Sparro Wins Under Armour
by Lauren McNamara for Mumbrella, 16 July 2024
An exclusive I wrote and pitched to Mumbrella. This piece was later also published across AdNews Australia, B&T Magazine, Mediaweek Australia, and Mi3 Fast News.
In addition to the writing and press work, I made the graphic (seen below) which would come to define the style of our announcement graphics going forward.
Sparro by Brainlabs wins media pitch for major sportswear brand
Global sportswear retailer Under Armour has appointed indie digital marketing agency Sparro by Brainlabs as its full-service media agency following a pitch process, Mumbrella can reveal.
The agency has been tasked with managing paid digital media, above-the-line media, SEO and affiliate marketing for the brand.
Priscilla Larke, head of marketing at Under Armour, said Sparro’s digital-first approach and its above-the-line capabilities were impressive, and drew her to the agency.
“We’re really excited about our partnership with Sparro. Together, we’re chasing the next generation of athletes and sports enthusiasts,” she said.
“Our agencies and their capabilities now reflect our own ambitions, capability and performance focus.
“Our customers are finding products and inspiration beyond professional athletes, both online and through emerging platforms. Sparro is finding media solutions that allow Under Armour to meet our audience wherever they are.”
Cameron Bryant, co-founder of Sparro by Brainlabs, said the agency immediately connected with the Under Armour team.
“Under Armour is the kind of brand we love working with: an ambitious challenger with a respected name that’s ready to go all-in on digital,” he said.
“Our teams immediately connected over our values of thinking differently and growing together – and the work we’ve already started together across multiple channels has reflected that.
“While we’ve been known for our paid digital media and SEO for over a decade, we’ve always been pushing ourselves to anticipate what our clients will need next.
“We started building our data science team in 2019, expanded into creative and production with our acquisition of Jack Nimble in 2021, focused on building our affiliate team since 2022, and have been expanding our above-the-line media planning capability since early 2023.”
Under Armour joins a host of new clients following Brainlabs’ acquisition of Sparro. In January, it was announced that the global performance media agency was looking to expand its APAC footprint, adding Sparro, and Sparro’s creative agency Jack Nimble, to its team.
While Sparro remains a separate, independent business, it is a key part of Brainlabs’ overall global strategy.
Bryant said the agency has always grown to meet the future needs of clients, with multiple new hires, new teams, and expanded service models, to the point where they can now call themselves full-service.