Under Armour and their athletes... watch out.

I'll admit it, I like Under Armour.  I remember seeing a pamplet I had in 2000 that I picked up somewhere and thought "this is going to be huge!"  I didn't even know about branding as a profession/art/science but I knew that they had something going on back then.  What I didn't know about them is that they would grow from a humble former University of Maryland football player to a multi-billion dollar company.  Along the way they have always tried and for the most part been on the cutting edge of athlete endorsements.

The initial endorsed athlete was Eric Ogbogu a teammate of the founder Kevin Plank at U of M.  He was the initial guy to shout "We must protect this house!"... and it stuck.  He played in the NFL for a bit but no one really knows that, in fact he's way more popular for yelling that.  Along the way there have been the endorsements for lesser known athletes such as Heather Mitts, Jeff Samardija, and others... The push has always been on the training and how those athletes train.  The first big pick up for UA came with Ray Lewis.  A Baltimore Raven, it made sense to grab a local guy.  Reebok had nabbed him for their version of UA but when his contract ran out he quickly came over to UA.

UA has tried to pick up and comers before the NFL combine.  They like to use those players to showcase the products as a way for training for the combine.  Ironically they have also struck out a couple of times too.  Jeremy Bloom the two sport star from Colorado who was an Olympic skier and a remarkable returner for Colorado was endorsed by UA... well, it didn't last long, he was drafted by the Eagles, hurt before the season started and was eventually cut before his second season.  Meh, it was a good try.  Then there are the not so fitting but still successful athletes.  Eric Weddle, the mighty might from the University of Utah had a decent combine and has had a solid NFL career leading his team (the Chargers)  in tackles multiple times.  He just didn't fit the mantra... no edge to him, he was a white guy that looked white, acted white, played well, just didn't fit in.  So he was quickly let go.

The second and largest pick up for UA came in the form of Tom Brady.  He signed in November of '10 and basically said "I like being part of something cool, plus I get a piece of the company".  He ditched Nike and moved on.  Nike has to be scratching their heads right now thinking of how they can make their brand of workout clothing "cool".  (Figuratively not litterally).  UA has a pretty good batting average with athletes.  They have some of the top Bow Hunters and Fly Fisherman in the world, they have a couple of the best football players of all time.  They are delving into basketball with the release of the shoes.  Baseball has Jose Reyes leading that group (Side note, UA is big in Japan, really big, check out this commercial, I'll write more about it later )... but the one that I get why they did it but have risked a lot is, wait for it... Cam Newton.

I love Cam's game.  He's a quarterback in a TE's body but moves better than Culpepper.  He has the arm strength, he's a proven runner, he's got a great feel for the pocket (although that will be tested in the NFL because of the speed), he has gotten better at every level he has played... he MIGHT be a good NFL player.  UA has risked it all on this guy... ok not all, but alot.  He has signed a $1MM/year deal with UA.  I don't know how to say it other than this.  He brings baggage.  He brings a certain stigma to your brand and to have Tom Brady and Cam Newton in a commercial together doesn't make sense.  He has a serious image rebuilding job to do and when his Heisman is taken away and the National Championship forfeited it's going to be a black eye on UA.  Then again, they'll probably just cut him loose and stop showing any relationship with him.  It's risky, he's a boom or bust and who knows.  With little experience on the big stage and honestly, you have to wonder about the kids character, it could be a rough go round for UA.  Then again, they probably did their research and saw enough to say that they wanted to take the risk.  Ahhh... the branding and marketing ploys with athletes.  It'll be fun to see what happens.

Hi-Tec & Liquid Mountaineering: The coming together of: Science, Brand, Fun, Sport

The Outdoor Retailer Show is still sticking with me.  I met some great people and some great ideas and one that really stood out to me was the idea of "Liquid Mountaineering".  The name alone is a blast and I could blog about just that for a long long time.  The origins of this is pretty funny.  A group of Euro guys lead by Ulf Gartner got together and started the idea of walking/running on water.  Obviously they were inspired by Some sort of Diety.  Regardless Hi-Tec the British outdoors brand is looking to make a strong rebranding comeback and decided to pick these guys up to promote their water proof outdoor hiking/trail running shoe.  The marriage couldn't have been any better.  The group of guys got some money (it's rumored from Hi-Tec Poland), some gear, had to incorporate the Hi-Tec brand into their "sport" and boom... a legend was born.

These guys were super creative with the making of the video.  They dead panned the humor and held a straight face the whole time.  They really got into it by even saying "you have to run at a curve" and "your feet go up and down like a sewing machine."  I don't know what it is about Americans but if it is exotic and someone is doing it in Europe then it has to be true right?  Well, I guess this has to do with the humor factor.  Lets be honest, our humor here in the states than in Europe and this is actually something we can swallow.  So it made sense that there have been about 5 million hits on Youtube on this video.

As far as the branding efforts that were made with this video... the plug for the lightweight and waterproof Hi -Tec shoe was made with various shots of the Hi-Tec name on jackets and hoodies.  The outdoors was incorporated and and there was even a little subliminal message of Jesus thrown in there with him hanging from the rear view mirror.  This was a great example of everything coming together: Science... slightly plausible and you always kind of wonder, Brand... the shoe fit in perfectly with what they were trying to accomplish, Fun... you can't tell me it doesn't look like a blast, and Sport... there is a feeling of competition to it, so much to the point where Hi-Tec was making a spoof plug to get the sport adopted into the 2012 Olympic games.  What a great idea.  Talking with some of the folks at Frank the creative firm overseeing this rebrand for Hi-Tec they want this to grow and keep growing.  Frank didn't come up with the initial idea but they have run with it creating marketing material to go along with it. I'll be honest when I say that the future is bright with ideas like this.  Well done gents, well done.

Merrell goes barefooting at the Outdoor Retailer Show

Vibram Soles on the Merrell Barefoot

The Outdoor Retailer show recently held in Salt Lake City is a great show.  I love it.  This one is specifically set up for the winter sports but obviously the show is going to take whatever they can get so everyone comes and everyone has all of their products there.  Merrell obviously is a big name in the outdoors industry and showed as much at the show.  Before I go any further I just wanted to brag about my association for a second (it's so pathetic that it doesn't really count).  Merrell was founded in Utah,  that's right, Utah.  It was founded in Vernal, Utah by a man named Randy Merrell.  He initially made custom leather boots for the outdoorsman, i.e. cowboys and hunters.  Some other bigwigs joined up and they moved the company to Vermont and commercialized it.  Randy Merrell sold his part and went back to making custom boots in Vernal, Utah.  That's the short of it.  It happened about 30 years ago so not too many people remember.  My connection?  I'm from Roosevelt Utah which is 30 miles away and we share the same Wal Mart as Vernal (it's actually in Vernal).  Vernal is where my folk goes and shops... rival highschools, people work in the other city, you get the point.  So I feel I'm somewhat connected... barely.

Merrell Barefoot Shoe

Okay on to the OR show and Merrell.  Merrell launched its barefoot line which is no surprise at all.  Everyone is jumping on board with this.  Nike has the Free series (which was basically a pioneer to a certain extent although it has been around for a while), the Vibram Five Fingers is a sweeping sensation, and now Merrell has joined the game.  What is significant about this is the fact that they are using Vibram soles and competing in the same space as Vibram and the Five Fingers.  I found it amusing that the soles of the shoes that are going to be competing with the Five Fingers bare the same logo... go figure.  I talked to the folks at the Vibram booth, tried a pair on and asked if they saw it as a threat or what their thoughts were on it.  The answer was unanimous... "we're not worried at all, they're using our soles... we still make money".

Nike Free 3.0

Five Fingers

So there you have it, Vibram is not worried.  The Merrell Barefoot shoe is a little different anyway.  While claiming barefoot the toes are encapsulated which automatically differentiates the product.  The shoe is more of a minimalist shoe.  It's looking to move into a space that is in between  the Five Fingers and the Nike Free.  The part that separates Merrell Barefoot from Nike is the outdoor aspect of it all.  Outdoors people are generally accepting of "natural", "minimal", "connecting" types of words.  It's tough to tell a 250 lb linebacker that if he uses the shoes he'll strengthen his core and help grow his stabalizer muscles... he doesn't care.  He just wants to throw some weight around and kill some people on the football field.  So the Nike Free idea is sound... I like it, some runners like it but to reach the entire target market that they have... there are some difficulties.  Merrell on the other hand can do it.  They have the following already and the people probably were asking for the product.  Two different target markets and one would be much more accepting of it than the other.

Made to mimic the foot.

Merrell Barefoot is brand new.  It launches this month and will start seeing sales go through the roof due to the launch date.  I know because I'm considering getting a pair for spring running.  Merrell has even pushed the brand to its fullest extent by making them trail focused.  Like all Merrells you can use them wherever but they really shine on trails.  Again, trail runners are the type of people who care about strngthening their stabilizers, less impact on joints, minimalism.

It just makes sense... I applaud Merrell for seeing a market and going after it.  The beauty of it all is that there are less materials needed for it, less engineering (just let the body take over), and more money for marketing.  That's a perfect formula for success and big returns.  Merrell listened to what the market was calling for, good for them.  They deserve this success.  I'll be interested to see how they are doing as they go along.