The Ultimate Intern

The semi-final round has come to a close officially and I just wanted to take the time to thank Under Armour for this amazing opportunity. I am sure my competitors/future teammates would agree that this experience has allowed us to not only learn and grow a passion for Under Armour, but also enable us to learn about ourselves. I have gained so much knowledge throughout this experience that I will walk away regardless of the result a better student, marketer, and most importantly, a better person.

So thank you again Under Armour for living up to your brand mission and more: “To make all athletes better through passion, design, and the relentless pursuit of innovation.”

Maybe athletes should be replaced with PEOPLE.

Just thought I would give a quick recap of my semi-final campaign strategy before the competition closes. 

My thoughts were that we all have shown an extreme passion for Under Armour and would not have been chosen as semi-finalists without this passion. Thus, I wanted to focus my semi-final campaign on the technical side and show why I have the ability to be the next ultimate intern, whether in marketing strategy or social media. 

My goal was to prove that I had a forward-thinking mindset and could provide a multitude of ideas in a wide variety of channels that Under Armour utilizes and I believe I have done so throughout the past week. Whether it was in apparel (Armour bra), new products (Helmets), social media strategy (Facebook brand pages), or innovative approaches to reach customers (Armour Truck) I was able to provide actionable recommendations that Under Armour could potentially implement in the future. Thus, I believe I have successfully achieved my goal and I look forward to the announcement of the finalist on Friday.

I can’t wait. To Protect this House. I will.

With the final hour of the semi-final round approaching, I thought I would take the time to evaluate myself and how I did throughout the ultimate intern competition. I believe that feedback is one of the most important steps to improving, and providing yourself feedback is just as important. Recognizing not only what you did right, but also what you could do better next time- that is how we grow, learn, and ultimately get better. So here we go…

Strengths:

1) Identifying how I fit in with Under Armour’s culture: The focus of my posts during the first round were centered around how I resonate with Under Armour and why I believed I fit in with the brand mission of Under Armour. Through pictures, my 8tracks playlist, posts about my experience playing basketball and my impact on my school’s community, as well as video blogs showing my everyday life, I believe I successfully showed how I am a perfect fit for Under Armour. 

2) Forward-Thinking ideas: My focus during the semi-final round was to show that I have the knowledge and forward-thinking mindset that is most important when trying to innovate. By not only stating ideas or thoughts, but also giving actionable recommendations (How Under Armour can use Facebook brand pages, Armour Bra campaign, Helmet innovation, and the Armour Truck), I believe that I was able to prove that I have the know-how to make a difference as an ultimate intern, as well as the ambition to think ahead of the curve that is needed in the dynamic world of sports apparel. 

3) Versatility and adaptability: Some people may have been confused when they saw me campaigning for the market strategist position, only to be listed under the social media specialist position on the Under Armour Facebook list. I know I was. Whether it was a mistake on my part or someone else, I accepted the list as it was and I believe I have shown effectively how I can be either the social media specialist or the marketing strategist. My recommendations provided elements of both positions and I believe this versatility is crucial when on any team. The ability to adapt to a new role seamlessly is extremely valuable as it allows for flexibility with the team. Furthermore, the ultimate intern team will need input from everyone regardless of their official title and the versatility I have shown throughout this competition proves that I will be a valuable asset to the team.

As much as I would like to say I did everything right in the competition, this would never be true. One of the quotes I live by is, “Always happy, never satisfied.” I will be happy regardless of the result of this competition because I know I gave it my all, however even if I was to make it to the ultimate intern team I would never be completely satisfied. There is always room to improve and grow, regardless of your success. Once you are satisfied, you grow complacent, and once this happens you stop learning. So here are my thoughts on where I could improve for next time.

Improvements for next time:

1) Leveraging support from the Boston University community: This was definitely the area I could have improved the most on. My thought was not to try and get caught up in a popularity contest and instead focus my efforts in making valuable content and recommendations that Under Armour could actually use. However, in hindsight I believe I should have made a better effort in leveraging the BU community for support. With 16,000 undergraduates in total, there was an endless pool of people to ask for support and by not leveraging the community I fell behind some of my competitors in that aspect.

2) Provide more visual experiences: One thing that I believe all the competitors including myself could have done better was using videos to show why we were the best candidates. Videos enable Under Armour to see who we are and also provide more transparency in seeing our passion for the brand. A couple candidates definitely did this and I believe it was a much more effective method of attracting Under Armour’s attention rather than a wall of text (I definitely would be doing this by video if I did not return my friends camera!!!)

3) Take the lead in creating a community: Through this competition, many of the ultimate intern candidates have connected. I should have taken more initiative in creating this community and fostering teamwork within this competition. This last point is still able to change, so I will most certainly be trying to reach out to all the ultimate intern candidates in the near future.

One of the latest cultural phenomenons to hit our country has been the explosion of food trucks. Especially living in a big city like Boston, I see them everywhere. However, one day while walking in the city I noticed a bright green truck, with music blasting and people entering in and out of the truck and I thought to myself, “What is going on here?”

What I ended up stumbling upon was the Green Street Vault, a mobile retail truck AKA a truck that sells clothes directly to its consumers. I was amazed at how simple, yet extremely effective the business model was. The benefits of a truck are numerous:

1) Brand Awareness- The truck itself serves as a mobile advertisement of the brand and due to its vibrant color it is instantly recognizable, even in the busiest streets. Under Armour could create a similar truck, however with more sophistication and sleekness. Perhaps it could be called the Armour Truck and be outfitted like a SWAT armored truck, representing Under Armour’s “Protect this House” image. 

2) Convenience for customers- In having a mobile store, GSV is able to bring its product to multiple locations within a given day and reach customers directly where they are. Social media plays a huge role in this as utilizing Facebook and Twitter to update customers of the trucks location is key in attracting people to the truck. 

3) Customer Engagement: In order to find out the trucks location, people will need to be following GSV on Twitter or Facebook to get updates. While some people will inevitably stumble upon the truck like I did, if a positive impression is made people will instantly be engaged with the brand and follow them on these social media sites in order to be updated. This brings with it a sense of exclusivity and instantly creates loyalty to the brand.

The potential uses of the Armour truck would be many, but a few recommendations I would make are: 

1) Launch the Armour Truck in Baltimore first, with no selling of products: If this project was to be undertaken, the best test market would be Baltimore, where Under Armour is headquartered. Generating buzz through Facebook and Twitter would be the first step and Under Armour could use the truck to unveil one of its newest technologies to customers. I say no selling of products because I believe using the truck as a showcase first would be most effective in generating initial interest and familiarizing customers with the Armour Truck.

2) Bring the Armour Truck to UA sponsored events: The Armour Truck could potentially travel across the U.S. at events that Under Armour sponsors and would be a huge upgrade over setting up tents and small booths. Having a truck would be a statement, as well as add to the brand awareness when traveling to different locations in the truck.

3) Host weekly events to support Under Armour as a lifestyle brand: An example of this would be a weekly run around Baltimore. The Armour truck would tweet a location to its followers and then at the start of the run go through stretching exercises, produce awareness for the brand, and perhaps even let customers borrow products for a test run. The runners would then run a route to an end location where the truck could meet back up with participants and provide drinks and the ability to purchase apparel that they previously had tried on.

The Armour Truck would be a multi-dimensional tool that Under Armour could use and would be a innovative way to spread its brand to the masses. It would be able to retain the already loyal followers, while also being able to recruit new ones. The possibilities remain endless and I truly believe this idea would be a great addition to the Under Armour brand. 

Under Armour prides itself on its innovative technologies whether it is their cold gear, charged cotton, sports bras, or footwear. However, even with all these innovations, there is always room for growth and new unexplored avenues to discover. One of the innovations that I believe Under Armour should pursue is in helmet technologies.

Football, hockey, and baseball all share a persistent danger that exists, which are head injuries. Recently, concussion prevention has come to the forefront of injury prevention discussions and is becoming one of the most common injuries any player can have. In September 2009, when the NFL released its own independent study on concussions and there long term effect on players, they found,

“that 6.1 percent of players age 50 and above reported that they had received a dementia-related diagnosis, five times higher than the cited national average, 1.2 percent. Players ages 30 through 49 showed a rate of 1.9 percent, or 19 times that of the national average, 0.1 percent.”

Preventing head injuries is a major concern in these sports and as a brand whose mission is to make all athletes better through innovation, Under Armour should try and develop new technologies to be leaders in this emerging field.

The investment in researching new technologies for head safety, developing a revolutionary helmet, and then manufacturing it to the masses would be a tremendous financial undertaking. However, imagine if Under Armour could partner with a company already established in the market, such as Riddell, the official helmet of the NFL. In doing so, Under Armour could become a brand that football players exclusively wear, literally head to toe. Helmets are also one of the most visible parts of a football or hockey player, thus brand awareness would be generated especially if the Under Armour logo could be displayed on the helmet.

Whether it is in finding better protective padding or more shock absorbing material, I am sure Under Armour would be able to innovate and develop new helmet technologies, in an area that is desperate for improvements and inspiration. Helmets truly embody the spirit of Under Armour as they are the protector of our own individual “houses”- our minds. By developing new technologies of their own and leveraging existing helmet manufacturers, Under Armour would become leaders in this new field of concussion protection and could turn the industry quite literally on its head. 

Under Armour has been hard at work publicizing its recent Armour Bra product, pushing it extensively through Facebook and Twitter as seen below.

As a revolutionary new product in the introductory stage of the product life cycle, Under Armour has done a great job informing its customers about the benefits of this bra and what technologies have been included to make it so superior. However the majority of the people who purchase this bra are classified as innovators and early adopters, the ones who need to have the newest things out, and only make up a small percentage of potential buyers. For the average athlete who may not be loyal to the Under Armour brand, the Armour Bra is a product that is most likely intriguing to them, but not yet established enough for them to take the plunge and purchase it, especially at its relatively high price point. Thus, these people need someone other than Under Armour telling them about the benefits of the bra to convince them to buy the product.

The tagline for the Armour bra campaign has been “Just for You- The Armour Bra Story.” Why not launch a campaign through Facebook and Twitter that relies on the success stories that have resulted since women have purchased their Armour bra. The campaign would be pushed through both channels in a variety of different ways including:

1) Create a contest through the Armour Bra tab on Under Armour’s Facebook page that asks women to submit their own success stories through video submissions. Promotion of the contest would be pushed through updates on Facebook and Twitter. Under Armour would post some of the best videos on their own Youtube channel, as well as choosing winners who would get a signed copy of “My Little Black Bra Book” from each of the athletes featured in the book. Not only does this create engagement from Under Armour’s customers, but also allows for the skeptical buyer to see positive customer reactions to the product and makes it more likely for them to purchase it. Finally, the multi-channel approach of having the contest through Facebook, promoting via FB and Twitter, and posting content on Youtube, Under Armour will be able to increase traffic and engagement on a variety of platforms.

2) Under Armour has had great success with its #ThisIsYourArmour tweets where various figures such as Deion Sanders take over Under Armour’s Twitter for a short time. My recommendation is for Under Armour to do the same with Noreen Naroo and Dr. Joanna Scurr, who were key in developing the Armour Bra product. In doing so, users can ask them questions about the various technologies of the bra and consult the experts as to why the Armour Bra is a superior product. Once again, this creates a conversation between users and Under Armour and allows for a personalized discussion which will hopefully convince the skeptics to purchase the product.

Social media is all about engaging and interacting with the community of followers you have built to develop. Both of these recommendations increase engagement and awareness of the Armour Bra product to the people who need it most: those who are intrigued by the product, but not fully convinced of its benefits. 

Facebook just recently announced that brand pages will now be switching to the timeline feature, similar to all regular users. While this brings a lot of new challenges to how to market using Facebook, it also creates many new opportunities as well. Effectively utilizing the new brand pages will be a key factor in sustaining Under Armour’s social media presence. Here are some of the new key features and what recommendations I would make to Under Armour to best utilize the new timeline.

Cover Photos: The new timeline allows for companies to place a large cover photo that allows for great creativity and brand designing. 

Here is an example from Coca-Cola. As you can see the cover photo is going to be the first image the consumer sees, so the choice of photo is crucial. Due to Under Armour’s new release of the Armour Bra, I believe a cover photo, similar to the one already used as Under Armour’s Twitter background would be a perfect use of the new cover photo feature.

Timeline: Obviously a key addition is the ability for company’s to actually add their history through the timeline feature. Manchester United has already took advantage of their prestigious history by adding old photos to their timeline as shown below.

Under Armour should take advantage as well by showing the world how Kevin Plank started the company through grassroots movement. Adding pictures and detailing significant points in Under Armour’s history creates a story for the consumer and adds to the engagement of the brand’s page as well as enhancing Under Armour’s brand identity.

Tabs: Tabs are now not on the left side of the page, but below the cover photo. In addition, only 3 tabs can appear at once so it will be important to identify which tabs are leading to the most user engagement. Under Armour should of course leave the Ultimate intern tab intact, but also have space for the Supercam campaign as well as its Armour Bra campaign.

Pinning: Brands can no longer have a default landing page, so instead Facebook has allowed brands to “pin” an important post. Essentially it acts as a sticky and will remain at the top of the timeline when consumers view the page. With the ability to only pin one post at a time it will be crucial to pin posts that promote engagement from customers. At this time, Under Armour’s marketing strategy seems to revolve around the new Armour Bra and thus a post on this would be most relevant to pin.

Private messages: The last feature I will talk about is private messaging. This tool is especially relevant to Under Armour as it does a great job communicating with its customers various inquiries. With the new timeline, it will be easy for pages to become cluttered with customer inquiries. The private message feature allows for a more intimate solution by actually messaging the individual which will most definitely make the end consumer feel good and keep Under Armour’s timeline nice and clean.

The upcoming changes to Facebook’s brand pages are many and will lead to changes in the social media strategy that takes place. However, Under Armour has shown it can adapt easily to change and through my recommendations I believe that Under Armour will be able to effectively utilize the new brand pages Facebook has to offer.