Under Armour and the Philippines

Under Armour

When everything seems to be all about either a swoosh or three stripes, a new element in the sporting apparel recently made their headway into the Philippines.

That, is Kevin Plank's pride and joy, Under Armour.

Here is Under Armour's Chief Marketing Officer for SE Asia, Adrian Chai's nuggets of wisdom with regards to brand's presence in the country:

Re: Filipino response towards UA?

The response so far has been tremendous, especially with the rise of the brand in the USA. In particular, the basketball, compression attire and running range has gained quite significant traction with the built-in technologies like the new "Charged Cushioning."

What has been interesting is that the women's range has taken traction quite well, with many athletes and personalities trying the products out and taking advantage of the technologies built-in with each.

Re: UA's Brand Ambassadors not named Stephen Curry, as well as local counterparts?

There are already quite a number of athletes that UA has recently signed up, from Andy Murray to Michael Phelps. We have also non-sporting athletes that exemplify the "Will to Succeed and Overcome," such as ballerina Misty Copeland and supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

(To add: Bryce Harper, Lindsey Vonn, Hunter Mahan, Jordan Spieth, Julio Jones, Miles Austin, Matt Wieters, Brandon Jennings, Saul "El Canelo" Alvarez)
(To add: Tottenham, QPR, Toronto Maple Leafs)

Looking toward the Philippines, we have also local athletes, such as Gretchen Ho and Johan Aguilar. Apart from them, there are also very known personalities like Piolo Pasqual and Senator Pia Cayetano, who happens to be avid fans and athletes who actively compete and train.

(To add: Robi Domingo, Natasha Alquiros, Mia Cabalfin)

Re: UA and the National Basketball Training Center

We were working through Eric Altamirano (NBTC head) on some programs, which may include involving up-and-coming basketball stars. Looking at the rise of basketball and the love for the game in the Philippines, it was a great opportunity for us to show our support for them just like the way it is done in the USA with the Elite 24 program.

Re: the next step/s of UA in the Philippine sporting scene?

We are constantly looking to find synergies with different sports to work with the brand. It is also important, however, that we do not digress from the core competency of our apparel that involves training and our key sporting categories. We will embark on some exciting programs in basketball, as well as involving locals in our latest Earn Your Armour challenge, where Filipinos across the country can join up and as a community to engage and train using Under Armour's recently acquired fitness tracking app Endomondo. We will then tie this in with local on-ground activations called Armour@The Fort, where fans of the brand and others can join in and train up with our partner gyms and trainers.

There are already a couple of UA stores in the Philippines, one at the Bonifacio High Street, the other inside SM Megamall.