The growth of the women's category in sportswear "will outpace men's in two to four years," said former Under Armour EMEA Head of Marketing Chris Carroll, who identified women and int'l expansion as "two key pillars" of the business to drive future growth, according to Sarah Shearman of MARKETING MAGAZINE.
Carroll said that when Under Armour started marketing to women "we didn’t get it right" at first.
The brand has since won creative acclaim in the U.S. for its female-focused ads, "featuring ballerina Misty Copeland and supermodel Gisele Bündchen." At the start of this year, it "rolled out its first global women’s campaign," featuring the U.S. gymnastics team.
Nike "has been ramping up its focus on women too." Its #BetterForIt campaign last year "was its largest advertising campaign targeting women to date." Carroll said that Under Armour "is exploring this idea with its marketing for women." Carroll: "It’s about mind, body and spirit. You want to feel better, that is what we are tapping into. Working hard to feel good -- not just physically, but mentally -- that is the key driver for my industry, not using the most famous athlete" (MARKETING MAGAZINE, 4/20).
