CANNES – Seeing hugely successful companies now, it’s hard to imagine how they began. We know they didn’t get to where they are overnight but after brands have sold millions worth of products and agencies have won numerous awards, we tend to paint an incomplete picture of their struggles and humble beginnings.
In one of today’s sessions at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank and Droga5 founder and CEO David Droga took us back to when they weren’t earning millions yet and hadn’t quite figure out how to grow their own companies.
The two have been longtime partners, three years to be exact. But Plank reveals that getting to that stage in their professional relationship took a bit longer–a little over four years, “winning things, relationships takes a long time.”
And Droga didn’t fall short of working on that relationship, too. He was a constant visitor at Under Armour’s headquarters, one of the ways he did to earn the trust of brand. “I wanted to build the company [Under Armour] because it will also build my company,” shares Droga.
The partnership with Droga5, or any advertising agency for that matter didn’t materialize early in Under Armour’s journey. Plank recalls that back then, they didn’t do any advertising. They just directly sold products to athletes and sports organizations. Until they started skipping pay checks, getting short of funds to buy fabric that Plank said he realized, “It’s time to get our story out there.” He did this by running a half-page ad on a magazine. For a time, it worked, putting money where it is needed but it quickly went out, too. To address this, Under Armour thought of simply running another half-page ad that’s only slightly different from the first. To their surprise, it did not yield the same results.
Under Armour acknowledged the problem and that what they needed was help from experts. That’s when Droga5 came into the picture. From a crappy client that didn’t know how to work with an agency, Under Armour has become the number one sports clothing and accessories company in America.
Though both companies have achieved what other brands and agencies could only dream of, Droga says, “we wall want to be good. We want to do great stuff. But it’s an evolving thing.” He adds,”it’s fleeting. We have to earn it. It takes as much time doing something right as defending something that’s just average.”
Droga also has a word of advice for young creatives and entrepreneurs out there who are trying to work their way up, “Just believe what you’re selling. Seriously. It’s no coincidence or luck that the best companies are those that believe in what they’re doing.”
