Nike and Under Armour were pitted against each other in a brand comparison to determine which brand consumers prefer and why. While both are seen as expensive, popular sports brands initially, deeper analysis revealed differences. Consumers see Nike as for everyone due to its diverse, inspiring ads and association with comfortable sneakers. Under Armour is seen as for intense athletes due to its technical, performance-focused clothing. Ultimately, more consumers relate to Nike's broad appeal and see themselves wearing the brand, so it emerges as the winner though Under Armour shows potential as an athletic brand.

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BRAND WARSLEVERAGING OPEN ENDS TO UNCOVER WHO WILL WIN + WHY

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BRAND WARS.
We love a good competition. And we believe that a key ingredient in a good
competition is a clear winner, no matter how close the battle. So we pinned
two industry leaders – Nike and Under Armour – against each other in a
good old fashioned head to head, and collected consumer intel on each
brand to understand who is the fan favorite and why.
Which athletic brand will come out on top in 2015? Read on to find out.

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THREE QUESTIONS.
TWO LEADERS.
ONE WINNER.

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BEHIND THE CURTAIN.
We reached out to 1,000 consumers to ask three questions about each
brand. We used ThoughtPath, our cognitive framework (rooted in three
theories of psychology), as our guide to carefully craft questions aimed at
cultivating the most insight regarding consumers’ perceptions of, and
relationship to, each brand. Once we collected the feedback, we
implemented (iM)merge Analytics to cull through the massive amount of
data quickly and accurately. From there, our analysts teased apart the
nuance in the verbatims to gain a deep understanding of how consumers
view and discuss each brand.
Let the games begin.

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PERCEPTION THEORY
How would you describe [Nike/Under
Armour] to someone who has never
heard of it before? Please give as much
detail as possible.
IDENTITY THEORY
How would you describe the type of
person that wears [Nike/Under Armour]?
Please give as much detail as possible.
EXPERIENCE THEORY
How does [Nike/Under Armour] motivate
you to live an active life? Please give as
much detail as possible.
THE QUESTIONS:

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FIRST GLANCE? TOSS UP.
Consumers see Under Armour and Nike in a very similar light. They’re both
pricey, well-loved, athletically-minded sports brands. But we didn’t have to
ask consumers to know that, so we continued to dig below the surface.
With a little effort, a great deal of nuance emerges from consumers’
perceptions of two similar brands, illuminating clear differences in the way
that consumers view Nike and Under Armour.

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EXPENSIVE
POPULAR
SPORTS-FOCUSED
HIGH-QUALITY

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[spoiler alert]
ATHLETIC PEOPLE WEAR BOTH.
When we asked what type of person wears each brand, at a surface level,
the perceptions of each brand’s loyalists are very similar. Consumers use
the same broad language to describe both. But, in understanding the
relationships between words and flushing out the context with which each
word is used, we learned that the same word can mean very different things
to consumers – even when discussing two seemingly similar brands. Even
when the terms used to describe each brand (in all caps) are identical, the
context in which the word is used (below each term) is very different.

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SPORTY
Energetic, healthy, fashionable, stylish
ATHLETIC
Cool, stylish, conscious, fashionable
FIT
Sporty crowd, comfortable, athlete
ACTIVE
Athletic, very, runner
SPORTS
Healthy, wealthy, fan, sneakers
SPORTY
Dudes, sweaty, football, runner
ATHLETIC
Tough, strong, attractive
ACTIVE
Athlete, outdoorsy, serious
SPORTS
Athletically minded, inclined, player
COMFORTABLE
Strong, shape, clean
WHAT TYPE OF PERSON WEARS [NIKE/UNDER ARMOUR]?

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NIKE = ATHLETIC SHOES.
When describing Nike as a brand, shoes are top of mind. Boomers, more
so than millennials, associate the brand with athletic shoes. But Nike’s
athletic shoes aren’t your average shoe – consumers speak to the fact that
the comfort of Nike shoes is what gets them out of bed in the morning and
ready to hit the streets. It’s the way the brand motivates them most to live
an active life, more than even the famed inspirational commercials.

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Their shoes are comfortable enough
for you to want to go the extra mile.
– Female, 45-54
One of the best sneaker brands. Many
styles, colors, and types available.
– Female, 25-34

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EVERYONE NEEDS SNEAKERS.
Consumers believe that Nike is a brand for everyone – they mentally leap
from the sentiment that Nike is synonymous with athletic shoes to the
thought that everyone needs athletic shoes, and therefore reason that
everyone could wear Nikes.

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CONSUMERS’ THOUGHT PROCESSES:
Nike is synonymous with sneakers
Everyone needs sneakers
Everyone could wear Nikes
Everybody – athletes, students, professionals,
moms, dads, grandparents, etc. It’s a shoe for
everyone!
– Female, 35-44
My son would say they have a lot of swag. I say
they have something for everyone.
– Female, 35-44

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NIKE WEARERS ARE LIKE ME.
Consumers speak to Nike’s messaging and advertising as enforcers of the
“Nike is a brand for everyone” sentiment. Ads feature individuals who
consumers relate to and think look similar to themselves. Furthermore, the
advertisements’ compelling stories inspire and motivate, regardless of age
or athletic ability.

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CONSUMERS CAN PICTURE THEMSELVES
IN NIKES
“Nike ads show that no matter what you look like,
you can succeed at your goals.” – Male, 18-24
“JUST DO IT is the best line ever, I am over 60 and
still live by it.” – Female, 65+

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TRIPLE THREAT.
By digging deeply into who consumers view as Nike-wearers, we found
three main points of entry, or three reasons that consumers turn to Nike:
practicality, performance, and fashion. From the recreational park-walker, to
the elite athlete, to the geek chic ad-exec, Nike covers a multitude of bases.

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3 MAIN ENTRY POINTS:
PRACTICALITY
PERFORMANCE FASHION

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AND NEITHER SNOW, NOR RAIN…
When we look at how consumers describe Under Armour, they are quick to
point out all of the technical aspects that make Under Armour functional in
the most challenging of conditions. Aside from minimal mentions of price
and overall quality, consumers use language such as “wicking,” “skin-tight,”
“insulating,” and “breathable” to describe the brand. To consumers, Under
Armour’s key differentiators are woven into the fabric of their apparel (which
is fitting, as the brand’s original product was a moisture-wicking shirt).

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CLOTHING IS ALL ABOUT PERFORMANCE.
base layer
thermal
wicking
nylonbreathable
skin-tight
insulating
elastic
light
protects
PERFORMANCE
An active individual who is serious about what they
do, and pushes their body to the limits but wants
and needs the best active gear available today.
–Male, 18-24

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NO EXCUSES.
Athletes find that Under Armour’s most motivating quality is the
performance of the gear – if they can’t use their faulty apparel or equipment
as a crutch in bad weather, they have no excuse but to brave the elements.
With the right equipment, there’s no such thing as bad weather, and this
makes them feel unstoppable.

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Having equipment to withstand
unfavorable weather motivates you to
stay active even when Mother Nature
doesn’t.
– Male, 25-34
Just having the UA symbol on my
shirt motivates me. I don’t want to be
seen eating a burger and fries. I want
to be seen going through a grueling
workout or Tough Mudder event!
- Male, 35-44
21

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UNIVERSAL APPEAL IS LACKING.
But not everyone is an elite athlete – or would even consider logging a few
miles in the snow. While Under Armour’s focus on performance pleases
athletes, it alienates a large sector of the population that either doesn’t care
about elite athletics or cannot relate to this degree of athleticism. When we
asked who wears Under Armour, we found that Under Armour wearers are
not your average athlete in both athleticism and attitude – consumers used
words like “cocky,” “trendy,” and “wealthy.” The super-human athleticism
can be off-putting, leading some consumers to be uninspired by the
perceived unattainable fitness level.

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Athletic, trendy, but unrelatable.
– Male, 18-24
Athletic, active, and probably attractive.
– Female, 65+
Intense athletes that are probably into
American football. – Male, 25-34
23

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NIKE HAS A BIGGER FOOTPRINT.
So, by tapping into consumers perceptions of the brands overall, their
perceptions of who wears each brand, and their personal experiences with
each brand, we’re able to understand that there are three distinct, yet broad
reaching, points of entry for Nike, and only one for Under Armour.

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WHY BUY NIKE VS. UA?
PERFORMANCE
PRACTICALITY
FASHION
PERFORMANCE

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NIKE WINS OUT.
Simply put, more people relate to, and can see themselves in, Nike. The
brand’s rich sneaker heritage contributes to the broad appeal, as does their
relevant and inspiring messaging. While sneakers are more top of mind for
Boomers, its clear that everyone, regardless of generation, is aware of Nike
and can imagine themselves donning the swoosh – and they often do.

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OUR WINNER?
27

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THE (FEROCIOUS) UNDERDOG.
The fact that Under Armour is a threat to Nike is impressive in itself – just
nineteen years ago, the brand was a pipe dream in CEO Kevin Plank’s
grandmother’s basement. While Under Armour comes in behind Nike, the
brand has a great deal of momentum and opportunity. Millennials in
particular offer hope of closing the gap: they rave about Under Armour’s
comfort, and don’t say the same for Nike. Millennials and elite athletes
aside, there are many markets that Under Armour can tap to continue to
grow market share. The brand has already successfully kicked off this
outreach; they executed a wildly successful and award-winning “I Will What
I Want” campaign targeting women in 2014, and recently spent over $600
million purchasing two fitness apps, MyFitnessPal and Endomondo,
allowing them to help a diverse group achieve their exercise goals,
regardless of fitness level.

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THE
RUNNER
UP
29

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…to derive the context and story
behind consumer commentary.
(iM)MERGE
Cutting-edge text analytics…
…with human analysis…
A SOLUTION THAT COMBINES:

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METHODOLOGY.
We completed this research using (iM)merge Analytics, a solution that
leverages iModerate’s expert analysts and Luminoso, a cutting-edge text-
analytics software, to help companies easily and efficiently understand what
is going on with their consumers. We’re able to look at consumer
commentary from multiple sources such as social feeds, product reviews,
survey verbatims, and call center transcripts, and distill it down into
actionable findings.
This research was conducted by asking three open-ended questions for
each brand of N=1,000 consumers. Questions were crafted using our
cognitive framework, ThoughtPath.
This content was adapted from a presentation given by Jen Drolet,
Managing Partner of iModerate, and Dr. Catherine Havasi, Founder and
CEO of Luminoso, at the Quirks Event in Brooklyn, NY in February 2015.

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THANK YOU
www.imoderate.com // (303) 333-7844 // info@imoderate.com