Forgot your username or email? This item has been added. Request a custom order and have something made just for you. Handmade itemMaterials: Ships worldwide from Feedback: 175 reviewsFavourited by: 3426 people Listed on 24 Feb, 2017 Report this item to EtsyTo all appearances, Under Armour’s bet on Mr. Spieth — the company has since extended his deal through 2025 — seems to be paying off. And Mr. Spieth is not the company’s only success story. Stephen Curry, who was recently crowned the National Basketball Association’s most valuable player and is now leading the Golden State Warriors in the league finals, also has an Under Armour contract. Yet even as the sportswear maker finds itself in business with two of the hottest athletes in the country, it is still figuring out how best to capitalize on those relationships — especially when it comes to Mr. Spieth.At Under Armour’s headquarters in Baltimore, there have been talks of a signature Spieth line and perhaps a world tour.
There are plans to introduce new golf apparel and footwear next spring. During the United States Open, which begins on Thursday at the Chambers Bay Golf Course in Washington State, Under Armour will hold a contest for fans to win a limited-edition hat that has the records Mr. Spieth has broken printed under the brim.As for major television advertising that might focus on Mr. Spieth, the company is vague, only hinting at the possibility. “You’re going to continue to see big campaigns from us,” said Adam Peake, executive vice president for global marketing at Under Armour. “Are we going to have a big campaign around Jordan Spieth? That’s to be determined.”In the near future, he said, the company intends to focus on smaller social and digital campaigns.Or, put more simply, “We still have to introduce America to this kid,” Mr. Kuehl said. And to a certain extent, the country still needs to be introduced to Under Armour. Under Armour started out nearly two decades ago specializing in sweat-wicking apparel.
It has since aggressively expanded into a fitness empire, adding new categories and pushing into footwear as it looks globally for growth. Young stars like Mr. Spieth and Mr. Curry have both bolstered the brand’s profile, as has an apparel deal with Notre Dame that the company signed last year. It is also creating something of an online network, recently buying two companies that make fitness-tracking apps — MyFitnessPal and Endomondo — for a combined total of $560 million. They join MapMyFitness, which Under Armour acquired in 2013 for $150 million. The company’s stock price has been steadily climbing over the last two years.But for all of its recent exposure, Under Armour is still much smaller than Nike, the undisputed champion in the realm of athletic apparel. Under Armour reported revenue of just over $3 billion last year, compared with Nike’s nearly $28 billion. “The pioneer in all of this is Nike, and that’s who everybody is constantly chasing,” said Matt Delzell, a managing director at the Marketing Arm.
Mr. Spieth has certainly given Under Armour a jolt of attention, but the company’s golf business is still relatively small. Under Armour does not break out its revenue by sport, but David Weiner, a senior research analyst at Deutsche Bank, estimates that the golf category makes up 5 percent or less of the company’s sales. Golf made it into the company’s top five categories only in the last 18 months, Mr. Kuehl said. In addition to its agreements with Mr. Spieth and Mr. Curry, Under Armour also has prominent endorsement deals in football (Tom Brady), tennis (Andy Murray), baseball (Clayton Kershaw) and even ballet (Misty Copeland).“When you think about all the categories into which they can expand, including basketball and maybe running, they’re in the very, very early innings of global growth,” Mr. Weiner said of Under Armour. “Golf for them is a priority but clearly isn’t going to be needle-moving like these other things.” Still, Under Armour’s push into other sports, including the traditionally more genteel sport of golf, reflects a broader effort to compete with more established sportswear companies.
Last year, it jumped past Adidas to take the No. 2 spot in United States sportswear sales behind Nike. Although Under Armour has followed Nike’s playbook in expanding from a core category — Nike’s was running — it has tried to maintain a scrappier image, Mr. Weiner said.“pared with Nike, which has featured its own golf superstar, Tiger Woods, in numerous memorable television spots, Under Armour seems downright modest in its initial advertising plans for Mr. Spieth. (It was Mr. Woods’s record score that Mr. Spieth tied in winning the Masters.)Some sports marketing experts say Under Armour may be waiting until Mr. Spieth proves he can continue winning before it will pour money into a big ad campaign. Unlike Mr. Woods, whose star power and cultural impact were already apparent when Nike signed him to an endorsement contract, Mr. Spieth was relatively unknown when he teamed up with Under Armour. “For any endorser, before they jump the gun and throw millions of dollars in an ad campaign, they want to see a high level of sustained effort,” Mr. Delzell said.
“They want to see the consistency before they ramp up.” Others say having Mr. Spieth wear Under Armour clothing at tournaments is more effective than any campaign. “When you see him playing in a major on a Sunday in one of the final groups, and you see him covered head to toe with Under Armour, it really does help legitimize the brand as a viable golf brand,” said Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert at Baker Street Advertising. “Golf in particular is very brand-oriented, and people seem to pay a heck of a lot of attention to who’s wearing what.”Mr. Spieth said in an interview last week that he was satisfied with Under Armour’s advertising plans and his level of involvement. “I think that they’ve done a good job of taking advantage of the situation, but also not going overboard,” he said.“I love the steps that are going forward,” he added. “I love what’s coming up and what I’m wearing now.”In particular, Mr. Spieth said he was looking forward to Under Armour’s new golf shoe and gloves, which the company is planning to release next spring.