Gatorade takes on the sports drink bully boy

After a soft-launch last year, its a a full-blown push now for Pepsi's Gatorade Sports drink in the UK. They are attracted by the double digit growth in the energy/sports drink market (+11% in 2006 according to Mintel). But it does feel like they're arriving at the party way too late to get a date...

This is a market where Lucozade Sport dominates, with a whopping 64% market share of sports drinks. The Lucozade brand has been around for 40 years+, and the Sports version was launched way back in 1991. That's a 17 year head start. In the UK, Lucozade IS sports drinks. The next biggest -ade brand is Powerade, launched by Coke in 2001. Seven years on, and with the might of the Coke distribution model and the share is.... 19%.

So, let's put Gatorade through the brandgym bully boy screener introduced to evaluate another energy drink launch, of V versus Red Bull. We'll see how likely they are to get beaten up by picking a fight with Lucozade.

1. A decent bit of product/pack "sausage": you need some sort of product or pack innovation to make yourself worth considering. Not obvious at first sight what Gatorade has to get people to re-wire their brains from defaulting to Lucozade as THE sports drink.

Gatorade claim to be "improving performance since 1965"... and although this is longer than Lucozade Sport, it refers to US heritage. And there is no sign that people think Lucozade lacks heritage anyway.

Gatorade talks about you achieve "peak performance" through hydration. Lucozade has been hammering away a more specific claim on "33% longer".

Lucozade Sport also have a much wider range, based on user need, adding scale, credibility and impact:

 

=> Lacks sausage [3/10]

2. Bravery to break codes: you also need to be brave enough to break some codes and stand out. Here again, afraid there is not much to go on. The name of course follows the -ade model of sports drinks (LucoZADE, PowerADE, GatorADE). The pack is the same, being long and thin, rather than using the fatter and stumpier US bottle.

And they use the same 2 key sports drink brand codes as Lucoazde:

- Sports Science and Lab: but here Lucozade have the very well established Lucozade Sports Science Institute. And look at the lab-based imagery: can you spot the difference between the 2 brands' websites?!

- Athlete endorsement: again, Gatorade seems to be playing the same rules as Lucozade, by plugging pro sports people who use the brand. But Lucozade has been at this for years, and sponsor amongst others Stephen Gerard the Liverpool and England football star.

The one asset Gatorade does have going for them is one they don't seem to be pushing: its global, iconic status as the world's leading sports drink. As Arif Haq, Gatorade brand manager at PepsiCo said: ”Gatorade is one of the world’s most iconic sporting brands".

I think Gatorade could have positioned itself as "The Nike of sports drinks" = US, stylish, about winning with flair, cool. They could have re-positioned Lucozade and made them look the "Umbro os sports drinks" = local, UK only, out-dated, for geeks and serious sports people [Umbro is a UK brand of football gear].
[3/10]

3. Loadsamoney: you need some big bucks to fight the big boys. Re-wiring peoples' brains is expensive. Gatorade plan to spend £5million, which aint bad. But this about the same as Lucozade Sport, and about half what the total Lucozade brand claim to spend.
[5/10]

4. Stamina: its one thing to launch. Its a whole different challenge to keep up the battle for 2, 3, 4 years and longer. Be ready for a long, hard and bloody fight. The good thing here is that Gatorade is a key priority for Pepi. And you can imagine them saying "We can't be a credible global brand without a decent share in the UK!". So, I guess they are in it for the long-run
[7/10]

5. Winning mix: its early days yet, but I do find the comms. campaign strange, and even a bit disturbing. It uses people made half of scientists, and half of athletes to get across the idea of "The Science of Winning". I wonder if a more Nike-esque approach focused on the sizzle would not have been a better way to go: cool, US, stylish, not just for geeks?

=> [5/10]

TOTAL 23/50 = less than 50% chance of success, according to this sophisticated model! My prediction? Less than 20% market share within 2-3 years, taking mainly from Powerade who'll drop to 15%. Lucozade may go down a bit to 60%, but as the market is growing, sales will be OK.

Comments

[Victor]

Uncool beans! There is nothing worse than being unahppy with your eats It sort of sets the tone for your entire day I think I saw Jerry Seinfeld on Friday who did a bit on the 3 Gatorades It was hilarious But other than that I am no help in that department I tried it for the first time while running my half marathon yesterday and thought it was the grossest thing I've ever tried. Never again!PS I've never put apples on pancakes before Must do it now!

[Miroslav]

Sorry to hear you are on the colourless diet like I was. I hope you start feileng better soon, I was not on medication so I hope that helps you faster!It probably was me that menioned the G2, cause really the other stuff is just so sweet tasting!Feel better soon so you can start eating colour again! I definetly recommend a food journal if your doctor hasn't told you too, then it will be easier to tell your doc what is up!Hang in there feel better, keep us updated!

[Semra]

Hi Morgan, I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling well! Hopefully you'll be back in aoitcn for book club : )Re. Gatorade, I'd recommend coconut water instead. It has all the same electrolytes, more in some cases, but without the artificial flavours, colours, and glucose-fructose.I like King Island the best, but Vita Coco is good too.It has sugars but they are naturally occurring so less troublesome on the ol belly.Let me know if you need a nutrition consult to guide you through your elimination diet.Feel better soon! : )Kate

[Auth]

i took it and did not notice annhyitg at all. why are you comparing it to gatorade? all gatorade does is give you sugar so you can work out longer.but try it out if you want to it is your money.

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I'm happy that Gatorade is recognizing drcaens as athletes! Look at the coordination, muscle definition, training schedule, diet, etc of a dancer, and they would all be highly comparable to any of the more traditional athletes.I think there's a difference between drcaens being considered athletes (vs artists) and dance being called a sport (vs an art form). Dance takes the same dedication, commitment, intensity of training, focus, and muscle training as a sport .but that doesn't mean it is a sport, or only a sport. It is a form of artistic expression that requires its participants to have certain skills and abilities not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. Congratulations to the final 3, and FOX for what I think is the best season yet!

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[Spartan ab workout]

The pictures looks awesome, they were nice. I like Gatorade too, it's good to our health and can help for those who have dehydration. Thanks for sharing !

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creating innovations are really competing of different energy drinks. I've been bought gatorade every now and then ..
The pictures are so cool . Keep posting !

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cool article. Never knew that, being from the old continent.

[Football Gifts]

Gatorade was the US number one sports drink in the 80's - surprised it did not take off in the UK back then.

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They could have re-positioned Lucozade and made them look the "Umbro os sports drinks" = local, UK only, out-dated, for geeks and serious sports people [Umbro is a UK brand of football gear].
[3/10]

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I wonder if a more Nike-esque approach focused on the sizzle would not have been a better way to go: cool, US, stylish, not just for geeks?

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