever competitive sporting
apparel industry.
Yet, they all seem so similar as they offer the same sorts of products with no
one willing to risk their brand certainty and familiarity to strike bid by
pushing the boundaries with innovation.
I propose that Under Armour ventures out and formulates a line of
supplements that are geared toward the every day athlete as it will put a
focus on helping you find your “I WILL”.
3. Goals
To separate from other athletic companies by pairing a well known apparel
company with cutting-edge formulated supplements
To appeal to a diverse range of athletes
To stay true to Under Armour’s vision and image of a unique company who
continues to push the limits
To bring existing customers into the new product line eager to see how Under
Armour can continue to exceed their expectations
To corner new consumers with a friendly formula geared toward personal
growth at the user’s desired rate
4. Environmental Analysis
Increasing movement to be fit and healthy. This coincides with aging seniors
as well as teenagers wanting to start getting in shape at a younger age.
“Health craze” highlighted by fad diets and increase in supplement use.
Government regulations have already started to limit serving sizes of fast
food options, increase the push for daily exercise, and explored ways to age
healthy.
Supplements are growing as a “get in shape quick” way to transform one’s
body.
5. Competitive Analysis
Main competitors are name-brand supplement companies. Their entire
company revolves around the health industry as they usually have different
types of supplements including pre-workout, during workout, post-workout,
meal replacement, “cutting” mix, “bulking” mix, weight maintenance,
endurance stimulator and many, many other types.
This creates a gigantic market for Under Armour to enter into.
The negative about this is that there are so many competitors to compete
with.
The positive about this is many customers, especially those new to the
supplement industry, go off of word-of-mouth since almost all companies
advertise similarly. Because of this, Under Armour will be a well-known brand
in an industry that doesn’t have a clear frontrunner.
6. SWOT Analysis: Strengths
Awareness will be high due to brand recognition
Under Armour is always on the cutting edge of technology
Company geared toward the everyday athlete
Supplements will be able to support a large range of target audience
Company has been looking to expand to different sectors of market
7. SWOT Analysis: Weaknesses
New territory; Under Armour hasn’t even begun to think about a possible
supplement line
Customers will only know the company for apparel; may think they are not as
credible as other more legitimate companies
If people aren’t even familiar with Under Armour than the credibility for the
supplement is tarnished
8. SWOT Analysis: Opportunities
Too many supplement choices. The causal, first-time user will be
overwhelmed with choices as far as what to pick.
Many people are wanting to get in on the “latest and greatest” health craze
People are geared towards a more active and fit lifestyle
Other supplement companies advertise their products to provide massive
growth and transformation. Some casual users may be turned off to that,
instead wanting a more gradual, natural fit shift.
9. SWOT Analysis: Threats
Supplement line is hard to navigate. Too many choices. There is no clear-cut
model to follow.
Other more established companies are prominent in the market.
Supplement companies revolve their business solely around the supplements
that they sell; Under Armour doesn’t
More research has been put into other companies thus making them more
prepared and more appealing to dedicated customers
10. SWOT Analysis: Analysis
After careful analysis, the SWOT helps to identify that Under Armour will
need to heavily rely on its brand and name recognition in order to win over
customers. If they attempt to stray away from this aspect, they will fall into
“supplement purgatory” as they will fail to become differentiable among
competitors.
Under Armour’s biggest challenges will be overcoming over companies whose
sole purpose is supplements. It will be a competition of Under Armour’s
personal history versus that of the entire supplement world. Users will have
to in essence “take Under Armour’s word for it” that their line of supplements
will be as high quality as their shirts will be.
11. STP: Segmentation
Demographic: must be 16+ to take (Bodybuilding.com). Groupings can be 16-
23 (high schoolers/college kids), 24-35 (prime years), 36-55 (middle aged),
and 56+ (seniors). Income would range from lower middle class to upper
middle class.
Geographic: U.S. and outside U.S. in prospective countries such as Europe
Psychographic: Available from professionally driven athletes to first time
casual users. Target audience could be highly involved in work life as they
may not be able to work out as often as desired. Could leave a lifestyle of
careless eating or stick to a strict regiment of clean eating.
Behavioristic: Consumers could use our product every day as intended or it
could range to rare/minimal use. Consumers could also be extremely loyal to
our brand or they could be just trying it out as a casual experience.
12. STP: Targeting
Our desired target would reach the following types of people:
We would like to focus on the 24-55 year old age bracket. The reasoning
behind this is we would like to focus on those that are trying to get back in
shape. Our product we be tailored to the “everyday man”: one who leads a
balanced life and wants to lose a few pounds on the side. Women would also
be targeted in this age bracket.
Our main target audience would be within the United States. Yet, unlike past
UA efforts, I would like to expand this line to foreign countries. Since Europe
is already familiar with our brand (via the English Premier League’s Tottenham
Hotspurs) it will be easy to push our brand to them as a way to shift their
health to that similar of Western culture.
While we would be open to catering to professional athletes (especially in the
essence of sponsorships), we would want to tailor the products to “average
Joe”. We would want to appeal to someone who is taking the steps to get
back in fit shape.
We understand that customers may be a bit skeptical at first. Yet, we would
like to target pre-existing customers as well as those that are newcomers to
the sports supplement world.
13. STP: Positioning
After choosing our target market, UA will be able to position itself by
adopting the customer mindset.
The Under Armour supplement line will represent a point of difference within
the rest of the market as it will be able to distinguish itself on its ability
appeal to the casual user. It will be marketed to those that want to shed a
few pounds and maintain a healthier lifestyle.
Aside from marketing strategies, the formula for the WILLPower supplements
will be blended with natural ingredients in order to help maintain strict
integrity with gym users and pro athletes alike. Many companies do not
appeal to all athletes as they have been discovered to be against pro rules
(Mensfitness.com).
14. STP: Positioning
Positioning Statement:
“For the “everyman or woman” who is looking to get in shape and in tune
with a healthy, active lifestyle, Under Armour WILLPower is a interactive
health and fitness line that pair with Under Armour’s well-known reputation
and high quality of products to deliver a product that is guaranteed to work as
hard as you do.”
15. Product
The actual supplements will be geared toward weight maintenance, increased
endurance, and weight loss in its initial stages. Once the product catches on
with consumers, program packages such as “bulking” and “extreme burning
fat” will be introduced.
The product will eventually grow to have customers be able to interject their
voice into new flavors being created. Yet to start, core flavors such as Vanilla,
Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Cookies and Cream will be unveiled. These are
time tested flavors that seem to rate consistently favorable with supplement
users (Vitaminshoppe.com).
Protein powder will be the initial surge in product development. Over time,
supplements in capsule form will be utilized for anti-aging, increased
metabolism, and better sleep regulation among other functions. During initial
launching, UA will introduce a multivitamin for regulation purposes.
The product is named as such due to Under Armour’s promotion of the slogan:
“I WILL”. Taking this entrenched wordplay, Under Armour can use this
advantage by rolling out the “WILLPower” product line.
16. Promotion
Since there are so many supplement companies, many of them try to throw
promotions or bundles at people in order to gain a competitive advantage.
Under Armour has the unique distinction of having a sizeable portion of their
products in the apparel department.
To capitalize on this fact, Under Armour will be able to bundle/significantly
discount apparel products in conjunction with their new supplement line.
For instance, one promotion could be “buy a canister of WILLPower Increase
Endurance and receive 20% off an Under Armour Alter Ego t-shirt.”
Another example could be “buy two canisters and receive a container of
multivitamins for free”.
17. Promotion
Advertising: Commercials have been a huge success for Under Armour in
recent months. Under Armour can continue to utilize celebrities (such as
already sponsored athletes like Tom Brady or newly crowned NBA MVP Stephen
Curry) to hype the new line.
Events: Many teams are sponsored by Under Armour. A great way to promote
the line would be to highly push for events at these games. Perhaps a
halftime show contest/activity where the winner receives a free canister of
powder.
18. Place
Distribution would take place at both outlet stores as well as online through
Under Armour’s website. I do not want to have the product line thrown into
other websites such as VitaminShoppe and BodyBuilding as they already have
a surplus of non-differentiable products.
By keeping the products completely in the realm of Under Armour, they will
be able to maintain the name of the brand (which is one of the key reasons
why customers will be attracted to it) while simultaneously distancing
themselves from competitors.
19. Price
Pricing supplements can be tricky. There are a wide range of products ranging
from $21.95 (very generic whey protein brands) to $69.49 (differentiable,
well-known brands). This is all based off of 2.91 lbs. which is approximately a
one month supply which is a great basis for protein powder.
One has to balance Under Armour’s well-known reputation with the fact that
they are new to this market. Considering all of this, I will price a one-month
supply at $40. (Note that this does not include shipping, taxes, handling, etc.)
This puts a day’s worth of supplement at a little over a dollar a day for the
customer, thus establishing a fair, yet competitive price. This gives Under
Armour the ability to increase prices in the future whenever it decides to roll
out a more intense type of product such as “Bulking” or “Extreme Burning
Fat”.
20. Physical Evidence
The facility will be housed in Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore,
Maryland. By keeping the facility in close distance with headquarters, it will
give upper-level management the ability to monitor progress and react
quickly to any errors.
For the factory, I want to take a more hands-on approach. This will ensure
that every canister and container will be checked by a human rather than a
machine. This will ensure product safety, product quality, and product
accuracy. WILLPower
21. People
Employees will have to be trained to properly handle the ingredients that go
into making these products.
Additionally, experts will be brought in to help create/update the
environment that the powder will be stored in. This will include making
machinery is up to date and that temperature of the factory is at an optimal
temperature.
22. Process
Under Armour will produce tracking numbers for all of there canisters.
This will allow the customer to track his/her package throughout the entire
process.
This will increase Under Armour’s credibility by showing their responsibility
towards the customer.
23. Conclusion
Under Armour has been very successful when releasing new products as they
have made a conscious effort to make it a focal point of its business. The line
of supplement products will continue to do the same as they rely on the
cutting edge and creative thinking that Under Armour has continued to
provide. If consumers can buy into Under Armour’s reputation, it will make it
that much easier to begin to win over the market as Under Armour continues
to push its way into this new industry.
24. References
“Building Muscle in Strength Under 16 Years Old”, Bodybuilding.com, n.d.,
n.p. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/teens.htm#/under16
“Supps in Flux”, MensFitnessEditors, n.d., n.p.
http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/supplements/supps-flux
Vitamin Shoppe Search results:
http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/search/xfilters/N-
cp96mi?Ns=priceDesc&search=protein+powder+2.91+lbs
