The Branding Strategy of Gatorade: An Analysis

Gatorade is a flagship brand of PepsiCo and has a commanding 75% market share of the sports nutrition beverage marketplace globally, being sold into 80 different countries according to the latest PepsiCo annual report published in late 2011. Gatorade's success in branding and product marketing has actually expanded the global market for sports nutrition beverages during the late 1990s and into the 21rst century. Recently however the company has faced many channels including product line extensions of the last decade which failed to deliver strong results (Pollack, 1997) and a more critical analysis of their ingredients as many of their beverages are sold in public schools (Tallon, 2009). Despite these challenges however, Gatorade continues to experience strong market share and growth. The intent of this analysis is to evaluate and provide recommendations for each of the four areas of the marketing mix including product, price, promotion and place or distribution.

The appeal to logos, ethos, and pathos are used everyday in many instances. A commercial is just one instance, and Gatorade commercials use them very well. The specific Gatorade commercial I chose to use was the one where Kevin Durant has a nightmare about being blocked by Dwyane Wade that aired in 2013. Kevin Durant doesn’t want that dream to come true so he practices very hard all while using Gatorade products. Meanwhile Dwyane Wade has a nightmare that he gets dunked on by KD, so he decides to use Gatorade products while he practices. The commercial is essentially saying that if you use Gatorade products that you will achieve your goals easier, and be more like the great NBA players that use the products as well.

Powerade and Gatorade are two very successful companies; in some ways, they?re alike and in other areas, they are very different. To compare and contrast these companies, we?re going to look at a television commercial advertising they?ve each produced. Each of these commercials involve basketball as their sporting backdrop, but more importantly, both commercials utilize the rhetorical triangle: Ethnos, Pathos, and Logic. These three things are used to persuade the audience.

As you watch the Gatorade commercial you notice that Gatorade wasn’t only promoting hard work and dedication, but they were also promoting hydration, strength, power, and energy. Dedication is shown by waking up early in the morning, going for your daily jog or walk, while others are still sleeping. Staying hydrated helps the body keep moving and fully functional. Gatorade shows the importance of hydration by athletes taking breaks between workouts. Hydration also reduces the risk of cramps and soreness. Gatorade promotes energy by showing, before eating a Gatorade chewy the athlete did not have the energy he needed to start his morning run or weight lift. However, after eating the chewy they instantly gained energy. Power is symbolized by the lightning bolt, which

The current marketing profile of Boost juice is to manage the brand so effectively created. The image of boost juice in the market is very high. The impact it has created in the minds of consumers and competitors is so clearly marked that it has been able to rise itself above the marketplace and position itself in the minds of the customers. The brand communications have also been promising and have fulfilled all those messages which it has committed itself to. This has been the greatest source of equity. The awareness that boost juice has created has put off all other competitors far behind and hence it is the industry leader. The brand is instantly recognizable by its distinct packaging, flavor and inimitable appeal. It is relevant as a healthy juice bar while competitors have not been able to carve that niche. People prefer this to other juice sticks. Boost juice has returning customers the greatest asset that any organization would want and aspire for. It enjoys a lion’s share of market for juice bars and though sold at price premium it commands the respect due to it.

Gatorade is a company that has been making sports drinks since 1965. In 2001, they eventually branched off into making other sports nutrition products like energy drinks, energy bars, and nutrition shakes. Some of the company’s newest products include energy fruit chews. Gatorade advertisements reach millions of Americans every day, which undoubtedly increases their sales. My analysis will focus on a Gatorade ad featuring Dwayne Wade.

Gatorade is a company that manufactures sports nutrition products, and they usually have different athletes

Gatorade is a sports drink that is used to put electrolytes back into an athlete’s body after a long workout. Athletic trainers, for most sports teams, make two ten-gallon coolers full of Gatorade for the athletes after practice. To make Gatorade in a ten-gallon cooler you will need, a ten gallon cooler, 30 ounces of Gatorade powder, a long spoon or Gatorade stirrer, water, and ice.

PepsiCo has 6 divisions, North American Beverages, Frito-Lay North America, Quaker foods North America, Latin America, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia, Middle East, North Africa. Gatorade falls into the North American Beverages division. Within Gatorades brand name there are a few product lines, The G-Series, Endurance, and Equipment lines. The sports drink is part of the G-series which is based on three steps, prime, perform, and recover and is part of the perform step.

The commercial I chose was very influential for me but might not be to everybody. The commercial that I ended up picking to write this essay about is a Gatorade commercial of a couple of the biggest names in the National Basketball League, also known as the NBA.To begin this commercial, Kevin Durant goes to shoot a layup and Dwyane Wade, a player from the Miami Heat in this example, comes out of nowhere and blocks his shot to win the game for the Heat. It turns out that the close game situation was just a dream or rather a nightmare that Kevin was having. Immediately after having this dream, the superstar athlete goes and trains vigorously all while periodically consuming Gatorade products that range from eating energy chews to  drinking the actual Gatorade making the customer think that drinking this specific brand will make you better or more like the athlete Kevin Durant. After continuous training, Kevin finds himself in the game situation once more. However, this time it was different but the situation was the same.

| Weaknesses: * Pays extra payment for new flavor. * More expensive to produce than other sports drinks. * Deciding the segment to target. * How to position the product in the mind of its potential consumers

The Gatorade Company is mainly concerned with the manufacture and distribution of sporting equipment for commercial and domestic uses based on their knowledge of the best industry practices for the production of sporting equipment. The primary agenda of this market plan is for it to work as a strategy to guide the company on how to supply the customers of Gatorade with quality yet affordable products. This brand of sporting equipment will be produced and supplied in many different designs and colors that will be appropriate for both genders. Approximately half of the clients of the Gatorade brand, range between the ages of 18-34.These clients are ardent customers as they make the most purchases and are the company’s primary target. Gatorade sporting equipment are purchased more by those who dwell in the Northeast regions and Midwestern parts of the United States. This market plan focusses on the introduction of a range of Gatorade environmentally friendly brand of sporting equipment into the United States market.

Gatorade has emerged as the global leader in sports nutrition beverages by continually managing their brand to signify high energy, athletic excellence combine with one of the most efficient new product development and introduced processes in the beverage industry. As a result of being able to consistently synchronize these many components of their business so well, Gatorade today holds a 75% market share in the sports nutrition market globally today. Gatorade is owned by PepsiCo, which has made it possible for the company to sell in 80 countries today. Gatorade relies heavily on the PepsiCo distribution and retail network globally. Gatorades' revolutionary approach to managing branding for beverages has served to increase the total market size for this product category globally (Huang, Sarigöllü, 2012). Despite the continued widespread adoption of Gatorade as a healthy energy drink, the company has encountered resistance to its brand and the ingredients used for creating the many variations of Gatorade energy drinks (Tallon, 2009). Despite these setbacks the Gatorade brand continues to experience exceptional growth and stability over time.

Nike will have a number of different marketing objectives for their isotonic sports drink, Nike Go. A main market objective will be to establish the isotonic drink as the most credible sports drink in the market. This will not just happen though, this can only happen through a lot of promotion and appeal. Creating strong consumer awareness is very important in gaining market share as it is a completely new product from Nike. This can be done through promoting the product, Nike Go, and allowing consumers to become aware that Nike has this new product. In order to establish brand recognition, there needs to be a capture of market shares in the sports drink segment. This will mean the product, Nike Go, will be well known

Sports marketing are one of the most vital uses in the field of marketing nowadays. Many companies have a trend to use sports and sports celebrity in developing their marketing campaign because they have the ability to influence others and they already are role models for a wide share of consumers in the marketplace. So, companies benefit from their popularity and reputation for its brand awareness. Especially some companies in the food and beverages industry which are concentrated on the marketing campaign and make a huge number of expenditure and its budget. Pepsi have many product lines, it introduces a product line for soda which includes many versions such as Pepsi, Mirnda, Seven Up, and other version of Mirinda like Orange and Apple. The second product line is related to the juice. The third category is related to Aquafina mineral water. There are width of every line and versions for every product.