Under Armour Performance Apparel
Company: Under Armour(r) Performance Apparel
Company Description: Founded in 1996, Under Armour, the second fastest growing privately held company (Inc. Magazine), is the originator of performance apparel, a line of moisture-wicking microfiber clothing that pulls perspiration away from the skin to keep athletes cool, dry and light throughout the course of a game, practice or workout. Under Armour exceeded $115 million in sales in 2003.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Marketer
Nomination Title: Steve Battista -- Under Armour's Director of Marketing; Protector of the Brand
Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in 2003 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
When Steve Battista arrived at Under Armour® Performance Apparel in 2000 for an interview with Kevin Plank, he found the president working along side his
employees on the assembly line, packing boxes for a rush delivery to a new
retailer. Battista rolled up his sleeves, lent a hand, and the order made the
deadline. When the two finally sat down, Plank showed Battista the company’s
first advertisement, a quarter-page placement in a football preview magazine.“Great,” said Battista, a copywriter with five years experience who had just
completed a Master’s fellowship in the prestigious Writing Seminars at Johns
Hopkins University. “Correct the two spelling errors, find a slogan and you have a
great ad.”Under Battista’s guidance, Under Amour®, the originator of tight fitting, moisture-
wicking, microfiber athletic apparel, has become a major sports brand with 88%
market share over Nike, adidas and Reebok in the category it created. Battista
and his team have created a print and television campaign with monumental
results. The Advantage is Undeniable®, the company’s slogan, which Battista
penned, can be seen on all advertisements and collateral, including those in
Sports Illustrated, Maxim, and GQ. The 2003 television campaign ran on ESPN,
CBS, ABC, and MTV, and made the tagline WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE, part of the everyday lexicon of the sports world. All creative was done in-house, and Battista wrote the taglines and copy, and bought all the media for the
company.Battista also orchestrated the in-kind trade with ESPN that became a landmark
product placement when Under Armour® apparel took the starring role of the
smash hit PLAYMAKERS. Through this deal, Under Armour® enjoyed prominent
placement upwards of twenty minutes or more each week for three months on a
show seen by 9.5 million viewers weekly.Under Armour® was founded in 1996 and has rocketed from $17,000 in sales to
more than $120 million annually on the fuel provided by Battista’s marketing
campaigns. What started as a phenomenon in football locker rooms has spread to
other sports and flourished at retail resulting from a savvy marketing campaign.Under Armour®, now the country’s second fastest growing privately held company
according to Inc. Magazine, is the official supplier of performance apparel to MLB,
MLS, the NHL, USA Baseball and the US Ski Team, and its gear is worn by 30
NFL teams and 100 Division-IA college football programs. Most recently, with
Battista’s creative marketing plan, Under Armour® landed its first collegiate team
outfitting deal with the Gator Bowl Champions Maryland’s Terrapins.In addition to marketing and advertising, Battista oversees the company’s in-store
merchandising, public relations, events and promotions. His challenge is to protect
the Under Armour® brand, keeping all marketing campaigns consistent, while
adding new products and new markets to the line. In 2002, his advertising
campaign helped launch a women’s line of performance wear. Advertisements in
Cosmopolitan, InStyle and Shape magazines helped keep the brand authentic
without diluting the message. The women’s market is projected to increase from
3% to 18% in 2004.Battista’s PR success includes coverage in Time, Sports Illustrated, The New
York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CNBC, CNNfn, among others;
national awards, including ranking as one of the top stories in 2003 by ESPN, and
receiving Sporting Goods Business’ “Apparel Supplier of the Year,” for three
consecutive years.
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]:
http://www.underarmour.com/ua2/biz/pages/mission.asp
http://www.underarmour.com/ua2/biz/pages/faqs.asp
http://www.underarmour.com/ua2/biz/pages/latest_news.asp
http://www.underarmour.com/ua2/biz/pages/press_section.asp
http://www.underarmour.com/ua2/biz/pages/advertising.asp
http://www.underarmour.com/ua2/biz/pages/commercial.asp
http://www.underarmour.tv/Home.htm
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:
Steve Battista oversees the marketing, advertising, public relations and corporate
communications of the company, and is responsible for all advertising copy,
trademarked taglines and slogans. His campaigns have been recognized and
featured in Brandweek, The Washington Post, The Sports Business Journal, and
Adweek. Battista began with the company in late 2000. Prior to joining the
company, Battista was a market analyst with responsibility for writing, designing
and editing advertisements, as well as reports and proposals for several Fortune
500 companies. Battista’s writing has appeared nation-wide via The Washington
Post, USA TODAY and the Associated Press. Previously, Battista worked on
fellowship in the heralded Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, where he
earned his Masters of Arts in 2000 and was awarded the Most Promising Young
Artist endowment from the National Society of Arts and Letters.