In the final presentation of the 2008 Sports Sponsorship Symposium, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank talked about the development of his company and explained its early and quick success with this statement: “We were smart enough to be naïve enough not to know what we could not accomplish.”

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Kevin Plank

With sales growing from $20 million in 2001 to an estimated $775 million this year, Plank outlined for the crowd his optimism about where the company will go next, after starting with high-performance T-shirts and moving most recently into footwear.

One of Under Armour’s guiding principles is, “This brand has not yet built its defining product,” Plank said, adding, “We’re not going to be defined as a stretchy T-shirt company.”

Plank entertained the crowd with clips of ads that demonstrated the evolution of the company’s branding, beginning with the “Protect this house” campaign. “Storytelling continues to be one of the top aspects of selling our brand,” he said.

Next up, the company will continue its move into new products, including running shoes in 2009, and new markets, from Europe to Asia. And, after putting up a slide that said “B.R.I.C.,” Plank noted that “We have yet to sell our first T-shirt in Brazil, Russia, India or China.”

Quick hits:

Plank, on the most satisfying thing about his company’s development: “Today’s kids want Under Armour. And that’s the thing we’re most proud of. We see ourselves as the athletics leader for today’s generation.”

Plank, on his job description: “Build a great product; tell a great story; service the business (‘We’ve got some pretty big competition out there, and they always want to take our head off. We never forget that,'); and build a great team.”