Male Opps: Gatorade appoints first CBO (Score 38)

Sales Lead: Anuj Bhasin is now the seemingly first CBO at Gatorade, effective earlier in 2023.

• He joined parent company PepsiCo in January 2011 and most recently served as the VP and GM of marketing for Gatorade.
• The brand will likely:
  • Implement strategy shifts
  • Keep increasing overall spend
  • Seek new agency partners
• Target demographic: 
  • Men, especially athletic men, ranging from Gen-Z through Gen-X

Additional spending insights:

• Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: Gatorade has spent approximately $30.9m on national TV commercials YTD, 61% more than the approximately $19.2m spent by this point last year.
  • Last year: The brand spent around $53.4m on this channel in 2022 after having spent 25% less, around $39.8m, in 2021.
  • 2023 ad programming: Gatorade's 2023 commercials have targeted male sports enthusiasts watching shows such as NBA Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, SportsCenter, and Women's College Basketball.
• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: So far this year, the brand has allocated roughly $9.1m toward digital ads, down only slightly (3%) from the roughly $9.4m allocated within the same 2022 timeframe.
  • YTD data: Gatorade has earned ~1.2b digital impressions YTD via Facebook (30%), Instagram (21%), Twitter (17%), YouTube (16%), desktop display (7%), desktop video (5%), and mobile display (4%) ads.
  • Last year: In 2022, the brand's estimated full-year spend increased by 65% to $59.6m from that of $36.1m in 2021.
• Additional channel insights  
  • The brand utilizes OTT, linear, local broadcast, print (magazines), digital, Google Ads, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and online video (via Youtube Android and Youtube.com) ads.
  • Gatorade holds planning conversations in Q4 and buying conversations in Q3.
  • It sponsors podcasts such as Stuff You Should Know, Bleeding Green Nation, Buffalo Rumblings, Arrowhead Pride, and MMA Fighting.
  • Gatorade has a ton of sports team sponsorship partners such as the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks , Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Twins, and Toronto Maple Leaves; view more here.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: This hire could easily lead to agency reviews, so reach out soon to get on Bhasin's radar.
• Current agency roster:
  • TPN: Experiential AOR
  • Swift: Social AOR
  • TBWA \ Chiat \ Day: Digital AOR
  • OMD: Media agency partner
  • MullenLowe LA: Creative agency partner

Insight Sources: Broadcast, linear, and OTT insights estimated by iSpot; digital spend insights estimated by Pathmatics; additional channel insights estimated by Vivvix; podcast insights by Podchaser; sponsorship insights by Relo Metrics.