Under Armour CMO Donkin: ‘Find What’s Working And Hit The Gas’
Brand authenticity–even if it’s controversial–is a guiding principle for the sports apparel brand’s chief marketer: “When you talk to kids who actually wear the brand, there’s this belief that they can do anything. And we fuel that belief.”
Andy Donkin joined Under Armour as CMO in August 2016, following a five-year stint at brand and mass marketing at Amazon. In this week’s “Marketing Today” podcast, Donkin touched on the importance of brand authenticity–even if it’s controversial–especially in capturing the hearts and minds of younger consumers.
He also discussed what brands must do to survive and thrive in this modern-day business crucible: “Today, you can burn down a brand in about a week if you get it wrong. That platform that you’re building can be very volatile,” Donkin said. “So that means you have to build an organization that’s very nimble, very flexible, can learn and adapt quickly, and really become an experimentation engine.”
Podcast highlights also include:
- Under Armour: Where it is and where it’s going. (4:09)
- Data and apparel: Blending the digital and the physical. (7:15)
- Cultural currency at the intersection of athletics and lifestyle. (9:34)
- It’s a heartbeat: The role of an internal agency. (17:35)
- What drives Donkin? Innovation, curiosity, and giving back. (20:34)
- Common themes among admired brands. (22:30)