Under Armour has performance, but lacks cultural relevance.
After years of rapid growth, the brand needed a sharper cultural wedge as competitors grew faster and made sport feel more lifestyle-led.
Student IMC
Under Armour
Sport Culture
Unmatched
An Under Armour x Pickleball platform that turns performance credibility into quiet-luxury sport culture.
Overview
Under Armour has performance credibility, but lacks the cultural relevance owned by more lifestyle-led competitors. Pickleball is booming, yet no major performance brand has fully shaped its identity, aesthetic, or community rituals.
My Role
I translated the strategy into an integrated campaign world across membership, sport tech, social, tournament, retail, and physical experience.
The art direction balances Under Armour's precision-performance DNA with a quieter, more premium visual language designed for affluent pickleball culture.
Details
- Art Director, Strategist
- Christine Uy
- Campaign
- Under Armour x Pickleball
- Audience
- Toronto, Forest Hill Athletes
- Platform
- Unmatched
Strategic Foundation
Performance was not the problem. Cultural relevance was.
Under Armour has performance credibility, but competitors were owning the lifestyle narrative. The strategic opportunity was to move UA from functional gear into a more aspirational role: a brand that signals identity, community, and elevated taste.
Functional, but not aspirational.
Consumers increasingly choose brands that align with identity and culture. UA needed a way to become part of how people want to be seen, not only how they train.
Toronto, Forest Hill prestige moms.
Starting with Canada's most affluent community, the audience is 30-45, socially connected, competitive but discreet, and drawn to premium cues that feel known by the right people.
The court is a social stage.
Forest Hill players curate outfits, paddles, and accessories to signal elevated taste and belonging. Their gear becomes a quiet marker of refinement and status.
Strava adds the performance proof.
Pairing UA with a fitness community platform lets the idea stretch beyond apparel into trackable performance, community participation, and precision sport culture.
The Shift
The Insight
The Big Idea
Turn performance gear into social currency.
Forest Hill pickleball players do not only dress for performance. They dress intentionally, coordinate outfits, and choose premium gear because the court is a place where taste is noticed and identity is reinforced.
Taste is a quiet language of belonging.
Looking put-together on the court helps players feel confident, socially aligned, and part of the community they value.
Power without noise.
Make Under Armour the first high-performance athletic brand to build a quiet-luxury sports line and members-only athletic studio around pickleball culture.
01
Pickleball is booming, but no dominant brand has defined its premium performance identity.
30-45
year-old prestige moms of Forest Hill represent an influential early-adopter audience.
1st
precision-sport performance hub proposed for Under Armour, starting with Canada's most affluent community.
Quiet. Powerful. Unmistakably Under Armour.
Performance Hub
Forest Hill Under Armour Sports Studio.
A members-only sport performance hub that blends gym and racquet training, premium hospitality, and community visibility. The studio becomes a physical proof point for UA's new role in elevated pickleball.
Strava Partnership
A sport-tech layer for precision play.
A custom Strava sport type can measure rallies, footwork heatmaps, consistency scores, and UA's proprietary Quiet Power Score, extending performance credibility beyond apparel.
Social
Make Forest Hill athletes the signal.
Social content can highlight the women shaping the club's taste, rituals, and competitive energy: ASMR posts, walkthrough videos, athlete portraits, and community-led stories under #ForestHillUnderArmour.
The Unmatched Tournament
The new premier pickleball event at Forest Hill.
The tournament turns the studio into a cultural event. Top players become ambassadors, winners outside the community earn a one-year membership, and the brand owns a new kind of precision-sport status.
Member Perks
Early tournament registration, personalized paddle engraving, and access to The Unmatched Collection make performance feel exclusive without becoming loud.
Forest Hill Athletes
The top three players become community ambassadors, proving the line through women whose taste and skill already influence the court.
Merchandise Studio
The Unmatched Collection.
A quiet-luxury sports line validates identity and belonging through elevated, curated choices. The merchandise studio gives UA a premium retail expression made for the pickleball court and the community around it.
The Rollout
Comms framework · Forest Hill launch market
A three-phase launch from status signal to owned sport culture.
The Signal
Launch tease
- Unmatched campaign platform
- Forest Hill athlete portraits
- ASMR and walkthrough content
- #ForestHillUnderArmour
The Club
Membership push
- Sports Studio opening
- Strava pickleball tracking mode
- Smart paddle integration concept
- Member perks and training content
The Tournament
Culture payoff
- The Unmatched Tournament
- Top players as ambassadors
- The Unmatched Collection
- #TheUnmatchedUnderArmour
The Plan at Scale
A premium wedge into a sport no one owns yet.
The recommended plan focuses on a high-status launch community, a physical performance hub, social proof from local athletes, sport-tech credibility, and a tournament that makes UA synonymous with elevated pickleball.
Student IMC concept. Under Armour and related marks belong to their owners. Campaign details are proposed for portfolio presentation, not live results.
Forest Hill Sports Studio
Members-only performance hub with training, hospitality, and community presence.
Strava Partnership
Pickleball tracking mode, club rankings, consistency scores, and future smart paddle layer.
Social Content
ASMR posts, walkthrough video, athlete portraits, and premium community storytelling.
The Unmatched Tournament
Premier event, ambassador selection, membership prize, and status-generating competition.
Merchandise Studio
Exclusive Forest Hill Under Armour line, paddle engraving, and curated member gear.
Expansion Playbook
Start in Forest Hill, then scale the studio, club, and tournament model into other affluent sport communities.