It’s been a massive success since then, with revenues of $856 million in 2009. The company is now a manufacturer of apparel and gear. And the 38-year-old CEO Plank clearly believes in using technology and social media to help grow his company.

Recently, the company used a new traffic-intelligence tool from Tyco Retail Solutions that captures information about shopper behavior in order to improve sales and marketing activities, improve store layouts as well as measure and evaluate efficiencies.

As far as social media, the company recently launched a Facebook campaign just for women.

FACEBOOK

Under Armour’s Facebook page for women promotes its “Protect This House. I Will.” campaign, and has more than 8,800 people who like it. The site includes a fair amount of exclusive text and video, which often feature the many top-level female athletes who work with the company, such as Olympic skiing gold medalist Lindsay Vonn. In order to get a good chunk of content, you’ll need to “Like” the page to have access. The site is being highlighted in retail establishments as well as print advertising.

On Under Armour’s main Facebook page, there is consistent pressure to “like” the page and get extra content and access to events in exchange. More than 531,000 people have followed that path.

The posts on the wall include such things as “Congratulations to the one and only Deion Sanders...2011 NFL Hall of Famer. Nobody does it better, Prime!” Sanders is also a spokesperson for the company so it’s not pure coincidence that he’s mentioned on the Wall.

“Our friends at Ballislife: It's A Movement put together an incredible highlight reel from the Brandon Jennings Invitational.”

So there is plenty of healthy and fun self-promotion on the brand’s main Facebook wall.

Probably the most interesting part of the Facebook site is the Stories tab, which has reader-submitted text, video, or images about how people will protect their houses. Along with that, the stories of Under Armour’s celebrity endorsers are also included.

For example, GeorgeSt.Pierre from Montreal says, “When you’re the champion, you’re always just one fight away from losing everything. That’s what’s in my mind every day. That’s why I train the way I do—two times a day, six days a week, all year long. That’s why I study karate, boxing, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu. MMA is more than just a fight…” and so on. ST-Pierre is, of course the current Welterweight Champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Another post reads, this one from MPhelps of Baltimore, “I’ve always been more about looking forward than backward. The gold medals and records and the success I’ve had are all very special to me. But there’s a lot more that I want to accomplish. That’s why I’m back to work again—back to the grind. I love it, but I kinda hate it, too….” And so on.

They are joined by a ninth-grade football player, an Israeli athlete, and plenty of others.

Twitter

Under Amour has more than 19,500 followers on Twitter. The company consistently is posting new information that can be seen as sweet or sappily grating: “Big shout-out to UA Trainer, @ToddDurkin. Second year in a row his client has won a (Super Bowl) MVP! Must be that prep work,” reads one. “Tried out my new @UKColdGear #golf apparel from @Under_Armour the other day. I like it. A lot. Comfy and stylish.”

WEB

While Under Armour works on its different niches with different tools, its standard main consumer website is, well, pretty standard. It is clearly focused on the shopping experience. Across the top the links are Men’s, Women’s, Boys’, Girls’, Sports, Footwear, Outlet, Gifts. Two pieces of real estate on the front page are used up to offer free shipping for new visitors. It seems the rest of Under Armour’s digital offerings are more about experiences while this one is much more focused on the experience of consuming the product itself. One ingenious detail about this site is that on every product picture, there is the ability to like it onto your own Facebook page. That’s beautiful marketing at work.

Another site that Under Armour runs is the company’s annual Power in Pink program. The site highlights the many fascinating first-person stories who either currently have or have had breast cancer. Three of the stories will be strong that the writers of those stories will become the New Faces of Power in Pink. It also gives information on how to get involved with the Power in Pink Games, which is like the Olympics for women with breast cancer. Athletes can find teams to be part of and bond with, which is obviously beneficial in many ways.

YouTube The company has maintained a YouTube channel since 2006 and has 761 subscribers and a slew of videos, from workout videos of its celebrity friends to commercials and a variety of “Protect This House”-related films.

The bottom line is that Under Armour is extremely active on the social-media side and is willing to try new things on a consistent basis. The company is clearly trying to engage its different audiences in many different ways, but uses its main site as kind of safe, uniform zone where consumers don’t have to feel heavily engaged.

Engagement clearly of interest to the company and it is handled very effectively to different groups: those with breast cancer, men, female athletes. The humanizing of celebrity athletes is refreshing. And the amount of social media the company is after and involved with is also a lovely indicator of just how much they’re trying to engage customers. Almost makes you wan to buy a $275 University Red Men’s Hooper Jacket.