Socially Adept

Under Armour Wins The Z List Experiment with Power of Pink

Almost exactly one year ago, I started "The Z List Experiment" with a belief that at some point big brands would start paying attention to bloggers no matter how big their audience is.  I had some lofty expectations, but was confident that a few targeted posts would eventually capture the eye of someone and warrant a response.  Last month, one of my initial three brands finally took the time to touch base!

UNDER ARMOUR!

A month ago, I was contacted by Allison at MWW (UA's PR Agency) regarding the companies Power in Pink campaign.  Exactly one year ago, I wrote about the campaign as I thought it was a great platform for injecting Social Media initiatives.  This year, Under Armour is doing it again and the micro site looks great, but the Social Media is still a bit lack luster.  Here is the info on the campaign from Allison:

"The campaign is similar to last year’s, so you are probably already familiar with the program, but here are some of the main details: Under Armour is encouraging survivors and women currently living with breast cancer to share their inspirational stories of strength and survival at www.underarmour.com/powerinpink as part of their Undeniable Survivor Search. Under Armour will select three stories of undeniable courage to become the new faces of the “Power in Pink” campaign and star in national magazine and online advertisements and in-store visuals. Stories will be accepted through April 30, 2008."

I encourage everyone to visit the site and if you have a story to tell, please tell it.  I also encourage Stephen Battista or other members of the UA Marketing team to read "Marketing to the Social Web"... I believe you have a copy? : )  Give me a call when you want to talk about how Social Media can fit into your plan.

So, to wrap up, kudos to Under Armour and MWW for your blogger outreach.  As someone who works in social media instead of just talking about it, I appreciate the effort and time.  On occasion, taking a minute to touch base with the little guy can yield big rewards!

On another note... I never updated anyone on my UA cleats.  Durability is great as they lasted 40+ games so far.  However, they looked better in the box then they did on my feet.  A+ for performance and durability, C- for looks.  Oh, and the new cross trainers looked good in the commercial, but not so hot on the website.

(My apologies to Allison for taking so long to post and to my readers for being absent for so long.  Things have been busy and quiting smoking is no joke!) 

Power in Pink - Under Armour Showcases Breast Cancer Survivors

Under Armour has been running the Power in Pink campaign for a few years now to help tell personal stories from those who survived Breast Cancer.  I always enjoy when a brand gives back to the community and helps generate awareness around issues that affect so many lives.  However, I really wish that Under Armour had taken this campaign a bit further.

The Power in Pink campaign encourages breast cancer to share their stories and 3 women will be selected for a photo shoot and feature in the future.  However, the only stories site visitors see are those of last years 3 winners.  Considering that so many people are affected by Breast Cancer and that Under Armour has invested in this initiative for a few years now, I would have hoped they would share all of the stories with us.

Under Armour is a brand that has exploded on the scene during recent years and has convinced many athletes to embrace their sports gear technology.  I admit, I have abandoned Nike, Adidas and all other brands when it comes to my softball gear (I just need them to start making gloves and bats).  In fact, my cleats (I purchased myself) came in the mail yesterday (I ordered 2-4 day delivery but they got here is 6 because DHL sucks as much as FedEx and UPS).

The Power in Pink campaign is a great platform for Under Armour to utilize Social Media, but so far they have not considered it.  This is a great place for a Social Network or a blog.  Let users vote on who should be this years "Power in Pink Faces."  Make the Power in Pink logo a badge so that others can show support. 

Hopefully, Under Armour will look into Social Media for the 2008 campaign, but in the meantime, I will be documenting the durability of their cleats on this blog throughout the summer.  After ever game I play (about 30) I will take a photo of the new cleats and let you know how they are holding up.