Company Overview: Gatorade was developed in 1965 by a University of Florida coach who sat down with the team physicians and asked them to determine why so many of his players were being affected by heat and heat related illnesses. Researchers soon discovered that there were two key factors affecting the “Gator’s” team members. Fluids and electrolytes were being lost through sweat and not replaced as well as large amounts of carbohydrates. The researchers took their findings and created a new product to replace the key components lost by the Gator players. They called their concoction “Gatorade.” Gatorade is now one of the leading brands in the sports drink market and is the official sports drink of popular events such as NASCAR, Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Hockey League and many more. Gatorade re-­‐
branded several of its products from 2008-­‐2010 changing original Gatorade to Gatorade G, Gatorade Rain to No Excuses, Gatorade Am to Shine On, Gatorade X-­‐
Factor to Be Tough and Gatorade Fierce to Bring it. Gatorades new branding campaign focuses on what the company calls “G Series” and categorizes their products into before, during and after athletic activities. Market Overview: Sports drinks are largely popular in their market partly because consumers have become more health conscious. Consumers are growing more concerned with learning how to stay fit and healthy which means choosing foods and drinks that keep their energy and fitness levels high. However, with the increasing demand for energy drinks, companies like Redbull and Monster are threatening the sports drinks market. The target audience of the sports drink market is younger adults ranging from ages 18-­‐29. Coke and Pepsi currently dominate the sports drinks market share and have a presence in 80 countries. SWOT Analysis: •
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Strengths: o Electrolyte restoration o Performance enhancing o Loyal Customers o Has science to back up its product o Official sports drinks of multiple sports o Established Brand o High brand loyalty Weakness: o Too much selection-­‐confuses consumers o No distinction between lines (Gatorade and G series) o Poor exposure and sales abroad o Packaging-­‐ similar for all for products Opportunities: o Tap into new performance products such as protein shakes, protein bars, gator gum o Expanding their athlete base o Create more low-­‐calorie drinks to appeal to health conscious consumers. •
o Better understand the needs of consumer to more effectively advertise benefits of the products o Increase interactive advertising o Create sales promotions that provide incentives to consumers to make immediate purchases Threats: o Current energy drink craze in consumer market o Market is oversaturated with competition o Caffeinated drinks that provide imitation energy o People are becoming more health conscious and want drinks with small amounts of calories and sugar Product Description: Gatorade is a sports themed product line, which is focused primarily around its signature line of sports drink. The brand was originally produced and marketed by Stokely-­‐Van Camp, purchased by Quaker Oats and then again by PepsiCo in 2001. Gatorade provides several lines of beverages including the Prime 01, Perform 22 and Recover 03. Prime 01: Product line consists of a pre-­‐game gel in a gel consistency positioned for consumer consumption prior to athletic activity. Drinking within 15 minutes of physical activity will provide athletes with carbohydrate energy. Prime 02: Is a thirst quenching liquid used during the periods of physical exertion to fuel working muscles. Offers the same hydration benefits as other Gatorade products but with fewer calories. Prime 03: Is a protein and carbohydrate drink used after athletic activity. Promotes muscle recovery and helps fully replace electrolytes lost during training or competition. Sales Positioning: Gatorade has recently re-­‐branded its popular drink line with a new edgier position titled “G.” Gatorade’s brand positioning still targets athletes in competitive sports, however, Gatorade now provides drinks not only for during, but before and after exercise as well. Gatorade’s current positioning left some consumers confused because their new campaign has three brand platforms which each have a range of products and flavors. Current Market Trends: •
Health •
Fitness •
Athletic lifestyles •
Nutrition •
Energetic Competitive Analysis: Since Gatorade is owned by Pepsi, it is no surprise that their primary competition is PowerAde, a sports drink product that is owned by Coke. PowerAde was introduced in 1988 and became the first official sports drink of the Olympics. PowerAde launched a new formula for their products in 2011, which included B3, B6 and B12 in a direct response to the new health trends. All of the vitamins in PowerAde’s new formula play a role in energy metabolism. PowerAde continued to keep up with the health trend in 2008 by launching PowerAde Zero, a zero calorie sports drink with electrolytes. PowerAde’s products come in many of the same popular flavors as the G Series including fruit punch, lemon-­‐lime and orange. Gatorades secondary competition includes energy drinks and flavored waters. To keep up with the current market trends, Gatorade launched a popular line of flavored water known as Propel as well as Perform 02 which are low-­‐calorie drinks. In response to threats by energy drinks such as RedBull and Monster, Gatorade produced their Prime 01, which provides real carbohydrate energy and not perceived energy that comes from caffeine. Target Market: •
Demographics: o Males and Females Ages 18-­‐34 §
Primary Market: •
Athletes §
Secondary Market: •
Sports Fans •
Students •
Psychographics: o Motivated o Enthusiastic o Impulsive o Seek Variety o Like outdoor activities o Value social acceptance o Play or like sports Customer Profile: Gatorade’s customers can be considered experiences when relating to the VALS Framework. Customers are motivated by self-­‐expression and are often young, enthusiastic and impulsive purchasers. They often become enthusiastic about new ideas or possibilities and often seek variety. Gatorades current consumers find outlets for their energy in exercise, sports, outdoor recreation and social activities. These consumers spend a large portion of their income on fashion, entertainment and socializing and their purchases reflect the emphasis the play on looking “cool.” Media Objectives: •
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Reach 70% of consumers who are athletes, students and sports fans ages 18-­‐
19 Reach Gatorade consumers with a frequency of 3.0 in the consumers top 20 markets Communicate information on Gatorade products to consumers in months, when the demand for Gatorade products is at its highest to sustain brand loyalty. Marketing Factors That Affect Frequency -­‐.2 -­‐.1 +.1 +.2 New Brands Established Brands High Market Share Dominant Brand in Market High Brand Loyalty Long Purchase Cycle Product Used Occasionally Simple Copy Copy more Unique than competition Continuing campaign Product sell copy Single kind of message To avoid wear out: new messages Larger Ad Unites Lower ad clutter in media mix -­‐.2 -­‐.2 -­‐.1 -­‐.1 +.1 +.1 +.2 +.2 -­‐.2 -­‐.2 -­‐.1 -­‐.1 +.1 +.1 +.2 +.2 -­‐.2 -­‐.1 +.1 +.2 +.1 +.2 +.1 +.2 Low Market Share Smaller, less known brand Low brand loyalty Short purchase cycle, high volume Product Used Daily Need to beat competition ADV. To older consumers/Children Total=-­‐.2 Copy Factors That Affect Frequency -­‐.2 -­‐.1 +.1 +.2 Complex Copy -­‐.2 -­‐.1 +.1 +.2 Copy less unique than competition -­‐.2 -­‐.1 +.1 +.2 New copy campaign -­‐.2 -­‐.2 -­‐.1 -­‐.1 +.1 +.1 +.2 +.2 -­‐.2 -­‐.1 +.1 +.2 -­‐.2 -­‐.1 Image type copy More difficult kind of messages Older messages +.1 +.2 Smaller ad unites Total = -­‐.4 Media Factors That Affect Frequency -­‐.2 -­‐.1 +.1 +.2 Higher ad clutter in media mix Compatible editorial environment Attentiveness high Continuous schedule campaign Few media used in media mix Opportunities for repetition -­‐.2 -­‐.1 +.1 +.2 -­‐.2 -­‐.2 -­‐.1 -­‐.1 +.1 +.1 +.2 +.2 -­‐.2 -­‐.1 +.1 +.2 -­‐.2 -­‐.1 +.1 +.2 Total= +.1 Non-­‐compatible environment Attentiveness low Pulsed or flighted campaign Many Media used Fewer Opportunities (-­‐.2)+(-­‐.2)=(+.1)=-­‐.3 (-­‐.3)+(3.0)=+2.7 Media Strategy: • Use broadcast media to reach the large amount of athletes and sports fans watch television to get their latest updates. • Advertise on the Internet to reach students who use the Internet for school research and assignments. • Advertise on outdoor billboards to appeal to athletic consumers who are constantly on the go. Media Tactics: • Advertise in ESPN, Runner’s World, Sports Illustrated to reach consumers looking to gain new insight on fitness tips and health information • Broadcast on the most watched sports networks: ESPN and FOX Sports Channel • Advertise on Internet radio, like Pandora, to reach Gatorade consumers who often listen to music while they exercise. Mediums Used: • Print o ESPN Magazine o Runners’ World Magazine o Sports Illustrated o Fitness o Health o Oxygen o WomenSports o Men’s Health o Men’s Fitness • Broadcast o Sports Channels § ESPN § ESPN2 § MLB Network § NFL Network § NBA TV § CBS Sports Network § FOX sports channel § NBC Sports Network § NHL Network § Tennis Channel § Outdoor Channel § Tennis Channel § WWE Network o Health and Fitness Channels § Discovery Fit and Health § Food Network § MSN § National Geographic § Travel Channel § Style Network § Bravo • Internet o www.fitness.com o www.livestrong.com o www.fitnessmagazine.com o www.pandoraradio.com Geographic Distribution: • Cities to display outdoor ads o Top 20 Markets • Atlanta, GA • Boston, MA • Chicago, IL • Cleveland, OH • Dallas-­‐ Ft. Worth, TX • Denver, CO • Detroit, MI • Houston, TX • Los Angeles, CA • Miami-­‐Ft. Lauderdale, FL • Minneapolis-­‐St.Paul, MN • New York, NY • Orlando, FL • Philadelphia, PA • Phoenix, AZ • Sacramento-­‐Stockton, CA • San Francisco, CA • Seattle-­‐Tacoma, WA •
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Tampa-­‐St. Pete, FL Washington, DC Rationale: Gatorades new brand position focuses around what Gatorade products can do for the body before, during and after physical exertion. To effectively reach Gatorades target market, Gatorade’s company should use broadcast, print, internet and outdoor forms of advertisement. All forms of advertisements with be able to visually express to consumer what the products can do for their body’s. Mediums not used: Forms of media that I chose not to use for marketing Gatorade would be radio and Newspapers. Radio would not be an effective way of advertising Gatorades products because verbal descriptions simply can not capture the essence of Gatorade’s thirst quenching products. Newspapers would also be an ineffective way to advertise Gatorade’s product because a large portion of their target market does not read newspapers. Scheduling and Timing: Gatorade will be using a flighting scheduling plan because it is seasonal product, mainly being purchased in spring and summer in correlation to the peak of active lifestyle. During the months of June, July and August advertising will be at its highest since this is the time of the year when the demand for Gatorade is also at its peak. Advertisements will also be ran at the end of the winter, which is right before spring, to start embedding messages in the minds of the consumers before the demand for the products are at its peak. Budget Summary: Television is one of the most used forms of mediums amongst consumers so the largest portion of the budget used to create brand awareness. Most of Gatorade’s consumers are becoming more health conscious and are turning to popular magazines to get health and fitness information so a portion of the budget was donated to men’s, women’s and general interest magazines. The smallest portion of the budget was used for internet because a large portion of Gatorade’s target market tends to be active and is constantly on the go which is also why about sixteen-­‐
million was spent on outdoor advertisements; to reach consumers outside of their house when they are on the go. Month: January: $10,224,500 February: $$10,224,500 March: $10,224,500 April: $10,224,500 May: $10,224,500 June: $13,449,700 July: $13,449,700 August: $13,449,700 September: $10,224,500 Medium: Broadcast: $67,732,299 Print: $ 15,364,035 Internet: $2,838,000 Outdoor: $16,590,852 What I learned: Through this media plan I learned it was a lot harder to spend 113 million dollars than I thought it would. Through the Ostrow Model I learned about factors that determine frequency and how to calculate the frequency for my product. Once I determined my goals, I then had to figure out which mediums could be effectively used to advertise my products. When it came down to purchasing media, I found my self constantly worrying about the “wear out effect” which could occur to my audience. With the use of the Simmons database I was able to really understand the needs my consumer and there for I was able to efficiently and effectively purchase the right forms and amounts of units for advertisements. Although this project was slightly difficult to me, now that it is over I feel I have learned more than I would if that project would have been easy.