BALTIMORE: Sports apparel brand Under Armour will reveal products as it interacts with consumers before Super Bowl XLVI.
The company will be part of the NFL Experience, an open-to-the-public event where consumers can play games, get autographs from players, and view athletic apparel and equipment. Super Bowl XLVI, pitting the New York Giants against the New England Patriots, will take place February 5.
The sporting apparel brand will have a “big presence” at the event this year with a mini-training area where fans can participate in vertical jumps and long dashes, said Diane Pelkey, VP of global communications and entertainment at Under Armour.
Catalyst Public Relations, selected as Under Armour's AOR in 2009, is conducting media outreach and social media efforts for the Super Bowl.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, an Under Armour spokesman, will be participating in media activity at the event, Pelkey said. Since Newton was the only player in the NFL to wear Under Armour's “Highlight” cleat this season, the company is promoting him to media outlets such as ESPN, CNBC, and Yahoo Sport to talk about the new shoe, Pelkey explained. The cleat will hit retail stores in April.
“The Super Bowl is such a big stage,” she said. “We find that a really effective way to get your message out there is through the athletes.”
Bret Werner, managing partner at Catalyst, said the visual components Under Armour will bring to the Super Bowl, like product samples, are important for both consumer and media engagement. He added that Twitter updates and blogger outreach will be other important aspects of the company's outreach strategy.
Under Armour will also revisit the “Footsteps” campaign that it launched last summer that featured Newton meeting New England quarterback Tom Brady, his childhood idol, for the first time.
“We can repurpose it because a lot of people haven't seen it, and with [Brady] being in the Super Bowl and [Newton] being up for rookie of the year, it's something that would be of high interest in this point in time,” Pelkey explained.
