Under Armour builds brand love with young adult audiences

While long-term legacy brands have ruled fashion for years, as one fashionista says, “One day you’re in, and the next day, you’re out.” Of-the-moment trends are becoming more and more relevant to shoppers, guiding not only what shoppers are looking for, but also how.

In fact, the reality of today’s fashion marketing landscape is that 74% of surveyed fashion shoppers reevaluate the brands they buy with each new fashion purchase.¹ Trend cycles are getting increasingly shorter, challenging brands to stay relevant beyond a seasonal fashion moment. Under Armour (UA) and their agency OMD Worldwide has taken on the important task of cracking the code in shaping culture and communities to build brand love with young adult audiences.

According to the Business of Fashion, “Trends that catch fire and stay relevant are often tied to pop culture and align with larger social and economic themes.” Culturally relevant brands drive interest and stay top of mind for fashion audiences, which leads to building love for your brand beyond a fashion trend cycle. When consumers consider a brand culturally relevant, they’re 30% more likely to feel favorably about the brand, 23% more likely to become interested in the brand, and 23% more likely to consider purchasing from the brand.²

Communities that celebrate shared passions can further multiply the love that customers have for your brand. Community is a way that fashion audiences can authentically celebrate culture and fashion. Fashion audiences are 1.5x more likely to value brands who help create a sense of community more than brands that reflect the latest fashion trends.³

This is why in Q3’23, UA launched their 2023 “Protect This House” campaign featuring an NFL superstar wide receiver, Justin Jefferson, and a legendary record producer, London On Da Track, on one of America’s biggest sports and cultural stages: Thursday Night Football (TNF). UA teamed up with Jefferson and London On Da Track to record and release a new iteration of the iconic rallying cry to show the world what it really feels like to be an elite athlete in today’s game. “Protect this house is a really powerful phrase,” Jefferson says. “Recording this new chant in my home of New Orleans felt right because to me, protect this house means protecting where you came from and protecting what’s yours—the phrase reminds me of my family and pushes me to be the best receiver on the field.”

Protect This House shows how the young athletes of today protect their teammates, their family, and their friends. The campaign captured the spirit and excitement of a new sports season by releasing a soundtrack dedicated to teams heading into battle among the live sports community on TNF, which averages 11.8 million viewers per game in the U.S.⁴ UA reached audiences based on their consumption habits of listening to music, watching the NFL, and online gaming.

Entertainment is at the center of everything we do today. The ways consumers immerse themselves in culture is through music, sports, movies, podcasts, news, and the communities that foster their interests. And this is where fashion shoppers are most likely to be receptive to brands. In fact, 75% of fashion audiences surveyed believe good advertising looks and sounds like a piece of entertainment.³

According to brand lift studies conducted by Lucid and Kantar, the Protect This House campaign on TNF ads drove lifts in brand awareness and brand affinity with young adult audiences ages 18 to 35. They saw a 3.7% lift with viewers ages 18 to 24 and a 5.9% lift with viewers ages 25 to 34 in brand awareness,⁵ and a 2.5% lift in brand affinity with viewers ages 18 to 34.⁶

UA’s playbook for success was authentically grounded in their roots of sports and music. Brands can participate in shaping culture and communities authentically and effectively with Amazon Ads. With Amazon Ads, brands have of opportunities to connect with fashion audiences across thousands of cultural moments, from bingeworthy movies and series, to hit music playlists and top-charting podcasts, to live sports, and more. Connect with an Amazon Ads account executive to learn more about our solutions.