IndexSummaryThe Rise of Under Armor and its Current SituationCurrent Issues with Under Armour's Social Media CampaignSocial Media Campaign ProposalImprove Brand Loyalty through Social MediaDiversify Sales through social media influencersSustained funding and investmentsBenefits of this social Media campaignFuture developments and conclusionsReferencesExecutive summaryUnder Armor is one of the largest manufacturers of sports apparel and sports equipment globally. The company has managed to identify itself in the market as a manufacturer of quality sportswear and has set new industry standards and benchmarks. Although the company is struggling to improve its performance in recent years. On the marketing side, this is due to their inability to adapt to changing market conditions and innovate their social media marketing strategy. In this executive summary the focus is specifically on three aspects that are enhancing brand value through an effective social media strategy, understanding regional differences and creating different regional marketing elements and aspects and creating a platform to interact personally with customers.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayCurrently, one of the main problems that Under Armor is facing is the sharp decline in brand value. This could be one of the main factors that have caused Under Armor's performance to decline recently. To restore brand equity, Under Armor should engage consumers in engagement activities. Sportswear is considered an industry that relies on brand loyalty as if an athlete is impressed with a certain sportswear product it would be difficult to move them to another brand as this could affect performance. This means that it is important for Under Armor to retain its current customers. I think an effective social media strategy could help Under Armor reassure the brand loyalty that would be described in this document. Additionally, it could currently be conveyed that Under Armor is focusing heavily on the American consumer rather than focusing on potential customers in other regions. I am suggesting an effective social media strategy where Under Armor should reduce some of the expensive investments made in American athletes and focus on other regions as well. Under Armor may focus on sponsoring YouTubers, reviewers and social media influencers who lead active sports lifestyles and are popular in their respective regions. Furthermore, Under Armor is not the major player in its market. The two major players in the sportswear market are Nike and Adidas. For Under Armor to create a unique property in this highly competitive market, it should focus on creating an interactive communication model with its consumers. Under Armor is expected to launch online Q&A sessions via social media platforms where customers could resolve any issue related to Under Armor through an expert and could also conduct video interviews from time to time where real consumers raise their issues from a high-ranking member of the company such as CEO. Basically, this social media campaign is based on considering the current state of the company. The duration of the campaign is 1 year and the effort is to restore customer loyalty, diversify sales and create apositive perception of the product by consumers. Furthermore, the campaign also aims to gain a competitive advantage by exploring new marketing avenues that competitors have not focused on so far. Further details on each of these aspects are discussed in the document. The Rise of Under Armor and Its Current Situation Under Armor began its business as a small-scale manufacturing and sales company in the United States in 1996. Over the years the company has managed to develop into a whole new clothing empire sportsman that threatens its competitors such as Nike and Adidas. The reason Under Armor was able to establish itself as a unique brand in the apparel and sporting goods industry was the vision of its founder and former CEO Kevin Plank. Baer, ​​​​(2015) states that Kevin Plank was the captain of the University of Maryland football team. Kevin Plank's passion for sports has allowed him to understand the expectations of his potential customers, helping him easily reach his target market. The first product made by Under Armor had a synthetic-based layer to absorb sweat. This in itself was a unique feature as many sportswear companies at the time used cotton clothing which was not an effective means of dealing with the heavy sweat accumulated by athletes. Baer, ​​​​(2015) illustrates that in 2015 Under Armor managed to acquire a sales value of over 200 million dollars and this is an impressive figure for a company that had been operating in the market for only 10 years. Under Armor has managed to sign endorsement deals with many celebrities such as Jamie Foxx and sports teams such as Dillon Panthers. This helped Under Armor expand its market, especially the US market. However, Under Armor is currently struggling when it comes to business performance. Current Issues with Under Armour's Social Media Campaign Under Armor is currently going through a rough patch as a company. The same could also be said when it comes to social media and online sales strategy. Mickle (n,d.) states that Under Armour's Facebook and Instagram posts focus primarily on promoting the brand through advertising. This might have been an effective strategy a few years ago, but currently consumers are accustomed to this marketing strategy which makes this strategy an obsolete means of promotion. They also focus on promotional activities such as coupons and celebrity endorsement campaigns which cannot be considered innovative online and social media marketing strategies. Under Armor also has other failures in social media campaigns such as the use of hashtags on Facebook, which is proven to be useless as this could confuse the specific purpose of each platform, for example Instagram is known as the platform that uses hashtags and this could confuse their potential consumers. They also suffer from a lack of engagement with their consumers in social media, for example they do not respond to tweets on Twitter which is one of the main purposes of having a Twitter account as the platform is dialogue based. Furthermore, Under Armor does not focus on means to attract the female market to their social media platforms. They have female celebrity endorsed posts on social media, although it must be said that these are not epic or powerful enough to attract new consumers considering the efforts of their competitors. Social Media Campaign Proposal Improving Brand Loyalty Through Social Media Under Armor is operating in a highly competitive market. This means that if Under Armor lost a customer it could move on to other competitors such as Nike and Adidas.Under Armor should prioritize maintaining its current customer base. Ciment & Hanburry (2019) states that Under Armor has lost a large number of its current customers, especially young consumers. To retain its customers, Under Armor should prevent customers from moving to rival brands. Under Armor could create a social media campaign where they inform their customers of virtually every change and update about the brand through their social media platforms. This could give the consumer a sense of ownership and make them feel that the company considers them shareholders rather than stakeholders. At the beginning of the campaign (first 3 months) Under Armor needs to recruit specialists who can actively respond to questions raised by consumers regarding a product. They may conduct question and answer sessions with their customers, and Under Armor must promptly respond to as many questions as possible raised by consumers. When focusing on specific platforms, on Instagram you might use a hashtag (# Ask Armour) and on Facebook you might design a post to inform consumers about Q&A sessions that could encourage shares. Additionally, in the final stages of the campaign, fans on Instagram and Facebook who have the highest level of interaction may be given the opportunity to interview and question the company's CEO. Diversifying sales through social media influencers To market products to specific regions such as EMEA, Asia Pacific and Latin America Under Armor must evaluate and focus specifically on consumers in these regions and their personal interests. Under Armor has focused heavily on reaching its product through NBA and NFL sponsorship deals which are popular in the United States but not as much in other regions. Since its competitors (Nike, Adidas and Reebok) are spending heavily on endorsement deals with sports celebrities, Under Armor could focus on a different angle by using Youtubers and social media influencers who maintain a healthy and sporty lifestyle. Additionally, since they live in their respective regions, they have a better idea of ​​expectations and how to market the product to their fans. This type of advertising is persuasive and also informative as these personal ads spend time explaining the benefits and effectiveness of the product. Using social media influencers could be an effective marketing campaign as they have already demonstrated the ability to influence and attract people and are likely to have a more personal relationship with their fans. Nearly 80% of Under Armor's sales come from the North American market. This is where the proposed social media strategy comes into effect where the company could improve its sales avenues by expanding its market in Asia Pacific, EMEA and Latin America markets. Sustained Financing and Investment Hanbery & Climent, (2019) describes that Under Armor is facing 1 percent decline in sales in 2019. Under Armour's operating revenues also decreased in 2018 compared to 2017. This is not an impressive figure considering the growth of Under Armor's competitors on the market. This social media strategy is designed to help Under Armor execute this strategy using the minimum possible finances but at the same time the effort is to attract a large market. The marketing cost, amounting to 10.5% of annual turnover, would not increase for this reason, because the plan is to eliminate some extensive American sponsorship deals and invest in these finances in the Asia-Pacific and EMEA markets. Use different influencers on.