I started at Under Armour in 2008, and I started coming from Target, which is a very female-centric brand. And I had a conversation with Kevin [Plank] about starting the women’s marketing team.
One of the things that our founder and leaders are incredible at is having the foresight to know what they don’t have the tools to accomplish in the building and to bring in the right people to get it done. And so we talked about what will it take to build the right proposition for her the way that Kevin frankly built with the 15 guys that still walk in our halls every day for football back in 1996.
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Photo by: MARC BRYAN-BROWN
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What we always talk about is zigging when our competitors zag with intention. Being the disrupter. Making sure that we have a reason to be there. Don’t just be there and take up space.
When we thought about our roster and how we needed to round that out, the first thing we are about is breaking barriers.
What’s awesome about Misty [Copeland] is no one in the general market, in the masses, knew who she was. The art world knew who she was and she was breaking barriers then. She was a 14-year-old girl who broke into ballet when they usually start at 6, 7 and 8.
“I Will What I Want” is this idea that you don’t need a role model. You are your role model. You are the essence of greatness, and our job is to celebrate you through Misty.
And by the way, we have the No. 1 basketball player in the world.
Stephen [Curry] is one of the most humble yet unwavering competitors that I’ve ever met in my life. Coming off of the loss last season, he is more determined than ever to prove why he is a double MVP.
We’re doing it with intention. We are not rushing into the marketplace. We are methodical in how we approach the business.
Before you tell a story in a commercial, we are laying out the framework of the business through 2025. What you’re going to see is significant double-down growth in retail expansion as well as footwear through run and basketball.
It’s really about the story you tell. It’s about the product you offer. And design, style and innovation are equally important when it comes to basketball.
The difference between Stephen and other athletes right now that aren’t on our roster in basketball is that he is attainable. When you look at him he is technically undersized. He’s technically underweight. He doesn’t look like a typical basketball player.
The goal of the “Rule Yourself” campaign comes from training. Eighteen months ago when we were looking at the business, training is the biggest business in our building.
The goal was, “How do we separate ourselves from the competition when it comes to training, and what’s the insight?”
We needed to remind athletes that it’s what you do every single day. It’s those mistakes.
You see Misty fall. When she gets back up and she does that exact same move over and over again, that’s how she becomes the first black ballerina [to be a principal for] the American Ballet Theatre.
The second chapter to “Rule Yourself” going into the Olympics was also intentional.
Now we’re telling you … it’s what Michael Phelps and the U.S. gymnastics team are doing in March that’s going to get [them] to July and August into the light. This idea of unabashed hard work, perseverance, repetition and training gets them the gold.
We have to be ready for our athletes delivering and what they believe in and we are going to support them.
Athletes are human. So Cam Newton lost the Super Bowl and he got on the podium and he absolutely did not deliver to the expectation that I had specifically of him.
Our job is to support [Newton]. We have a campaign out with him right now because we support him. We didn’t shy away. We lean in to athletes who have personalities and we actually expect it.
Kevin believes that our brand will be the No. 1 brand in this industry bar none, and he’s actually thinking outside of even the world of sport. It’s our job to keep up with Kevin.
It’s not always easy when you have a founder who really believes in what we are going to accomplish over the next five, 10, 15 years but we would ask for nothing else. It is an incredible environment to be in.
