Case Study: How Under Armour’s influencer-led campaign reached over 200Mn users

Under Armour released the "ZIDD FOR MORE" campaign featuring two-time Olympic Gold and Silver winner Neeraj Chopra. Spearheaded by creative agency, Infectious Advertising, capturing hours of Neeraj Chopra's intense training sessions over several days. The film opens with the line "Har Taiyaari Se Badkar Hai Ziddari," reflecting Chopra's personal belief as he battles exhaustion, injuries, and isolation abroad, all while adhering to his relentless regimen.

Here is a case study of the campaign

Category Introduction

The India Sports Apparel Market was valued at $673.34 million. This market is anticipated to surge to $1,926.10 million by 2029, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.2% from 2023 to 2029. The growth is largely attributed to the rising government support for sports, exemplified by a notable increase in the sports budget to $401.6 million in 2020, up from the previous year's allocation.

This dynamic landscape underscores the important role of sportswear in the broader Indian apparel sector, which is projected to reach $133.47 billion in revenue by 2021, with the overall clothing market expected to grow to $85 billion.

Summary 

The ZIDD FOR MORE campaign is inspired by Neeraj Chopra’s grit, resilience, determination and stubbornness. The campaign delves deep into the Olympic and World Champion’s ziddi mindset to never give up on his goal of bringing greater glory to the nation. The content for this campaign was created by shooting hours and hours of Chopra’s intense training sessions over several days. The film opens with the line ‘Har Taiyaari Se Badkar Hai Ziddari’, a personal belief that Chopra lives by and demonstrates - battling exhaustion, injuries, and loneliness in foreign lands while relentlessly going about his gruelling regimen.

Objective 

Neeraj Chopra is a champion who has reached the highest levels achieved by an Indian athlete, reaching the pinnacle at the Olympics, World Athletics Championships, Asian Games and Diamond League. He has had a podium finish in his last 25 competitive events since 2018. 

The campaign objective was to inspire young athletes and fans by shining a spotlight on the gruelling and relentless training that Neeraj undergoes to be able to achieve these phenomenal results on the track. Also to reinforce Under Armour's role as an enabler of high-performance athletes through its innovative products that are engineered to make athletes better

Brief 

The brief given to the creative team was to bring out Neeraj Chopra’s personal story of hard work determination and resilience in a way that deeply engages young athletes and fans. The campaign needed to visually and emotionally convey Chopra's journey, encouraging athletes across India to dream big, never give up, put in the work and reach the pinnacle of their achievements.

Creative Idea 

The creative idea came straight from Neeraj Chopra’s motto “Har Taiyaari se badkar Hai Ziddari”, determination or stubbornness is greater than every preparation. So, while training is very imperative, it is important to be mentally strong and determined to overcome every hurdle and challenge along the way. This gave rise to the campaign idea of #Zidd For More that centres around Neeraj Chopra's 'ziddi' mindset - his relentless drive to achieve his goals despite challenges. By documenting his rigorous training sessions and personal struggles, the campaign aimed to inspire a broader audience to adopt a similar mindset in pursuing their dreams.

Challenges

The primary challenge was to authentically capture the essence of Neeraj Chopra’s effort, commitment and resilience without disturbing him during his training sessions just before the start of a very important competitive season. The production team worked as a “fly on the wall’, shooting Neeraj’s actual training regime over several days and then piecing the entire story together to produce the Zidd For More film. Ensuring the campaign narrative stayed true to his personal beliefs was a key consideration.

Execution 

The campaign was launched on TV during the T20 World Cup followed by Instagram & YouTube. Several influencers including Ritesh Shaiwal, Paridhi Doshi Bhavna Harchandrai, Anahat Singh and many others celebrated the campaign on Instagram stories and various sporting platforms along with Neeraj Chopra fans reposting the film.

A #Ziddformore social media challenge was organised, where audiences shared their own stories of determination to win Neeraj's favourite gear. 

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Results  

• Quantitative: Reach Over 200 million, Engagement over 22 million, over 40% increase in website traffic, over 2000 entries received during the challenge.

• Qualitative: The athletic community has been able to identify with this sentiment and in general all audiences including Under Armour & Neeraj’s fans have re-iterated the Zidd for More attitude in various ways cheering our champion athlete. Some got teary-eyed and goosebumps as they watched the film. Emotions have been at its peak with many audiences including a sense of pride.

Quotes

“We are proud of our long partnership with Neeraj, one of India’s greatest athletes and an icon of today’s generation, who embodies the brand’s core values: grit, resilience, and determination. Through this campaign we endeavour to inspire all athletes and strengthen Under Armour's position as India’s most loved athletic performance brand,” said Tushar Goculdas, Managing Director, Underdog Athletics, Exclusive India Distributor and Licensee for Under Armour.

“It's great to have Under Armour supporting me, not just with the high-performance gear that enhances my performance during my training and competition, but also in sharing my journey to inspire the next generation of Indian athletes. This campaign resonates deeply with me because it carries a message I firmly believe in: stay focused, work hard, and pursue your dreams relentlessly," said Neeraj Chopra.

“We’re excited to see Under Armour’s ZIDD FOR MORE campaign come to life with Neeraj, our marquee athlete and Under Armour’s first Brand Ambassador in India. Neeraj has significantly inspired the next generation of Indian athletes and contributed to the growth of athletics in India. His success has unlocked the marketing potential of Olympic sports in the country. At JSW Sports, we see our talent roster elevating Indian sports and sponsorships, and campaigns like this from Under Armour play a crucial role in achieving that,” said Divyanshu Singh, Chief Operating Officer of JSW Sports. JSW Sports has exclusively managed Neeraj since 2017.