To leverage its status as the official sports drink of NCAA March Madness, Powerade kicked off a new campaign on 14 March celebrating the power in an athlete’s number and aimed at inspiring all athletes from kids to professionals.
The idea behind ‘Powerade In Numbers’ is that, no matter the sport or the level of play, an athlete’s number is often a part of their identity and deserves to be celebrated and the multi-channel campaign runs through both the men’s and women’s tournaments and revolves around telling powerful stories of athletes and their numbers.
The packaging part of the campaign centres on a limited edition set of Powerade and Powerade Zero Sugar which feature the numbers 0-99: giving consumers an option to connect their sports hydration with their own jersey number. These bottles are available in 28 oz size at retailers nationwide and consumers can visit www.Powerade.com to find the nearest participating retailer.
The campaign tipped off ahead of the tournament on 14 March with a 30-second television spot on official March Madness broadcaster CBS and across linked properties TNT, TBS & TRU) which includes a purchasing call-to-action to ‘before you lace them up, go find your number’.
The TV spot appears during coverage of the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
The hero ad, which features athlete jersey numbers between 0 and 99 as a series of silly situations, was later also posted across the brand’s online platforms from 22 March and backed by a set of social content pieces including in-game billboards, mobile video and banners on YouTube and Instagram.
Whether it’s on your jersey, the scoreboard or the podium, nothing drives an athlete like a number. Rep yours with our POWERADE bottles now. pic.twitter.com/pDjt4VaHmy
— POWERADE (@POWERADE) March 1, 2021
Every number tells a story. Find your number on POWERADE and POWERADE ZERO SUGAR near you. pic.twitter.com/4SU5GvMtJq
— POWERADE (@POWERADE) February 15, 2021
The Coca-Cola owned brand developed the campaign with agency Haymaker and the video creative was shot by Radical Media director Dave Meyers.
The campaign was created for Powerade by a team at agency Haymaker which included CCO & Co-Founder Jay Kamath, CSO & Co-Founder Matt Johnson, Chief Production Officer Dan Ruth, Associative Creative Director Johnross Post, Senior Writer Max Schein, Producer Estevan Palomino and Brand Director Jake Welch.
“Powerade exists to power and empower all athletes. No matter what team sport or level of play, the player’s number is a part of their athletic identity,” explained Powerade Director of Content and Creative Excellence Alex Ames. “And we know everyday athletes choose numbers for their own reason and story. Numbers also have a variety of meanings – not simply an association with a jersey number. Maybe it’s the amount of reps, a birthday or anniversary date, a personal best, or points you put up on the scoreboard – whatever it is, we know there’s a powerful story behind these numbers,”
This year’s games are restricted to 25% capacity, as per COVID-19 hygiene rules, so the Powerade team focused more on digital outreach and TV than on in-person activations.
“The NCAA was the perfect partner and platform to launch the campaign,” Ames added. “In the past, we have always done on-site March Madness activations and a lot of out-of-home, but this year, we have really shifted our focus towards video and digital.”
Comment:
‘Power In Numbers’ aims to celebrate all athletes through an integrated initiative which reinforces the brand’s support for athletes who thrive on the thrill of competition: those who love being the underdog and those who believe hard work outshines skill or talent.
One might deduce that this campaign’s focus on everyday athletes that is a form of marketing counter programming against PepsiCo’s long-running category number one rival Gatorade which typical places super star athletes front and centre of its high-profile ads – such as Gatorade’s ‘Ready For Anything’ 2020 campaign.
What a difference a year makes in terms of tactics. This time last year this #TheRealHeroes PSA took a markedly different take on jersey numbers as stars from 14 sports leagues thanked front-line healthcare workers by giving them the numbered shirts off their backs.
Ames admits that the marketing team, in its search for an idea that unites all athletes, took some inspiration from the parent company’s hero brand ‘Share a Coke’ campaign.
Like the ‘Share a Coke’ initiative which enabled consumers to buy/order customized bottles of Coca-Cola with people’s name on them, Powerade has swapped names for numbers to ensure athletes can have custom water bottles.
After the cancellation of March Madness in 2020, tournament marketers like Powerade believe that there is pent up consumer demand for the 2021 college hoops tourney.
Time will tell if they are proven right.
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