| Ryan Hansen 
Partnering with an industry influencer opens up so many opportunities and can be an exciting time for brands and their audiences. Marketing with an influencer can connect your company with new voices, new products, new ways to engage, and hopefully new customers. Even for the most successful brands, a lot rides on making the most of these relationships. Recently, Under Armour (UA) announced a global partnership with international fitness and film superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. As part of the long-term partnership, Johnson will work hand-in-hand with Under Armour to create a range of footwear, apparel and accessory products, as well as support UA’s Connected Fitness initiatives. “Dwayne has been a key partner to the Under Armour brand for many years and a key contributor to sports and entertainment as a whole. We are thrilled to have him officially join the UA Team,” said Todd Montesano, Senior Vice President Strategic Partnerships and Entertainment. “His values and commitment to health and fitness directly align with Under Armour’s brand mission to make all athletes better and we look forward to working with him for many years to come.” You would be hard pressed to find someone who does not recognize the new face of Under Armour. Held in high regard by so many of his fans, Johnson also holds the title of 2015 Top International Box Office Star. Whether on set or in the weight room, Johnson is a household name in entertainment and fitness. This, in my opinion, is what makes him such a great fit as UA brand ambassador. The Rock’s ability to transcend multiple facets of entertainment and exercise has helped him create an incredible social media presence, something the folks at Under Armour definitely recognize. 
A global leader in performance athletic wear, Under Armour is no slouch when it comes to social media. But in comparison to Johnson, they are simply no match for the former WWE champion. Because of this, UA not only utilized a press release and their own social channels to announce this superstar collaboration, they optimized promotion for Johnson by creating custom imagery that was easy to share across his sizable social network. For Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, Under Armour created branded imagery that resembled what The Rock’s fans adore seeing each day, something they will like and re-share many times over. But why is this so important? Under Armour was not only able to engage their own client base, but the legions of fans that follow Johnson. And when I say legions, I mean MILLIONS. The Rock (@therock) has more than 50 million followers on Instagram. That is nearly 50 times greater than @underarmour. His 9.78 million followers on Twitter are about 8.5 million more than UA has. And what about Facebook you ask? Johnson has nearly 50 million more likes on the social network compared to Under Armour. The numbers are what make this so important. UA has literally tapped into millions upon millions of potential customers on social media alone, by creating custom imagery that appeals to and is ready to be shared by their ambassador’s fan base. It will be interesting to see how Under Armour’s social presence grows over the next year, and more importantly, their sales. Announcing a new partnership is energizing, and strategically engaging the fan base of a new spokesperson or influencer – especially someone with star power like Dwayne Johnson – is a shrewd move. Learn how to build and make use of influencer relationships in your own industry. Download our white paper Redefining Newsworthiness: New Opportunities to Earn Media for tips on reassessing your content to find stories that earn influencers’ and audiences’ love. Author Ryan Hansen (@RPH2004) manages social media at PR Newswire, sharing the latest PR, marketing and social media trends across our networks. See what he's up to around the PR Newswire offices by following @PRNewswire on Instagram. | 
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