GATORADE / SOCIAL MEDIA 'WAR ROOM'
17 June 2010
Sports drink offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how it monitors social media
- Brand
- Gatorade
- Media Type
- Social Media
- Product Category
- Alcoholic Drinks
- Non-Alcoholic Drinks
- Country
- USA
- Source
- News
- Tags
- Social media
- Gatorade
- sports drink
- real-time
- Gatorade
- PepsiCo
Gatorade has already netted a few notable trophies for its stunning Replay work, including two Grand Prix at Cannes this week and the highly coveted Grandy at the Andy awards in April.
And when you take a peek at the brand's 'social media command center', it offers some clue as to why this brand is suddenly in the limelight.
The PepsiCo-owned sports drink has released details of the control room to Mashable in an article which describes it as a 'war room for monitoring the brand in real-time across social media'.
The company uses it to track media performance, create an ongoing dialogue with consumers, and collect insights which will influence new product development and marketing strategies.
For instance, a track featured in a Gatorade ad was released in full following positive online feedback, while the multi-dashboard room also helps to steer online consumers in the right direction. The article carries a claim from Gatorade that it has increased engagement in its product education (mostly video) by 250%.
Mashable interviews Gatorade's senior marketing director, consumer and shopper engagement Carla Hassan, who describes Gatorade's ultimate goal: 'To take the largest sports brand in the world and turn it into largest participatory brand in the world.'
A short YouTube video explains the purpose of the Command Center: 'Wherever people are talking, clicking, typing about our brand, mission control is there to listen... [Gatorade is] setting the stage for digital leadership.'
We couldn't agree more. This kind of 'control room' facilitating agile reactions in real-time should be an investment under consideration for all brands right now.
Read the article here.
And when you take a peek at the brand's 'social media command center', it offers some clue as to why this brand is suddenly in the limelight.
The PepsiCo-owned sports drink has released details of the control room to Mashable in an article which describes it as a 'war room for monitoring the brand in real-time across social media'.
The company uses it to track media performance, create an ongoing dialogue with consumers, and collect insights which will influence new product development and marketing strategies.
For instance, a track featured in a Gatorade ad was released in full following positive online feedback, while the multi-dashboard room also helps to steer online consumers in the right direction. The article carries a claim from Gatorade that it has increased engagement in its product education (mostly video) by 250%.
Mashable interviews Gatorade's senior marketing director, consumer and shopper engagement Carla Hassan, who describes Gatorade's ultimate goal: 'To take the largest sports brand in the world and turn it into largest participatory brand in the world.'
A short YouTube video explains the purpose of the Command Center: 'Wherever people are talking, clicking, typing about our brand, mission control is there to listen... [Gatorade is] setting the stage for digital leadership.'
We couldn't agree more. This kind of 'control room' facilitating agile reactions in real-time should be an investment under consideration for all brands right now.
Read the article here.
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COMMENTS /
Sandoz
I was initially troubled by this. Even though laudable to approach social media with such alacrity, perhaps too machine like?
But then it dawned on me that this is so spot on for the brand. Approach it like a technical science that helps you win.
The genius here isn't applied social media for business analysis and dialogue. The Gatorade Mission Control is a content platform. A big idea. Elevate it into full marketing.
Look forward to seeing what they can do with this.
Lucy
Thanks for taking the time and trouble to leave a comment. I think you have totally hit the nail on the head when you write that it is spot on for the brand in terms of taking a technical, scientific approach to help win. It's an excellent strategy for Gatorade, demonstrating a commitment to forward-thinking.
Tomasz
I like that we are changing old archaic approach to marketing. Marketing is no longer about direct sales or forcing products. Marketers are your clients.
Steve Poppe
This is smart, smart stuff. We all know that activatation equals sales. But what really equals sales is trial, repurchase and increased purchase. Using social media to find the insights to drive those efforts is key. Listening is one thing. Doing something smart with what's heard is another. That said, this will work. Albeit a little clunkily at first.
shehara
Spot on.
Yet,could there be a slight fall out in that it has "big brother is watching you " aggression.