"Defend our house!" An Dema sword refers to Nike

Nike and Adi have always paid less attention to opponents other than them, but now an Anderma company has emerged as a headache for them. The company ranked #6 in BusinessWeek's 2006 Fast-growing Companies has begun to directly threaten their market share.

As one of the fastest growing companies in the United States, Anderma has not only created a market for functional sportswear in the past few years, but has also extended this functional sportswear to more areas, targeting different sports and weather. And functional products - such as snow suits, race suits, weight loss suits, sweat suits, long-sleeved and short-sleeve corsets, fencing protective gloves, and even sport bras and boxer shorts - are sold in more than 6,500 stores around the world. The average annual increase in sales was 78.3%, reaching 3106 million U.S. dollars in 2005. Compared to the $9 billion sneaker market, functional sportswear may be small, but it is now the fastest growing market in the industry. Currently, An Dema, who is considered to be the destroyer of the sportswear industry, has occupied 78% of the 416 million tight-fitting sportswear market, which is so dominant that the company name is almost synonymous with this type of product, just as people think of facial tissues. Think of Krenecke and think of bandages like Bondi.

CEO of athletes

Before Kevin Plank was a college football player, his experience as a college football player did not leave him with any brilliant record of performance. The idea of ​​functional sportswear was born when he was a backup guard at the University of Maryland, leaving 33-year-old to shine in the sportswear industry.

Plank's assessment of his motor skills is that he is not tall and slow, not very athletic, but he has a problematic vision. Like other players, he does not like to wear a sweat-soaked cotton sweatshirt while training and playing. Cotton fabrics can absorb sweat, but he found that if the cotton fabric is mixed with polyester, it can absorb more sweat, and the moisture can evaporate more quickly. And this fabric is lighter, allowing athletes to run faster and feel fresher, resulting in a psychological advantage. So he tore off the label of his own breathable shorts, bought fabrics of the same texture in a fabric store, and found a manufacturer in New York's clothing area sewed seven shirt samples for his teammates for $460. Popular.

As a result, Plank borrowed 15,000 U.S. dollars from the bank's own flower shop, borrowed 40,000 U.S. dollars from 5 credit cards, and raised thousands of dollars by selling private shares to friends and family. He then began his career in a basement in the grandmother's house in the residential area of ​​Georgetown, Washington, DC. He gave the resulting sweatshirts to many of the football players he met at high school in Virginia Fork Union Military Academy and at the Maryland University School team. Many of these players successfully entered the National Football League. “Awareness of these athletes is a fortune, more important than anything else.” Because Plank believes that convincing these big-name athletes to accept such tight-fitting shirts, his financial resources will come rolling.

In addition to stars like Jeff Georges, Jerry Rice, and Frank Weicky, there are other big names in sports, like baseball pitcher Roger Clemens, who have become loyal customers of Anderma. Brands, and this effect is beyond the pure advertising effect. Because there are many opportunities for exposure with Playmaker, it gives the impression that there are professional players in Anderma's place. But Plank will not pay millions of dollars for athletes to wear Anderma's branded clothing. Planck's model is to provide them with perfect products to help them perform better in the sports field. "When I first started, I believed that every child who played football would wear Anderma's sportswear all two years later. I was a young, arrogant person who thought I knew everything." When he saw Maryland When the college players wore Anderma's sportswear while playing hockey and baseball, Planck saw the greater potential of this product. "I realized that what I have is not only a product but a market."

Plank also drove his Ford truck to visit all members of the Atlantic Coast Alliance, visiting star players and equipment managers. Not long after, An Dema's distinctive LOGO - overlapping U and A letters, appeared in college and professional competitions, wooden ball games and "Super Bowl" competition.

The orders of these players and teams supported Anderma’s sales for four years. In 2001, Plank persuaded Dick's Sports Goods, the largest sports goods agent in the United States, to allow his jerseys to be sold on a handful of stores, and it has never been done. Now, Dick's 265 stores are sold by Anderma, and there are other 8,500 stores, most of which are exclusive retailers. The labeling of U- and A-interlocks of An Dema may not be as influential as Nike's logo, but it is highly recognizable in the 12-24 year old. "For high school students, An Dema is a certification mark: I am really an athlete."

Destroyer's dilemma

An Dema is facing the so-called "spoiler's dilemma", which is a mirror image of a well-known "creator's dilemma" theory proposed by Professor Clayton of the Harvard Business School. He studied how the "destroyer" with new technology defeated the dominant big company. However, if these big companies react quickly, they will cause the "destroyer" to be overwhelmed with pressure.

Plank has also allowed some big brands to lazily spend time, but now they are awakened, companies are using high-tech technology to launch a variety of perspiration and quick-drying fabrics, such as Nike's Dri-Fit fast perspiration material, Adi's ClimaLite Breathable material, Reebok Hydromove, Playdry fabric technology and more. These technologies pose threats to An Dema. Ken Buck, the clothing director of Adi America, warned that “we will not be reluctant to make any rebellion. This is a war.”

In order to survive, the "spoiler" must surpass its niche market growth, develop new products and innovate to create new consumer groups. At the same time, he must also protect his original site so that he can keep a distance from the “followers” ​​that are constantly emerging. In addition to the hardships of starting a business, it is a time of great challenge for the company to maintain its performance and continue to grow after it has matured. At this time, everything that has been evolving has begun to be tested: business models, leadership, customer relationships and branding.

There is no such precedent: 10 years ago, No Fear brand was a sports brand that suddenly developed in the short term. It tried to jump from a "spoiler" to become the main leading enterprise in that field. They have developed a new product category called "Attitude Clothing." Its shirts and hats all read the slogan “The runner-up is the biggest loser” on the front, which angered all teenage boys. No Fear feared, but also extended its slogan to the super-competitive shoe market and broadcast its first TV commercial during the 1995 Super Bowl competition. But soon Nike and other competing brands also launched their attitude clothes, and No Fear was finally frustrated by the limited distribution network. Soon, it became a niche market player and fell into a motocross brand.

In Planck's mind, he absolutely does not allow the same situation to happen to the An Dema brand. "Many people think that we will fail one day, it's just a matter of time. Our job is to prove that their views are wrong."

"Defend our house"

An Dema and Nike are the two major brands of functional sportswear, but that is only in this niche market. In a broader, comprehensive market, Anderma’s annual income, $200 million in 2004, is just a rounding error of $13.0 billion for Nike.

Nike did not make any comments on An Dema, but its introduction of professional sportswear functional sportswear showed his attitude. Nike’s ad is called “For Warrior” and it is the largest apparel ad ever. It is reported that it costs 30 million, which surpasses Aderma’s full-year advertising expenses in 2004.

This is enough to make a small company guilty, except for An Dema. They have their own measures to deal with these: grass-roots marketing (relationship marketing), athlete-assisted product development, television advertising, LOGO promotion and fostering enthusiastic followers.

Nike founder Phil Knight also founded the company shortly after graduating from college. Before that, he was also an athlete. The only difference was that Knight was an athletics player and Frank played football. All of them first established a loyal group among athletes unconsciously and quietly, and began their marketing process.

The weaker in the market competition always have to find ways to get the maximum possible benefit from a very small marketing budget. The goal of the first advertisement of Anderma 2003 is to create a longer advertising time than 30 seconds. The effect of the scene. The ad represented a football team that surrounded Eric (a former teammate of Planck and the defensive end of the Dallas Cowboys) shouting, “Defend our house!” as if this house was his Reliance on life. This is the first part of the "Defend Our House!" campaign.

The consumer response to this ad is exactly what a marketing person dreams of—athletes, coaches, and even managers. Since the broadcast in the fall of 2003, more than 50,000 calls and e-mails have been sent and received. The questioning and dialogue of advertisements quickly formed a viral marketing effect. Consumers sent many of their own stories and videos. They shouted slogans in advertisements in games and even sales meetings. The banner that says "Defend our house!" flutters in the NFL's gymnasium. The ESPN newscaster also quoted this slogan. It became the shorthand symbol of the An Dema brand in the minds of consumers, just like Nike's "Just do it!"

The plight of the "spoiler" is not a new challenge for Anderema. But Planck knew that the war would become fiercer, and as the foundations get better and better, the company will grow bigger and he does not think that anything is taken for granted. On the whiteboard in his office, there is a word that stands out on it: offensive. "Defending the house does not mean sitting comfortably in the house."

Development of women's market

In 2001, Anderma’s sales were only over 20 million U.S. dollars. At that time, the core consumers were men, 12-24 years old, accounting for 90%. However, the company gradually found that female consumers are asking for Anderma's products. At that time, the company's women's products were only sports bras and tights, and the product specifications and style were relatively insufficient, and women bought more male styles. The product. An Dema does not want to alienate this part of consumers, so he began to design and develop more diverse women's product lines, so that women athletes know that Anderma's brand is also related to them.

However, launching a product line is much more complicated than the R&D process. The first samples did not satisfy Plank. He gave up the design of the samples, although there were 600,000 USD orders waiting for him. He realized that Anderma needed a fashion design team to form his own style, so the company organized a 20-person product development team in Baltimore. At the same time, gold medallists, female consumers, female designers, and equipment managers are invited to provide suggestions for product design. He also hired new product sales and marketing staff specifically for this purpose. The company found that the production of women's products is not the same as that of men's products. Female consumers tend to be more concerned with details such as whether the corporate logo appears neatly on the garment, and whether the sewing process is solid and smart. The company's development started with sports bras because it is the best product that women can trust.

However, the bigger problem is that most female consumers still have an unclear impression of Anderma's brand. If they had seen previous ads they would think that this product was designed for the boy. However, An Dema could not make the brand feminine. In addition to product design and production, the company also needs to work hard on advertising. The TV ad produced for the 2005 Women's New Product Line shows that soccer star Heather is doing her morning exercises. She is the champion of the last summer Olympic Games that everyone knows. He is warm, healthy and accessible. Heather did not read Anderma's slogan aloud in advertisements, but still delivered a message to consumers: An Dema is full of passion, emotion, and functional excellence. And this advertisement also attracted young male consumers: In 2004, Heather defeated other players such as Kournikova in the online election of ESPN Sports and was elected the “Most Popular Female Athlete”.

These efforts have yielded very good returns. Sports bra sales are very good, and An Dema's women's products have reached dozens. In the first quarter of 2006, women’s sales increased by 112.1% compared to the same period of last year, reaching US$ 21 million.

sports shoes

In the young and core athletes, An Dema challenged Nike, Adi and other big sportswear competitors with their high-tech sportswear, and applied the same high-tech methods to the material selection and design of footwear products and began to invade. The $18 billion sports shoe market surpassed the growth of the original narrow niche market.

In July 2005, the company began to widely publicize through online marketing and advertising campaigns to maximize the attention of everyone. It is estimated that the first year's marketing budget for sports shoes will be 8 million US dollars.

On July 15th, An Dema announced the third part of the "Protect Our House" campaign. "This campaign campaign has shown its own vitality and has resonated with athletes in a certain way. This kind of resonance has generated us in the past and we know that it is possible to do it, but we haven't tried or tried to do it in the past. "Andy Ma's vice president of marketing, Steve said.

The third part of the advertising performance of the star is the Ericsson Cowboys and a lot of other star players. The ad looks back on Eric from childhood to university and now leads Anderma to play against Goliath. On the final screen of the 90-second ad, the word "Click-Clack?" appeared, the clattering shoes hit the sidewalk and a pair of shoes (in outlines) took Adelma into the football anti-skid shoe market.

“We explain this in the commercials. This sound represents what is the last sound you heard before you set foot on the ground. It was the sound of cleats hitting the concrete floor — that’s what the ads are going to show... People remember The famous slogans reinterpret these slogans for different purposes. We hope they will maintain a positive motive." "Click-Clack: I think you heard us!" is Anderma's advertising slogan, again stressed The brand's driving factors and reminding consumers, An Dema brand entered the sports footwear market.

This unique 90-second Micromovie format advertisement debuted at the "2005 ESPN Awards" on July 17th and continued to be played throughout the 2005-06 college and NFL football season, becoming a prelude to Anderma's entry into the football anti-skid shoe market. . At the same time throughout the year 2005, websites and print media advertising supported television advertising throughout.

Anti-skid sneakers are priced from $54.99 to $109.99, and have been issued since June 3, 2006. They can be customized on the company's website or in sports merchandise stores such as Dick's Sporting Goods and the Sports Authority. In fact, as early as April 15, consumers will be able to see the new model of non-slip shoes, in order to prepare for advance booking. All pre-ordered consumers will receive a limited-edition “dog label” with the “CLICK-CLACK” slogan, indicating the first launch of non-slip shoes.

In order to create a retail reputation, anti-skid shoes samples will be displayed in the store in a manner similar to museum collection display. The retail buyer's reaction to the shoes was very good, and thus brought a very good reputation for the promotion of the shoes: lighter, let the feet feel more dry, cool; very light, mainly due to the design of the sole and heel; shoes It is also designed with a "little knife edge" to increase the friction with the ground, which is very cool. Next, the company plans to launch baseball non-slip shoes.

“After the introduction of sports non-slip shoes, it means that we can serve athletes from head to toe. The introduction of this series of products represents a real transformation of our business. We are committed to the development of advanced technologies to show our global guarantee of functional apparel. This technique will definitely do something for you - to make you better. "This is exactly what Anderma has.

An Dema also tried embedded ads. In exchange for free clothing, An Dema appeared in nearly 50 films, including "Million Dollar Baby", "Fighting for Sunday" and "Reserved King" and more than a dozen television programs, including the reality show "Apprenticeship." 》 In 1999, Warner Bros. also signed a contract with it. Since then, Anderma has not only been associated with sports but with all other forms of activities.

Next Nike?

The story is not over. It is too early to celebrate. Will Anderma become the next Nike? Many retailers believe that Planck's current development direction is very correct, but he cannot knock down Nike. This industry should have enough space for two brands to co-exist. Anderma should be one of them. Even when Nike's "For Warrior" ad was being advertised, Andma's new $20 shirt was selling hot. More importantly, sales of women's clothing have risen from 13% to 19% after several months of advocacy by Heather. An Dema will continue to enter new markets, such as daily clothing, business suits, etc., which allows An Dema to go to a broader market.