Overview
As one of the first initiatives to reinforce Under Armour’s shift to a purpose-driven brand led by its values, Under Armour tasked Edelman with creating a Get Out To Vote (GOTV) initiative that sought to increase engagement among eligible voters. Run to Vote was created to offer its communities tools and resources to break down barriers to registration and voting.
The Plan
Leaning into insights that shine a light on the voting roadblocks in communities across the country – compounded by the pandemic and voter suppression – Edelman built a strategic plan to educate, mobilize and empower voters to ensure as many as possible could head to the polls during election season.
With just 60 days before the US Election, Edelman advised Under Armour how to activate an initiative that was authentic to the Under Armour brand – leading to the launch of Run to Vote. Given CEO Patrik Frisk’s status as a first-time voter, Edelman created a compelling narrative that hit on the passion and energy behind his formation of the initiative. Under Armour’s Run to Vote initiative reached the target audiences of employees, consumers, athletes, and the community in various ways.
Bring Run to Vote To Life
I worked with our US team to strategize, build and execute this campaign. Together we:
Wrote the strategy and copy for the UA Global Run to Vote hub. The hub, built in partnership with Vote.org, allowed teammates and community members to learn about registering and voting in their respective states.
Created a strategy for social media ambassador storytelling, leveraging the brand’s athletes, such as Stephen Curry, Natasha Hastings, and Kelly O’Hara.
Coordinated with Under Armour’s social media team and sports marketing team to launch.
Wrote in-store retail messages, UA Teammate communications, and C-Suite social messages.
Created a strategy and wrote messaging for the MapMyRun R2V challenge, activated through the brand’s Map My Run app, encouraging runners to log 11.3 miles in honor of Election Day on November 3. As users completed the challenge, they received information on creating a voting plan.
Results
Run to Vote exceeded client expectations for coverage and engagement and received major kudos from executive leaders for the first-ever initiative. The efforts yielded more than $5M in earned media value through an exclusive feature in The New York Times and top-tier outlets such as The Washington Post, Yahoo! Finance Streaming, AdAge, and Footwear News. The site registered voters in every state where there is an Under Armour Store. More than 57K people participated in the Map My Run challenge.
