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.