Introduction: A Different Animal

Abstract

This chapter contextualises the sport business marketplace. It begins by noting the radical expansion of the industry over the past few decades, from a modest amateur sector to an immense commercial powerhouse. Next, the chapter outlines sport’s remarkable and unique features from both an economic as well as a sociocultural perspective. In this respect, sport can inspire passion and people, it involves merchandise and money, supports ideology and identity, fosters community, enhances profile and professionalism, and generates sponsorship and symbolism. As a result—and as the motivation for this book—the right leadership, culture and innovative practices can create the foundation for social, cultural and commercial progress. The chapter also introduces several key concepts that permeate throughout all the chapters. In order to create a culture that enables innovation, attention has to be given to all aspects of innovation’s deployment. In particular, the book proposes that innovation must be considered within the context of a sport enterprise’s cultural perspective. Other themes address the necessity of bounded risk-taking, entrepreneurship, leadership, and the benefits that arise from an innovative culture. Finally, the chapter highlights the book’s culminating ‘Innovative Culture Framework’, which comprises the dimensions of (1) Leadership, (2) Aligning Business and Innovation Strategy, (3) Fostering Collaboration, (4) Reducing Fear of Failure and (5) Driving Openness to New Ideas. These dimensions provide the catalyst to foster a culture of innovation within sport enterprises to create new sport business trends and capture the resulting market opportunities.

Case Study: Fostering Innovative Ecosystems—Under Armour

Under Armour was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a former football player at the University of Maryland. Plank used his entrepreneurial spirit to create something he personally needed, a sports shirt that didn’t make him ‘the sweatiest player on the football field’. Seeking wicking fabrics to wear on the field, rather than his sweat-laden cotton shirt, provided the impetus for Plank to establish the Under Armour brand . Plank experimented with underwear fabrics to find a light, cool fabric that would work on the field. The aim of the brand was to focus on performance wear for athletes, engineered lightweight clothing to keep athletes cool and dry throughout the course of a game, practice or workout. Under Armour uses complex technology to create diverse product ranges for men, women and youths. The brand offers HeatGear^® when it’s hot, ColdGear^® when it’s cold, and AllSeasonGear^® between the extremes.

Whilst the brand is going from strength to strength, now taking 75% of the market share, inventing new fabrics and implementing technological advances and wearables into its product lines, perhaps the brand’s ability to foster a true environment of innovation is its real core strength. Under Armour positioned itself in the market place as high-quality apparel, the best available, using this positioning to establish its brand ethos. Under Armour challenged the norm and disrupted the marketplace, becoming a powerhouse in innovation in terms of marketing, sponsorship and branding, as well as fostering an environment of high performance as an innovative company ecosystem that stretches beyond their own company culture to the network of collaborators they create with.

Under Armour targets select athletes to market their campaigns; they push beyond their own brand to build a collaborative brand which incorporates the kind of athletes that resonate with their clothing lines. Whilst most sports apparel lines offer this link, Under Armour use innovation as the core of their values, it drives everything that they do. Marketing their brand to ‘overcoming obstacles’, encouraging consumers to be fearless and determined. These core values capture passion, intensity and drive. They successfully play the underdog card, a marketing strategy that has seen them compete equally with powerhouse brands such as Nike and Adidas, using their innovative edge to compete head-on in an already saturated market.

To foster this innovative culture, Under Armour built a unique brand strategy. In the early days Under Armour used lesser-known athletes to compete with Nike; in their first commercial they used Kevin Plank’s teammate from the University of Maryland to star in an ad for the brand . They fiercely championed the underdog. This drove the culture of ‘overcoming adversity’ and ‘overcoming obstacles’ and by using lesser known athletes that showed character and attitude they were able to work within lower budgets.

Fostering a diverse innovative ecosystem has led to them opening flagship stores in Shanghai, which follows a similar model to what we see with Apple, offering consumers a unique Under Armour experience. These opportunities foster consumer engagement and sustain the narrative of the brand . They drive innovation through creating new products, such as the infrared technology that drives heat around the body and developing new fabric technologies which are constantly evolving.

Under Armour have managed to systematically scale the brand whilst being true to their core values; they have added lines continuously , branched out with umbrella companies and branded each innovation, yet they remain close to their founding principles, which promotes and fosters this cultural ethos they have built up of determination against all odds. Branching out into women’s clothes lines using women athletes and female designers has been successfully managed. An example was the brand promoting products using the ballet dancer Misty Copeland, an athlete that was once told she did not have a ballet dancer’s body. They have strategically pushed the boundaries sensitively, and with very clever marketing campaigns have successfully scaled a brand which now competes with Nike head to head.

Under Armour, like Nike, have also faced controversy. Following the Sochi Winter Olympics, when the brand was blamed for the poor performance of the athletes due to the ‘skins’ suits the athletes were wearing, Under Armour committed to improving the line, adapting and bringing out new versions. When it was found that it wasn’t the fault of the clothing, the brand still sponsored the team and showed publicly their openness and willingness to challenge the innovations, whilst defending the technologies in the garments. This approach upheld the brand’s core values, and showed that as a sport enterprise they can overcome challenges and find solutions to problems. This openness offers transparency, it shows consumers the risks the brand takes—they are pushing the boundaries—fosters innovation in everything they do. They have been incredibly bold to compete in the sports apparel market, and by staying true to their founding shared values they continue to foster a collaborative and innovative ecosystem.