Under Armour shifts ad dollars from TV to digital

Dive Brief:

In an interview with Business Insider, Under Armour's SVP of Brand Marketing Adrienne Lofton said the brand is moving from a 70-30 split in its TV-to-digital advertising mix to an even 50-50 split.
The move was based on research into its target customer — an 18 year-old aspiring athlete who consumes media primarily on mobile devices, rather than TV.
Lofton said that the greater focus on digital marketing will enable Under Armour to increase the quantity of their messaging and make it more personalized.

Dive Insight:

Under Armour’s marketing shift mirrors the trend of ad dollars moving away from TV and into digital video. Research from Standard Media Index from last year found broadcast spending down 2% and cable spending up 1%, while digital grew an impressive 28%.

A study from MAGNA Global in December forecasted TV ad spending would be down in 2016, a first for a non-recession economy. Another outlook by ZenithOptimedia's Advertising Expenditures Forecast shows TV’s share of global ad spending dropping from this year’s 38% to 34.8% in 2018.

Many brands, including Under Armour, are trying to reach the coveted millennial demographic. A recent PwC study on the TV viewing habits of children and teens found that although millennials are not completely turning away from traditional TV, they do tend to prefer streaming shows.

"The shift is really for a couple of reasons," Lofton said in explaining Under Armour’s decision to Business Insider. "One is we know consumption is more splintered than ever. In days past you could just run TV and really cover the bases for the consumer. The reality [now] is that the consumer is consuming around 3,000 messages a day, our research showed. Whether you're 18 or 45, you're seeing 3,000 messages a day, across multiple media. It could be TV, but often it's social and digital — consumers are just in a constant state of [media] consumption."

She added that in order to market to its target audience, the sportswear brand has “to deliver 24/7 everywhere the [target consumer] is.”

Under Armour’s research found that place is increasingly on second screens, such as smartphones and tablets, rather than TV.