Male Gen-Z Opps Update: Gatorade launches first major marketing effort under new CMO (Score 68)
Update: Gatorade's new 
"Fuel Tomorrow" effort was, well, fuel by the NBA All-Star Game; it's the first major marketing push under Kalen Thornton. Made by TBWA \ Chiat \ Day, it launched across TV, streaming and digital, focused on young people, particularly teenagers and Gen-Z.
The ad is part of an initiative to provide money and resources to community, Gatorafde's first time putting money and resources behind its values. Reportedly, the brand expects to give $10m to existing and new community organization partners such as Athlete Ally.
As I briefly mentioned, Gatorade is currently targeting teenagers and Gen-Z; it tends to especially target male consumers. It invests in TV, digital, paid social, podcast, OOH and local broadcast. Read more about its recent spend and targeting in the article below.
Agenchy & martech readers - We haven't heard of any roster shifts since Thornton's appointment, so get in touch if you haven't yet done so to offer brand-specific support. Right now, Gatorade's roster includes experiential AOR TPN, social AOR Swift, media buying agency partner OMD and digital agency partner TBWA. View parent company PepsiCo's full roster here.
The article below was originally published on January 11:
In its latest ad campaign, Gatorade teamed up with the LA Rams to celebrate Robert Woods's story. Developed by Shamrock Studio/DLP Media Group, the ad is part of a larger "Greatness Starts with a G," and it honors the impact Woods has had even after passing away. The new spot, "Born and Bred," is available on the Rams's YouTube channel (see video above). Sellers should contact soon to secure last-minute ad dollars; read on to determine more specific details about how Gatorade is advertising right now.
As I briefly mentioned, this ad is not the first of its kind for Gatorade; I expect it will continue finding ways to tug at the heartstrings of Americans while promoting its sports beverages as well.
According to iSpot, Gatorade ended up spending approximately $39.8m on national TV commercials last year, only around a third of the approximately $98.3m it spent in 2020. Last year's commercials targeted male sports enthusiasts watching shows such as NBA Basketball, NFL Football, College Football, College Basketball and MLB Baseball.
On the other hand, Pathmatics reports the beverage brand allocated roughly $37.7m toward digital ads in 2021, up 55% from the roughly $24.3m it allocated in 2020. Last year, Gatorade earned ~4.1b digital impressions via Instagram (41%), desktop video (20%), Twitter (19%), Facebook (13%), desktop display (6%) and mobile display (1%) ads.
Additionally, per Magellan, the brand aired around 264 podcast ads in 2021.
Right now, Gatorade is most strongly targeting athletic Gen-Z men. Kantar data shows it also invests in OOH and local broadcast. As I briefly mentioned, sellers able to offer relevant ad space should get in touch sooner rather than later to secure ad dollars from this new initiative. The brand holds planning conversations in Q4 and buying conversations in Q3.
Agency & martech readers - We haven't heard of any roster shifts since Gatorade hired CMO Kalen Thornton almost a year ago, and since the window of opportunity hasn't yet closed, reach out to offer brand-specific support if you haven't yet done so. Gatorade currently works with experiential AOR TPN, social AOR Swift, media buying agency partner OMD and digital agency partner TBWA \ Chiat \ Day. View parent company PepsiCo's full roster here.
