An Investigation Into How Start-Up Businesses Hire PR Agencies and Advertise Their Company and the Relationship to a Company's Success

"I will, I will. I will protect this house". Everybody here at the University of Maryland knows exactly which company this logo refers to. It is heard at every football game, multiple times, and is seen at every sports field on Maryland's campus. It is the Under Armour logo. Under Armour is an athletic clothing company that was started by Maryland's very own, Kevin Plank. Plank, a Smith business student, started this company from his grandmother's basement in 1996. By 2013, Under Armour is one of the top athletic brands in the country. But how did it get that way and with whose help? Was Under Armour's immediate and quick success typical of a start-up business? The answers to those questions are what I am going to explain throughout this blog post. With the help of two business experts, I will discuss the process in which start-up businesses, such as Under Armour, go through to hire PR agencies and what advertising strategies are most effective. I will describe the unprecedented success Under Armour experienced and why it was unprecedented. Lastly, I will discuss the future success of Under Armour regarding their advertising and PR and what future start-up companies can do in order to mirror Under Armour's success.

A Detailed Process of How a Company Hires a PR Agency Described by a Business Professional

Assistant Director, Events and Marketing for the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Smith School of Business, Holly DeArmond, and Smith School of Business Teaching Assistant, Leslie Cox, provided expertise and insight into the relationship between entrepreneurial businesses and PR agencies.

After being posed with the question of what is the process that business must go through in order to hire a PR agency, Ms. DeArmond responds with an extremely in-depth answer that fully describes what companies must do in order to hire a PR agency.

Ms. DeArmond further explains the process by telling what the companies are to do after submitting their RFP's to various agencies. The agencies then review the RFP's and then the company sets up a day of pitching which means that the PR agencies that the company selected come to a meeting and explain why they would be the best PR agency for that company.

Further Explanation of the Importance of  Building a Strong Relationship Between Companies and Their PR Agencies

As Ms. DeArmond states, start-up companies are not going to hire a PR agency within the first year of their business's existence. The start-up business needs to spend the first few years gaining capital in order to have funding to hire a PR agency. To further extend what Ms. DeArmond describes as a strong relationship between the business and PR agency, the start-up has a strong in-house advertisement manager prior to hiring a PR agency. The prior advertisement manager must then take their strategies and experience to the PR agency that is hired, and the PR agency must build off of the prior work of the advertising department. In order for this relationship to strengthen and work smoothly, the prior advertisement manager will work as a middle man between the business and the PR agency. This middle man will aid in the transfer of information between the business and PR agency, making sure that everybody is on the same page and the company's best interest are maintained at the PR agency handling their advertising.

A Quick Overview of Who Manages Under Armour's Advertising In-House and Their Current PR Agency


The same is true for Under Armour. Senior Director of Advertising at Under Armour, Todd Montesano, must work in that fashion between Under Armour's advertising department and their current PR agency, Catalyst. Under Armour has been working with Catalyst to advertise new products and initiatives since August of 2009. The PR agency that Under Armour worked with before Catalyst was the PR firm, Warschawski.

What Form of Advertising is Most Effective and Why as Explained by a Business Professional

After discussing the process companies must go through in order to hire PR agencies, Ms. DeArmond explains what form of advertising is most effective and why that is true.

How a Shift in Technological Mediums Could Affect Advertising

But as Professor Yaros explains in class lectures, media and the mediums used to present information is changing. Ms. DeArmond comments on how this shift in media, especially in the younger generation, affects the type of medium used to advertise and how these advertisements are presented.

Under Armour was ahead of the game in regards to video advertisements. Under Armour released their first video advertisement of a product in 2003.

An Explanation as to Whether or Not Under Armour's Success Is Typical or Atypical for a Start-Up Company

The early release of a video advertisment, seven years after the initiation of the company, could be a possible factor in the speed in which Under Armour was successful. Most start-up companies take many years before their brand becomes popular and successful. Under Armour was successful immediately. After their first 2 years of business, Plank had to move Under Armour's operations out of his grandmother's basement and into a factory in Ohio. The total orders filled expanded from $17,000 in their first year to $100,000 the following year. But was this success typical or atypical of a start-up company? Teaching Assistant, Leslie Cox, discusses her opinions when posed this question based on her prior experience with Under Armour.

As Ms. Cox states, the quick success that Under Armour experienced was not typical of an entrepreneur business. As Ms. Cox and Ms. DeArmond discuss in both their interviews, it typically takes a start-up company many years to build a strong customer basis and to form a strong relationship with a PR agency which would lead to a strong success of that company. Though the immediate and great success of Under Armour was not typical of a start-up business, this should not discourage start-up businesses from striving to be successful. Start-up companies should still strive to gain enough capital to hire PR firms to handle advertising for their company. Even people with no business experience understand that their is an importance to advertising and that PR firms do have an influence on how strongly executed advertisements are.

The Future Success of Under Armour's Advertising as Well as Future Start-Up Companies

The future of Under Armour and their PR agency can be predicted as a bright one. The success of Under Armour can only continue with increased advertising which will lead to increased contracts with other sports teams both at the collegiate and professional level and with other companies who want to participate in Under Armour's services. Further research in the importance and influence of advertising through PR companies should be done to discern the efficiency of current PR firms.

Background Information on the Entrepreneurial Business, Under Armour, and Their PR Agency, Catalyst

For my project I am researching the connection between PR and entrepreneurship. I want to see how brand new companies are able to obtain PR if no one has ever heard of them. Then, I want to see how start-up businesses regulate their advertising and PR once they obtain it. I want to compare different companies’ PR techniques and see what is more effective. Lastly, and most importantly, I want to find out how difficult it is and what challenges are presented to start-up businesses when trying to obtain advertising and PR opportunities.

The company that I am going to focus on most is Under Armour. This is because this business was started by an entrepreneur, our very own Kevin Plank, and now is a major company and has a PR agency working for them. The PR agency that currently works for Under Armor is called Catalyst. They work with many other big name companies such as, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Subway, Purina, etc.

Under Armour’s business began in the basement of Kevin Plank’s grandmother in 1996, making only $17,000. By the end of 1997, Plank was moving production operations to a factory in Ohio and has orders filled for $100,000. How did everything expand so quickly for Plank? Advertising, most of Plank’s, if not all, advertising came from word of mouth recommendations from fellow teammates and friends. The door to major contracts began after Plank’s product was advertised in USA Today’s front page by Oakland Raiders quarterback, Jeff George. Next, an equipment manager from Georgia Tech was asking Plank for a shipment of shirts. So began the process of procuring contracts with other Division I football teams such as Arizona State University and North Carolina State.

As the contracts and popularity began to growth, Under Armour became a more advertised brand. The company’s next step was to join with a PR agency to hand all press releases and advertising. Under Armour released their first television ad in 2003 along with the logo, that now brands the name Under Amour, “Protect this House”.
My questions to the expert(s) to the experts are 1.) is Under Armour (UA) an atypical or typical company in regards to how it was initially advertised and how it joined a PR company, it being a start-up business. And 2.) is it possible for start-up companies to gain as much recognition as Under Armour does, without partnering with a PR agency? From a business profession perspective, is it likely for a start-up business to do as well as UA did, that quickly, without outside help (i.e.: PR/Advertising agency).

The History, Detail, and Importance of Dialogical Ethics and Its Connection to Relationships and Today's Journalism

The history and detail of dialogical ethics

Dialogical ethics is “a system in which ethics can be judged by the attitudes and behaviors demonstrated by each participant in a communication transaction” as stated by Neher and Sadin. In simpler terms, dialogical ethics means being open minded towards opinions other than your own. As a journalist, one has to be accepting of all other views on an issue and cannot be biased towards their own personal viewpoints. Now, this does not mean that as a journalist you have to become a mindless, opinion less person. It just means that just because someone doesn’t have the same opinion as you, you can’t shut them out and say they’re wrong. You have to acknowledge that everyone has a right to their own opinion and that needs to reflect in your article, blog post, or comment.

An example of dialogical ethics involving the Boy Scouts of America and their current ban on admitting openly gay members

In a recent story, CNN journalists, Ed Payne and Devon Sayers discussed the issue of homosexuality within the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Currently, there is a policy in place that prevents openly gay members from participating in the Boy Scouts of America. This ban isn’t being vote on until May 2013. Though this ban isn’t set be voted on until later this year, the Boy Scouts of America have begun the process of gathering current members’ and parents’ opinions on matters related to openly gay members’ participation in the BSA. This issue is very much so an emotional one. It can be extremely hard to keep personal opinions out of your analysis of the Boy Scouts of America’s actions. However, CNN journalists, Payne and Sayers, do an excellent job of maintaining dialogical ethics throughout their article. This is done by purely focusing on the facts of the situation and presenting these facts strictly as they are. There is virtually no presence of personal opinion when discussing the survey that the BSA sent out to members and parents and when discussing the Supreme Court Case, ruled in 1999, that gave the BSA the right to deny gays membership in this institution. What the journalists also did throughout the article was investigate and explain both sides of this situation. That is another key part to dialogical ethics. The journalist must not only refrain from letting their opinion color their article, but also they must review both sides of the story within their article. The point of doing this is so that the audience, the readers, can obtain a full perspective on the issue and form an unbiased opinion.

The importance of dialogical ethics and its connection to relationships

The dialogues we have with people are the basis of our relationships with them. It’s similar to meeting someone for the first time. If you come up with your opinions of that person before you even meet them and get to know them, then your opinion will be skewed. You have to be open-minded when you meet someone for the first time. The same goes for journal pieces. The first time most people hear about a major event is when they see it covered on the news or in an article. If the journalist presents the event with emphasis on their personal opinion, the audience won’t be able to form their own opinions on what happened. Or, even worse, the audience might not get the full story; important details may be left out. This is why dialogical ethics is so important. The same goes for companies when they enter the realm of social media. Instead of strictly promoting their product, aiming only to make a profit, companies need to take consumers’ reviews into serious account. It will only hurt a company in the long run if they continue to astroturf their audience and control the dialogue pertaining to their product or service.

The main reason why  I chose to write about this specific ethic

I feel that it is important for a journalist to present the facts of the situation to their audience with as little bias as possible. Everybody has the right to their own opinion, but if you color the facts with your opinion, the views that the audience forms aren’t really their own. The opinion the audience forms just becomes an extension of the journalist’s opinion. How is that fair? How does that allow for differences in society? How does that allow for healthy debate about worldly affairs? The answer is it doesn't.

The de Forest Audion: The Birth of Voice radio

Lee de Forest's invention made transmitting voice over the radio possible
Of the many "fathers" of the radio, I found Lee de Forest the most interesting and innovative. Lee de Forest was the man who made transmitting voice from point-to-point and from one central point to a mass audience possible. This was done with de Forest's invention of the audion. Developed in 1907, the audion was a three-electrode vacuum tube that allowed for detection of electromagnetic waves. The audion consisted of a partially evacuated glass tube containing three electrodes: a heated filament, a grid and a plate. A small electrical signal applied to the grid could control a large current flowing from the filament to the plate. This particular set-up is what made the audion unique; the audion didn't draw its power from the antenna or tuned circuit which is what allowed the system to distinguish between various radio frequencies. All other systems, at the time, were not structured as such and, therefore, incapable of distinguishing between radio frequencies.

De Forest's triode aided the U.S. Navy in transmitting voice from ship to ship
Now known as the triode, it was created and used to amplify electric signals used for radio reception. After its creation, de Forest and his company used the radio transmitter to broadcast the first ship-to-shore message. It was then a domino effect: de Forest's radio transmitter was distributed to U.S. Navy's Great White Fleet and used between ships and between ship and shore. Though already given a great start, de Forest's contribution to the radio still needed to be improved. This was only possible with guidance and funding from the U.S. military. By 1915, research had led to a better, more reliable radio transmitter and receiver. With this new and improved radio transmitter, de Forest used this transmitter at his Highbridge Station 2XG and introduced nightly broadcasts. These nightly broadcasts could be seen as a virtual newspaper for all its listeners amateur radio operators.

U.S. Military suspends public access to the radio during WWI
However, by 1917, all radio activity and innovation was temporarily suspended due to World War I. The U.S. military had either taken over or simply shutdown all radio stations in the country. Throughout World War I, it was illegal for any private citizen to operate or even own a radio transmitter unless given special permission by the U.S. government. While the public was unable to continue its use or even work to improve the radio transmitter, the U.S. military had continued its research and progress. By the end of 1918, the suspension had been lifted.

De Forest's basic invention of the audion opened the gate for the improvements of the radio today
With the progress made by the military, De Forest's audion was regarded as obsolete by the 1920's. However, though the audion itself was considered outdated, his invention of the vacuum triode was what was necessary for today's radio broadcasts to become a reality. Using de Forest's audion as a basis, more efficient transmitters and more sensitive receivers were created, thus revolutionizing radio communication. This revolutionized radio communication not only benefited the public and their personal use, but also the U.S. military during World War I. It was de Forest’s initial invention that laid the groundwork for all future improvements and innovations involving radio transmission and broadcasting.

Hi, I'm Jessica. This is my second semester of my freshman year here at Maryland. I am a business major and am in the Smith School of Business. The use of media will be crucial to my future career because my goal is to be an entrepreneur of a successful business and as a way of promoting my business, I will be investing my time in mass media. I think that the media today can be a good thing only if it is used properly. I know that, at times, it can be misused in ways to contort what is really true. It's all about what you say and how you say it.