Gatorade Mission Control Center

Great find by Adam Raphael (@adam__raphael) on Gatorade's social media philosophy...excited to engage in this discussion.

In order to successfully market any brand, a company must first learn about their audience. As Gatorade demonstrates, businesses are now utilizing new technology in order to capture people’s utmost desires, needs, and interests. The undeniable leader in the sports drink marketplace, Gatorade does not so much utilize social media to gain exposure. Instead, they are using these outlets to capture the pulse of consumers.

Gatorade’s Mission Control Center, located at the company’s Chicago headquarters, tracks all social media activities and analyzes all fluctuations in real time. In a room that purposely resembles a military war room, five members of Gatorade’s marketing team monitor the blogosphere on six large screens. The program, created via a partnership with IBM, exemplifies Gatorade’s Evolution project. With new brands beginning to enter the increasingly competitive marketplace, Gatorade has been motivated to move beyond more conventional tactics.

Gatorade’s Senior Marketing Director of Consumer & Shopper Engagement, Carla Hassan, explains that the company aspires to ““take the largest sports brand in the world and turn it into largest participatory brand in the world.” In monitoring the pulse of social media, Gatorade can gain feedback about commercials, print ad campaigns, and even new flavors. The real-time commentary allows them to react promptly and cater the brand to what their target market covets. In doing so, they can maximize the brand’s appeal to consumers.

The strategy, although untraditional, has caught the attention of other companies owned by the umbrella company of PepsiCo. Bonin Bough, Director of Social Media at PepsiCo, feels strongly that the tactic may soon be adopted by other brands, “We believe what we’re building here is an example of a sandbox of tools and processes we can use across the organization.” The Mission Control Center allows Gatorade to attain information that previously would have been available only via consumer surveys. 


Gatorade, always at the forefront of strategic marketing, has also utilized social media to engage their consumers. For example, during the Super Bowl XLIV, Gatorade used Facebook and UStream to connect their fans with a number of their most visible athletes. Their technology allows them to evaluate the success of such marketing campaigns once complete.
The attention --- and money --- that Gatorade has devoted to this project provides evidence of the ascension of social media. It also demonstrates the brand’s militaristic ambition to dominate the sports drink marketplace. While the Official Sports Drink of the NFL, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, and US Soccer --- just to name a few --- already owns approximately eighty-percent of the market, they remain committed to enhancing their product. 

Since its launching by medical researchers at the University of Florida in 1965, Gatorade’s brand has been associated with innovation. Its marketing strategy has always been at the forefront and has very often been replicated by other companies in the industry. With its recent attentiveness towards social media, it can be expected that this strategy will soon be imitated as well.

And honestly, who could blame them?