Catching Up With Under Armour VP/Brand Steve Battista

Under Armour VP/Brand Steve Battista

In the late ‘90s, Under Armour burst onto the sporting goods scene, creating -- and eventually dominating -- the performance apparel category.  STEVE BATTISTA has been leading that charge since taking over as VP/Brand in ’00, helping Under Armour quickly gain a stranglehold on the market.  The creative mind behind Under Armour’s famous “Protect This House” and “Click Clack” campaigns, Battista has garnered several awards for his innovative marketing ideas.  While taking a break from shooting a TV spot near Baltimore for the upcoming “Team Girls” campaign promoting Under Armour’s women’s line, Battista barely broke a sweat answering questions in a brief chat with Staff Writer Brad Pinkerton.

Last movie watched: I’m a big movie guy.  I watch “Raging Bull” once a month.
Hobby: The hobbies have all subsided because I’ve got a three-year-old boy and an 11-month-old boy, so it’s pretty much playing with the boys.
Latest technology you’ve been learning: SAP, our new back-end system, is the backbone … of our enterprise systems.  All of our business applications are either in SAP, or built upon SAP, or interface to SAP.
Favorite sport on TV: Football.
Favorite sport in person: Playoff baseball.

Q: What’s the dress code around the Under Armour office?

Battista: Performance apparel.  Cotton is the enemy!  We make polos now, so there’s quite a bit of performance polos on the men’s side.  And we’re making performance khakis for golf and for coaches, so those are definitely the outfits of choice.

Q: What about active wear -- is it all Under Armour, all the time?

Battista: All Under Armour, all the time.  In the gym [at our HQs], it looks like we’re filming another commercial.

Q: What would your personal marketing slogan be?

Battista: “Big bets with big partners,” but my personal mantra has to be, “Listen more than you talk.”

Q: What helps your creativity when working on a project?

Battista: Talking with the real-life athletes, mixed in with an extensive library of movies.  Talking to the athletes, you get very direct and pointed feedback on everything from marketing to products to the actual creative in our ads, particularly the women that we speak to. 

Q: What other ad campaigns do you admire?

Battista: Anything Apple does.  And the mini-campaigns HBO does with extra content they run as trailers/commercials.

Q: When you went to work for Under Armour in 2000, what did you expect from the company?

Osterman's Work Ethic Draws Praise From Battista

Battista: A lot of long hours and a lot of fun with a good, team-like atmosphere.  It’s a lot of hard work, it feels like we never stop going.

Q: What’s the single most important key to the brand’s success?

Battista: Sticking to our brand’s DNA, which we call the universal guarantee of performance -- our mission statement.  Everything that we do is designed and engineered to make you better.

Q: Wrap Around question, from Tiger Woods Foundation President Greg McLaughlin: What athlete do you admire most and why?

Battista: We’re in a women’s sports frame of mind, so I’ll say [U.S. national softball team P and Under Armour endorser] CAT OSTERMAN.  She is not just an amazing athlete and intimidating, but also the hardest worker out here [at the commercial shoot].  We’ve really enjoyed working with her.

Q: Your Wrap Around question?

Battista: What is the next great advertising vehicle to reach the American youth?