Reigning (and designate) NBA MVP Steph Curry is not just currently basketball’s best player and Under Armour’s most influential US athlete ambassador, but he is also the best 3-point shooter the game has ever seen – little wonder then that the brand is leveraging interest in the NBA season’s climax and celebrating Curry’s talents with a #BreakTheGame social media campaign honouring every three-pointer he makes during the Playoffs with a new three-second film
Developed by New York based agency Droga5, the three-second social spots run on the sportswear brand’s @UABasketball Twitter handle.
The spot duration is fitting as this regular season saw Curry became the first player in NBA history to sink over 400 three-pointers.
The first set of speedy short spots rolled out last week during the Warriors’ first playoff round series win against the Houston Rockets (despite Curry spraining his ankle).
In the playoffs, we are dropping a 3-second Curry ad every time @StephenCurry30 drops a 3. #BreakTheGamehttps://t.co/V2ar9GMFh1
— Under Armour Hoops (@UAbasketball) April 16, 2016
First 3, first @StephenCurry30 3-second ad. #BreakTheGamehttps://t.co/8vHt5VZGRz
— Under Armour Hoops (@UAbasketball) April 16, 2016
.@StephenCurry30 just dropped 3, so we're dropping a 3 second Curry ad. #BreakTheGamehttps://t.co/XOE1shvoxo
— Under Armour Hoops (@UAbasketball) April 16, 2016
Can you keep a secret? #BreakTheGamehttps://t.co/SBHd6LWhhv
— Under Armour Hoops (@UAbasketball) April 16, 2016
A new round of three second films will roll out on @UABAsketball when Curry returns to the court during the next set of matches.
Comment
This may well be an era of content overload, but this Under Armour social Steph Curry campaign seems to cut through most of the noise.
Little surprise as the Golden State Warriors’ point guard stock is at a peak after leading the team to a record-breaking single season record of 73 wins this year and establishing the squad as the favourites to win back-to-back titles.
Curry averaged more than five three-pointers per game this season (a record also celebrated via Twitter by Under Armour) – so expect plenty more micro spots.
— Under Armour Hoops (@UAbasketball) April 14, 2016
Indeed, this offers Under Armour the opportunity to run around five new ads in every game as it endeavours to engage the millions of fans following the Warriors matches on television and via online streaming and social media.
Such short spots have authenticity and synergy as they link to Curry’s key strength, but they also don’t require long, expensive film sessions and thus keep resources and expenses low.
Thus Under Armour is seizing on Curry’s momentum and fame to bring attention to the brand through the playoffs.
It is an inventive, low-latency and relevant tentpole ambassador led campaign responds to the on-court action in close to real-time.
While Under Armour have an impressive line-up of big name sports endorsers – including golfer Jordan Spieth (see case study), NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Cam Newton (see case study), and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps (see case study) – it is curry who is the biggest and brightest star at this point in time in the US market.
This is the kind of switched-on marketing strategy that has helped drive Under Armour towards the top of the sportswear tree in under 20 years – an impressive feat in such a competitive industry.
The company’s latest financial figures show a further 30% revenue rise – coincidentally a figure which matches Curry’s jersey number.
Indeed, Under Armour expects to top $1bn in revenue in all four quarters this year – partly due to the fact that the Curry 2 is outselling every other model of basketball shoe other than Nike Jordans.
How Nike must regret its decision to pass on signing up Curry a few years back.
Links
Under Armour Basketball Twitter:
https://twitter.com/UAbasketball
Under Armour Basketball Website:
https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/sports/basketball
Droga5
